Socio-Demographic Determinants of Improved Sources of Domestic Water used by Households in Rural Southern Ghana: Evidence from INDEPTH Network Member Site

Background: Eighty six per cent of Ghanaians have access to improved water sources. However, one in every four people living in rural communities in Ghana do not have access to a dependable and safe water source. When clean safe water sources are not available, households and communities rely on nearby unprotected streams, wells, rivers and springs where the quality and safety cannot be guaranteed. As a result, families and communities become susceptible to diarrhoea and other diseases that have a negative impact on community health and productivity. This paper investigates determinants of sources of domestic water used by households in southern rural Ghana Methods: Socio-demographic factors of 100,634 heads of households from 2 districts that form the catchment area of the Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance System from 2006 to 2013 were analyzed. The associations between the household's socio-demographic factors and source of water were explored using logistic regression. Results: Gender of household head, level of education, socioeconomic status, marital status, household size and occupation of household head are associated with the type of domestic water used by households. Conclusion: Socio-demographic factors of household heads are the strong determinants of the type of domestic water used by households in rural settings in Ghana. Alfred Kwesi Manyeh | David E Akpakli | Sefiamor Baah"Socio-Demographic Determinants of Improved Sources of Domestic Water used by Households in Rural Southern Ghana: Evidence from INDEPTH Network Member Site" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-1 | Issue-5 , August 2017, URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd2276.pdf http://www.ijtsrd.com/other-scientific-research-area/other/2276/socio-demographic-determinants-of-improved-sources-of-domestic-water-used-by-households-in-rural-southern-ghana-evidence-from-indepth-network-member-site/alfred-kwesi-manyeh