Knowledge, attitude and practice towards water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) among holy water users in Amhara regional state Orthodox churches, Ethiopia, 2024: institutional based cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Background: Sanitation is the quality of living that is expressed in a clean home, a clean firm, a clean business, and a clean community to prevent disease and promote health. Poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) negatively impacts health, development, economic and social growth, and significantly hinders poverty alleviation. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding water, sanitation, and hygiene among holy water users in Amhara regional state Orthodox churches, Ethiopia, in 2024. Method: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out in April 2023 in five randomly selected Orthodox Tewahido churches in the Amhara region. The study employed an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire to gather data from 423 study participants. Result: Response rate was 91% and 219 (57% of the respondents) were female. Good knowledge, positive attitudes, and good practice (KAP) on WASH were found in 39.2, 42.5, and 47.2%, respectively. Conclusion: In Ethiopian Amhara Orthodox Tewahido churches, holy water users frequently lacked information, had an unfavorable attitude, and practiced poor WASH. This demands for immediate effort to raise knowledge about health education and hygiene in order to impact holy water user's attitudes toward personal and communal cleanliness and sanitation.