Achieving the ‘good life’: Why some people want latrines in rural Benin
Abstract
Nearly half the world's population lacks basic sanitation to protect their environment from human fecal contamination. Building a latrine is the first step on the sanitation ladder in developing countries where a majority of the population defecates in open or public areas. Public health programs to improve sanitation have consistently framed promotional messages in terms of fecal-oral disease prevention and largely fail to motivate changes in sanitation behavior. A qualitative consumer study using in-depth interviews with 40 household heads was carried out to explore the decision to install a pit latrine in rural Benin. The motives for installing a latrine are reported and variations across the interviews are examined. The paper asserts that at least one active drive (desire for change or dissatisfaction) from among 11 found is needed to motivate latrine adoption. Drives involved prestige, well-being, and situational goals. Health considerations played only a minor role, and had little if anything to do with preventing fecal-oral disease transmission. Drives varied with gender, occupation, life stage, travel experience, education, and wealth, and reflected perceptions of the physical and social geography of the village, linked to availability of open defecation sites, social structure, road access, and urban proximity. The results have broad implications for new messages and strategies to promote sanitation in developing countries.
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Jenkins & Curtis [14] stated that women consistently value sanitation more than men in many cases for the increased privacy, dignity, and safety it provides them.
“According to Jenkins & Curtis, [14] , women consistently value sanitation more than men in many cases for the increased privacy, dignity and safety it provides them.”
From Early live-prototype testing of a low-cost latrine technology for rural and peri-urban communities: The case of a modified pour-flush latrine (2020) · cites this paper as [14]
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- Authors
- Jenkins, M. W., & Curtis, V.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Davis (US)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Jenkins, Marion W.
- Venue
- Social Science & Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-12
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 2446-2459
- ISSN
- 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2071892987
- Cited by
- 273
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 7.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- UNICEF
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Energy and Environment Impacts
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Studies and Social Issues
- Keywords
- sanitation behavior, open defecation, purchase decision, household heads, social prestige, well-being, gender differences, social structure, travel experience, education and wealth
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Benin, Developing Countries, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Motivation, Rural Population, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Toilet Facilities, Public Health Practice
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