A mixed-methods study of women’s sanitation utilization in informal settlements in Kenya.
Open accessAbstract
While access to safe sanitation is a global issue, there are large disparities in access. Women living in informal settlements, in particular, are disproportionately affected by lack of access to sanitation. Without adequate sanitation, these women may resort to unsafe strategies to manage their sanitation needs, but limited research has focused specifically on this issue. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from women in the Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya in 2016. A latent class analysis (LCA) using the quantitative data yielded five distinct sanitation profiles (SP) among women in Mathare. In-depth interviews and sanitation walks with women added further detail about the characteristics of and motivations underlying each profile. Women's sanitation profiles in these settlements are complex. A majority of women in this study utilized an unsafe method of disposal at least once in a 24-hour period that increased their risk of direct exposure to waste and harmful pathogens.
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Fear of sexual assault was reported to be greatest at night, leading some women to use bags and buckets for sanitation needs; in India, urban settings reported greater fear than rural settings.
“Fear of sexual assault was reported to be greatest at night, [123, 186, 238, 239, 255] leading some women to use bags and buckets for sanitation needs [175, 255, 270].In India, those in urban settings reported greater fear of sexual assault when accessing sanitation than those in rural settings [181,189].”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [270]
Limited household income has forced women to prioritize needs like food over sanitation; women in Kenya and India adapted by using preferred pay-per-use locations less often or strategically, like for defecation only.
“Limited household income has forced women to prioritize needs like food over sanitation, whether investing in or paying to use toilets [135,147,186].Women in Kenya [240, 270] and India [187] adapted by using preferred pay-per-use locations less often or strategically, like for defecation only [187,240,270].”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [270]
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- Authors
- Winter, S. C., Dreibelbis, R., Dzombo, M. N., & Barchi, F.
- Affiliations
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- University of Nairobi (KE)
- Corresponding author
- Winter, Samantha Cristine
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2019-03-21
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- e0214114
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6428280
- OpenAlex
- W2925157136
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 6.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
- Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Philanthropic Educational Organization
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Studies and Social Issues
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban and Rural Development Challenges
- Keywords
- informal settlements, Nairobi
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Female, Health Status, Humans, Hygiene, Kenya, Middle Aged, Poverty Areas, Sanitation, Toilet Facilities, Women's Health, Young Adult
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