A need for community education in development: the Mit Abu El Kom case

A quasi-experimental study was performed in Mit Abu El Kom Village, Egypt, where one-quarter of the 500 village households had been provided with new housing and indoor water and sanitation facilities and where, prior to this provision, water and sanitation facilities were inadequate or nonexistent among all households. No community health education had taken place among relocatees (subjects) or nonrelocatees (controls) in conjunction with the provision of water and sanitation facilities. This study investigated if subjects' access and exposure to facilities had alone been sufficient to significantly alter their relevant knowledge, attitudes and practices as compared to controls. This was accomplished primarily through structured household interview. Given that women are traditionally most affected by facilities and most effective in matters related to household health, one adult female from each sampled household was the respondent, totalling 123 for subjects and 111 for controls. Between-group comparisons of responses revealed overall nonsignificant differences in knowledge and attitudes and that respondent age and sex had no significant overall impact on responses. Age and sex were also discounted as affecting variables in within-group response analyses. Some significant changes in practices had occurred among subjects. However, these mainly resulted out of convenience and their potential benefits were often denigrated by changes which had not occurred or had not continued. The data indicate a need for community health education if health-related benefits of water and sanitation facilities are to be realized, and specifically indicate the need to address the educational needs of all village women.