Explaining the Effects of Socioeconomic and Housing Characteristics on the Choice of Toilet Facilities among Ghanaian Households

Abstract

Open defecation remains a major environmental sanitation challenge facing all areas of Ghana. This notwithstanding, the socioeconomic drivers of this phenomenon are overlooked. This study, therefore, analysed the factors that influence the choice of toilet facilities over the practice of open defecation in the country. Ghana Living Standard Survey round 7 (GLSS7) data were analysed using multinomial logit regression. From the data, a majority of households used improved toilet facilities (WC, KVIP, and pit latrines with slab) in Ghana and over one-fourth of households engaged in open defecation. The regression result revealed that the choice of toilet facilities over the practice of open defecation was significantly influenced by the sex of the household head, age, household size, education, marital status, locating in urban areas, regional locations, ownership of dwelling, type of dwelling, expenditure on rent, expenditure quintile, and per capita consumption expenditure of the household. Specifically, male, younger, less educated, and first income-quintile household heads have higher probability of practicing open defecation in Ghana. These variables point to specific policy directions that should be corrected or targeted to minimize, if not eliminate, the practice of open defecation in the country. The Media Coalition Campaign against Open Defecation should be intensified and directed towards the males, youths, and the less educated populace. This study also justified that calls for Ghanaians to change their attitudes or behavior towards open defecation are mere rhetoric if such calls are not defined within the socioeconomic conditions of the people of the area.