ABSTRACT
@#The knowledge and beliefs on the presence of fluoride in drinking water, its purpose and the associated health risks aids in equate water fluoridation and effective prevention programs. Water fluoridation is a safe, effective, and necessary method where adequate doses of fluoride is added into drinking water supplies with the target of assisting in tooth restoration and preventing tooth decay and dental caries. Therefore, this study identifies the level of knowledge and perception of fluoride in drinking water among residents living in Precinct 9, Putrajaya Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administered online questionnaire was used to examine knowledge and perception of fluoride in drinking water of 240 Precinct 9 residents. Descriptive analysis was applied for socio-demographic data and Chi-square was used to compare discrete data. All data obtained were further analyzed using SPSS Version 23.0. Results: The highest frequency (percentage) of residents were 213 (88.8%), aged 18-64 years old, 141 (58.8%) female, 214 (89.2%) with tertiary education background and 125 (51.1%) of them lived in Precinct 9 for more than 10 years. Of all participants, 137 (57.1%) and 83 (34.6%) have poor knowledge and medium perception regarding fluoride in drinking water respectively. There was a significant association between those with higher education level with knowledge (p=0.02) and perception (p=0.005) where they were more likely to know about overall fluoride in drinking water. Conclusion: Most participants had limited knowledge and negative perception of fluoride beyond a general sense it was beneficial. It appears that in moving forward to receive the water fluoridation support will need to attend to the challenge of anti-fluoride sentiment influence.
ABSTRACT
@#Indonesia is the second-most-populated country still practicing open defecation. The low utilization of latrines is a big problem that can affect human health and the environment. Several sub-districts in Tanggamus Regency have the lowest reported use of a latrine. This study aimed to determine associated factors of latrine usage in Tanggamus Regency in 2017.. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 399 households in Tanggamus Regency, Lampung. Sampling was proportional to the total number of household in 20 sub-districts. Respondents were interviewed by a structured questionnaire . Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0. The study observed that a majority (55.6%) of the respondents used a latrine; furthermore, more than half of all respondents indicated good knowledge (55.9%), positive attitude (57.4%), good economic status (56.1%), access to a proper latrine (57.6%), good support from health office (55.4%), and availability of clean water (53.4%). Multivariate analysis showed that attitude was the most dominant factor related to the utilization of latrine (P<0.05 and adj OR=3.2). Encouraging communities to translate their positive attitudes into the behavior was very important. Policies, community leaders, and heads of households should all be influenced to change community attitudes to drive consistent latrine use.