A Comparative Study of Hygiene Practices among Residents of Rural and Urban Areas in Lagos-State, Nigeria

The study focused on the practice of hygiene among the people living in rural (Agric) and urban (Yaba) areas in Lagos-State. Hygiene practices happened to be significant concern of public health, and appreciative its practice in both citied and local communities as crucial for effective interventions. The research adopted cross-sectional research design, and data were collected through well-structured questionnaires from 312 participants. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential (chi-square tests) to assess relationships between categorical variables with the aid of statistical package SPSS27. Results showed that the residents of showed-case better knowledge of practices of hygiene compare to participants in Agric. The results also showed a significant statistical different in the personal hygienic practices at (p < 0.05) and environmental hygiene practices at (p < 0.05) between both areas. Knowledge of hygiene was also significantly associated with location (p < 0.05). More so, the results indicated no significant association in attitudes toward hygiene practices at (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the study identified disparities in hygiene knowledge and practices between rural area and urban area. The findings indicated that urban residents displayed better hygienic knowledge and environmental practices, attitudes toward hygiene were similar in both Agric and Yaba locations. Therefore, there is need for equitable access to hygiene facilities and resources for improving public health in both rural and urban areas.

Hygiene Practices, Rural and Urban Areas, Public Health, Environmental Sanitation

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