Household access to sanitation facilities in rural China

Access to improved sanitation is a vital part of breaking the fecal-oral pathway and preventing diarrheal diseases. Because China is one of the largest developing countries, improving sanitation in rural China could greatly reduce the number of deaths that result from poor hygiene and sanitation worldwide each year. Therefore, our study on the situation of household access to sanitation facilities in rural China can be important for policy making on sanitation improvement. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 24 villages in three provinces in 2013. These three provinces were selected to represent the eastern, central, and western regions of China. A total of 790 respondents were interviewed. Most of the respondents (89.8%) reported having improved sanitation. Factors that influenced access to improved sanitation included the number of family members, annual per capita necessities expenditures, and subsidies for sanitation improvement. Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) also influenced sanitation improvement and healthy behaviors. Using the approaches of concentration index (CI) and concentration curve (CC), this study found that the equity of sanitation improvement in rural China was good (CI = 0.0292).