ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDE OF WATER PURIFICATION AND SOCIO ECONOMIC VARIABILITIES AMONG HOUSEHOLDS IN ZAMFARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The paper assessed the attitude of water purification and socio economic variabilities among households in Zamfara State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was used. Population for this study was 592,106 households in Zamfara state. Sample size of 384 was selected using multistage sampling procedures which include cluster, proportionate and systematic sampling. Instrument for data collection was questionnaire developed by the researcher and validated by five (5) experts. The instrument was pilot-tested using Cronbach Alpha and a reliability co-efficient of 0.892 was obtained. SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis, descriptive statistics of frequency and percentages was used to analyze the demographic characteristics of the respondents, mean and standard deviation was used to answer research question 1 and 2. Inferential statistics of one-sampled t-test was used to answer hypotheses 1 on the attitude towards water purification, multiple regression analysis was use to answer research question 2 on socio economic determinants of households water purification. All hypotheses was tested at 0.05 level of significance, the result revealed that attitude of water purification among households in Zamfara State is significant (p = 0.000); socio economic determinants (income, education and occupation) on attitude toward water purification among households in Zamfara State is significant (p = 0.000) Based on the results, the study concluded that households in Zamfara State demonstrate significant positive attitudes toward water purification methods which are influenced by socio economic factors such as income, education, and occupation. Based on the conclusion, the study recommended that Zamfara State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development should capitalize on positive attitudes by launching campaigns that reinforce the benefits of water purification, NGOs and international agencies tailor interventions to address socio economic disparities, especially for low-income and less-educated households.