Factors affecting access to public toilets in Wakiso town council

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore factors affecting access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council. The study contributed to the present knowledge and potential users on how to access public toilets. The specific objectives of the study were: To determine the socio-economic factors affecting access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council; To determine the demographic factors affecting access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council; To find out how architectural design factors affect access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council; and To determine the administrative factors affecting access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council. Literature showed that factors affecting access to public toilets still has a huge gap. The study population was 95,025 and the sample was 392 (Krejcie and Morgan, 1970). The study used a cross-sectional survey design, and tools namely: questionnaires, interview guides, and documentary checklist. The study found out that socio-economic factors; fair fees charged to use a public toilet, promoted access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council. Socio-demographic factors identified that inhibited access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council were; the influx of rural urban migration that increased shortage of public toilets and the population explosion in Wakiso Town Council; The architectural design factors that promoted access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council included; the use of the pit latrine technology that made it easy and affordable to construct public toilets; the toilet designs that supported inclusion, participation and access for the physically challenged people. Furthermore, the findings highlighted that administrative factor like toilet strategy or physical plan, proper land use planning, Public Private Partnership, functional toilet policy improved access to public toilets in Wakiso Town Council. The study concluded that factors namely: socio-economic, socio-demographic, architectural designs, and administrative factors affected access to public toilets in Wakiso district. The recommendations are: Wakiso District must focus on ensuring that all public toilets are safe and private since the public is willing to pay for improved public toilets; that efforts should be made to ensure that there are adequate number of public toilet facilities in Wakiso Town Council since this will help to meet people’s needs, demands and desires; and that proper toilet technology for instance the ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine should be adopted to meet the modern health, safety and legislation requirements to make public toilet facilities in Wakiso Town Council fully accessible to the population; that primary focus should be on establishing a well-coordinated toilet system for public toilets in Wakiso Town Council. This will ensure availability of toilet facilities at the right time, in the right place and thus reduce sanitation challenges in the town council which can spread infections. The areas of further study should focus on: Gender perceptions, Public-private partnerships, and how they affect access to public toilets since public toilets are part of service infrastructure but provide an important form of infrastructure for sustainable, accessible, and inclusive cities.