This document discusses sanitation and the nurse's role in promoting sanitation. It defines sanitation as processes that keep places free from dirt and disease. The purposes of sanitation are to provide a healthy living environment, protect natural resources, and prevent the spread of pathogens. Components of sanitation include water, food and milk, excreta and sewage disposal, refuse disposal, vector control, housing, and air. Poor sanitation can reduce well-being and cause malnutrition, disease transmission, and deaths. As part of their role, nurses educate communities about environmental health risks and promote healthy lifestyle practices.

1. S. Naga Prathyusha
B. Sc. (N)
Subject: CoHN

2. OBJECTIVES
At the end of the class, you must be able to
• Define sanitation and its purposes.
• List out the components of sanitation.
• Discuss the effects of poor sanitation.
• Discuss the illness prevention through sanitation.
• Describe the nurses responsibility in sanitation.

3. CONTENT
 INTRODUCTION
 DEFINITION
 PURPOSES OF SANITATION
 COMPONENTS OF SANITATION
 EFFECTS OF POOR SANITATION
 MANAGEMENT OF POOR SANITATION
 ROLE OF NURSE IN SANITATION
 CONCLUSION

4. INTRODUCTION
 Sanitation refers to the condition or
means for good health by organizing
good sanitary arrangements especially
clean water, disposal of wastes, human
excreta, food, housing, environment.

5. DEFINITION
The process of keeping places free from
dirt, infection, diseases, etc., by removing
waste, trash and garbage, by cleaning
streets, washing yourself, safe drinking
water, etc

6. PURPOSES OF SANITATION
The overall purposes of sanitation are:
 To provide a healthy living environment for everyone.
 To protect the natural resources(ground water, surface water, soil).
 To provide safety, security and dignity for people when they defecate
or urinate.
 To safely reduce human exposure to pathogens.
 To prevent mosquito breeding.
 To maintain and practice healthy lifestyles.
 To have a healthy mind.

7. COMPONENTS OF SANITATION
WATER SANITATION
FOOD AND MILK SANITATION
EXCRETA DISPOSAL
SEWAGE DISPOSAL
REFUSE DISPOSAL
VECTOR AND VERMIN CONTROL
HOUSING
AIR SANITATION

8. 1. WATER SANITATION
 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY MUST BE
–
1. Safe
2. Cheap
3. Reasonably soft
 TREATMENT OF WATER –
1. Boiling
2. Chlorination
3. Iodine treatment
4. Filtration
2. FOOD & MILK
SANITATION
Food
 DO’S
- Keep it cold or hot
- cover it properly
 DON’T’S
- High temperature
- High humidity
- Contamination by strong odors
Milk
- Sterilization
- Pasteurization

9. 3. AIR SANITATION
 Fumigation( eg :silver
hydrogen peroxide under
the trade name alstasan
silvox )
 Formaldehyde (slow acting)
4. SEWAGE DISPOSAL
 municipality system
 Off- site sewer system
 On-site system
 Full sewage system
 Pit latrines

11. 5. REFUSE DISPOSAL
COMMUNITY
 Dumping
 Sanitary landfill
 Composting
 Incineration
 Reduction and salvage
HOUSEHOLD
 Burning
 Burial
 Feeding to animals
6. VECTOR CONTROL
 Chemical method (Insecticides,
Larvicides etc)
 Physical method (removing
unused plastic pools, old buckets,
water storage for long time)
 Biological control (using natural
enemies eg: Gambusia )

12. EFFECTS OF POOR SANITATION
REDUCES
HUMAN
WELLBEIN
G
MAL-
NUTRITION
DISEASE
TRANSMIS
S-ION
IMPACT ON
SOCIAL AND
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPME
NT
DEATH
S

13. MANAGEMENT OF POOR SANITATION

14. ROLE OF A NURSE IN SANITATION
 The role of public health nurse in controlling the influence
of environmental factors on health was first recognized by
Florence Nightingale and Lillian Wald. The ANA developed
some principles of environmental health. They are:
 Knowledge of health concepts related to environment are
essential.
 Nurses must follow precautionary principles to use
products and practices that do not harm health or the
environment and to take preventative action when met with
uncertainty.
 Nurse should leverage the best evidence available when
selecting materials, products, technology and practices.

15. Cont…
 Multi-disciplinary collaboration helps to sustain healthy
environments.
 Nurses must respect the diverse values, beliefs, cultures
and circumstances of their families in their approach to
promote a healthy environment.
 A community nurse need to regularly assess the quality of
the environment in which they practice and live.
 Nurse should give appropriate and timely information about
the potentially harmful pollutants, chemicals and other
hazards they are exposed to.

16. Cont…
 Nurses need to actively research what the best practices
are for promoting a safe and healthy environment.
 Instruct the community about potential health risks related
to the environment.
 Nurses must provide education for safe and healthy
lifestyle practices.