Assessment of Practice of Water Purification and Socio Economic Variabilities of Households in Zamfara State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper assessed the practice of water purification and socio economic variabilities of 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 practice of 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 practice of water purification among 
households in Zamfara State is significant (p = 0.000); socio economic determinants (income, education and occupation) on practice of 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 practices of water purification which are influenced by socioeconomic factors such as income, education, and occupation. Based on the conclusion, the study recommended 
that Zamfara State government should provide subsidies or incentives for water purification tools and products to encourage wider adoption of purification practices. NGOs and international development agencies should tailor their water purification interventions to address socio economic disparities, focusing on low-income and less-educated households