Environmental Factors Predisposing Rural Community Members To Tungiasis In Murang'A East Sub County, Murang'A County

Purpose: To determine environmental factors predisposing rural community members to tungiasis in Murang'a East Sub County, Murang'a County. Materials and Methods: The study utilized cross sectional descriptive study design. The research adopted systematic random sampling design to identify the households to be studied where a total of 334 households were selected to participate in the study as determined by Fisher et al 1998 formula. The study was carried out in Murang'a East Sub county where household heads or their representatives were interviewed using interview schedule and observation checklist gathered data on environmental factors related to tungiasis. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the collected data. Results: The study found out that Majority of those who had tungiasis were living in temporary houses which had earthen floors. Majority (21%) of the respondents were aged between 20 to 29 years followed by those aged between 30 to 39 years that accounted for 19.2%. Majority (71.3%) of respondents were females while 28.7% were males. 39.5% of them were living in semi-permanent houses, 37.1% were living in temporary houses while 23.4% were living in permanent houses. However, for those who were jigger infested, 83.3% were living in temporary houses and 16.7% were living in semi-permanent houses. 88.6% of households had domestic animals (chicken) out of which 57.7% reported that the chicken slept next to the living house while 36.6% reported that their chicken slept away from the living house. 68.9% of the households' surrounding was clean. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that the county government of Murang'a should consider subsidizing house improvement particularly for those households that experience persistent tungiasis cases.