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Journal

Household Characteristics and Drinking Water Source in Rural Nigeria

Jurnal Kesehatan Masyarakat · Vol. 22 No. 1 (2026) · pp. 57–66

DOI
10.15294/kemas.v22i1.36588
ISSN
2355-3596, 1858-1196
Published
2026-09-26
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang in collaboration with Ikatan Ahli Kesehatan Masyarakat Indonesia (IAKMI Tingkat Pusat) and Jejaring Nasional Pendidikan Kesehatan (JNPK)
Language
eng

Abstract

Access to safe drinking water remains a major public health concern in rural Nigeria, where household characteristics may influence the choice of drinking water sources. This study aimed to examine the determinants of improved versus unimproved drinking water sources among rural households using secondary data from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A total of 62,143 rural households were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed using STATA 17, employing univariate, bivariate, and multivariate approaches. The prevalence of improved drinking water use was 56.96 percent, while 43.04 percent of households relied on unimproved sources. Bivariate analysis showed significant associations between all household characteristics and water source choice (p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that female-headed households, higher educational attainment, and higher wealth status were strongly associated with reduced odds of using unimproved water. Conversely, Traditionalist religion, and lower socioeconomic status increased the likelihood of relying on unimproved sources. A small but significant effect was also observed for household size. These findings indicate that socioeconomic disparities, education, and gender dynamics substantially shape water access in rural Nigeria. Strengthening community water infrastructure, improving household socioeconomic conditions, and expanding targeted interventions may help increase access to safe drinking water. Future studies should include community-level factors and qualitative insights to capture broader determinants of water access.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

40 authors · 125 co-authorship links · showing the 40 most connected

Hover or tap a name to highlight its co-authors. Double-click to open the author's page.

  • Mulawarman University
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Hairil AkbarAffiliation unknown8
Maretalinia MaretaliniaAffiliation unknown7
Supriatin SupriatinAffiliation unknown4
Adi Yeremia MamahitAffiliation unknown4
Ade RahmawatiAffiliation unknown3
Pardjono PardjonoAffiliation unknown2
Linda SuwarniAffiliation unknown2
Sri NurcahyatiAffiliation unknown2
Novin YetianiAffiliation unknown2
Sifriyani SifriyaniMulawarman University1
Ghina FadhillaMulawarman University1
Memi Nor HayatiMulawarman University1
Ineu SintiaMulawarman University1
Siti MahmudaMulawarman University1
Siti Fatimah KhairunnisaMulawarman University1
Mohamad SadliAffiliation unknown1
MaretaliniaAffiliation unknown1
Adi Heru SutomoAffiliation unknown1
Abu Tholib AmanAffiliation unknown1
Herman J.WaluyoAffiliation unknown1
Teguh Alif NurhudaAffiliation unknown1
Zainal ArifinAffiliation unknown1
Ubaidillah UbaidillahAffiliation unknown1
Dominicus Danardono Dwi Prija TjahjanaAffiliation unknown1
Wibawa Endra JuwanaAffiliation unknown1
Rendy Adhi RachmantoAffiliation unknown1
Chico Hermanu BrilliantoAffiliation unknown1
Singgih Dwi PrasetyoAffiliation unknown1
Arinal Falah MuhammadAffiliation unknown1
Mohd Afzanizam Mohd RosliAffiliation unknown1
Ibnu SiswantoAffiliation unknown1
Nuraly Masum AprilyAffiliation unknown1
Tuatul MahfudAffiliation unknown1
Ida Nugroho SaputroAffiliation unknown1
Herminarto SofyanAffiliation unknown1
Muhammad NurtantoAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/kemas/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 6 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
<oai_dc:dc xmlns="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/  http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Household Characteristics and Drinking Water Source in Rural Nigeria</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Dyah Suryani</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Suyitno, Suyitno</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Abubakar Yakubu Abbani</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Edwin, Vebby Amellia </dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Drinking water</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Household characteristics</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Nigeria</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Rural households</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Water access</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">Access to safe drinking water remains a major public health concern in rural Nigeria, where household characteristics may influence the choice of drinking water sources. This study aimed to examine the determinants of improved versus unimproved drinking water sources among rural households using secondary data from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A total of 62,143 rural households were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed using STATA 17, employing univariate, bivariate, and multivariate approaches. The prevalence of improved drinking water use was 56.96 percent, while 43.04 percent of households relied on unimproved sources. Bivariate analysis showed significant associations between all household characteristics and water source choice (p &amp;lt; 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that female-headed households, higher educational attainment, and higher wealth status were strongly associated with reduced odds of using unimproved water. Conversely, Traditionalist religion, and lower socioeconomic status increased the likelihood of relying on unimproved sources. A small but significant effect was also observed for household size. These findings indicate that socioeconomic disparities, education, and gender dynamics substantially shape water access in rural Nigeria. Strengthening community water infrastructure, improving household socioeconomic conditions, and expanding targeted interventions may help increase access to safe drinking water. Future studies should include community-level factors and qualitative insights to capture broader determinants of water access.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang in collaboration with Ikatan Ahli Kesehatan Masyarakat Indonesia (IAKMI Tingkat Pusat) and Jejaring Nasional Pendidikan Kesehatan (JNPK)</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2026-09-26</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/kemas/article/view/36588</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/kemas.v22i1.36588</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Jurnal Kesehatan Masyarakat; Vol. 22 No. 1 (2026); 57 - 66</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2355-3596</dc:source>
	<dc:source>1858-1196</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/kemas.v22i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/kemas/article/view/36588/11510</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Kesehatan Masyarakat</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>