Table 2 Overview of open defection (OD) practices by different age, gender and occupational groups
Age | Gender | Occupation | Defecation places | Preferred time of day, alone or group | Preferred OD sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0-5 years | Both | NA | At home on ground or floor | None | Inside home, vacant places next door, road sides or village streets |
5-16 years | Both | School students | Field, bush | None | Vacant fields preferably closer to house |
17-20 yearsa | Girls | School/ college students | Field, bush | In group, preferably in evening hours | At sites close to house |
17-20 yearsa | Girls | Non- students | Field, bush | In group | Go far from the village during the post-harvest and summer season |
17-20 yearsa | Boys | School / college students | Field, bush | No preferred time, alone or in small group | River beds and canal embankments |
Adult | Men | Farming | Field, bush | Morning, mostly alone | Canal or river embankments; open fields |
Adult | Men | Non-farming | Field, bush | Morning, mostly alone | Road sides, canal embankments; fields next to water bodies |
Adult | Women | Housewives | Field, bush | Mostly alone in the morning, but in groups in the evening | Bamboo bush or bushy areas |
Adult | Women | Newly married daughter-in-law | Field, bush | Accompanied by female family member (chaperone) very early (4-5 am) before dawn; in small group with family chaperone in evening (5-6 pm) | Field closer to house in early morning; far from house in evening |
Adult | Men and women | Elderly, disable or sick members | Field, or in house (on bed, cloth, paper) | Health condition determines the location of the OD site | Close to house; in backyard |