Improvement of rural sanitation and hygiene practices MCQs With Answer

Improvement of rural sanitation and hygiene practices is essential for B. Pharm students to understand public health, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), and disease prevention in communities. This topic covers safe drinking water, appropriate latrine design, sanitation infrastructure, solid and liquid waste management, handwashing behavior, community health education, and behavior change strategies. Pharmacists and pharmaceutical graduates play a role in promoting hygiene, preventing diarrheal and waterborne diseases, and integrating sanitation into primary healthcare. Knowledge of policy, monitoring, low-cost technologies, and social mobilization enhances evidence-based interventions. Practical understanding helps B. Pharm students contribute to community programs, antimicrobial stewardship, and reducing infection burden. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. Which of the following best describes the primary goal of WASH interventions in rural communities?

• Increase local pharmaceutical sales
• Improve water quality, sanitation and hygiene to reduce disease transmission
• Promote industrial waste disposal methods
• Replace traditional medicine with antibiotics

Correct Answer: Improve water quality, sanitation and hygiene to reduce disease transmission

Q2. Which pathogen is most commonly associated with unsafe drinking water in rural settings?

• Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Vibrio cholerae
• Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Human papillomavirus

Correct Answer: Vibrio cholerae

Q3. For on-site household water treatment, which method is widely recommended and effective for bacterial reduction?

• Boiling water for at least 1 minute
• Storing water in closed clay pots without treatment
• Adding sugar to enhance taste
• Exposing water to sunlight for 1 hour in any container

Correct Answer: Boiling water for at least 1 minute

Q4. What is the key behavior targeted by handwashing promotion to prevent fecal-oral transmission?

• Washing hands only when visibly dirty
• Handwashing with soap at critical times like after defecation and before eating
• Rinsing hands with cold water only
• Using hand sanitizer once a week

Correct Answer: Handwashing with soap at critical times like after defecation and before eating

Q5. Which latrine type is most appropriate for areas with high water table and frequent flooding?

• Simple pit latrine without lining
• Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine with raised platform
• Open defecation field
• Flush toilet connected to septic tank at ground level

Correct Answer: Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine with raised platform

Q6. Which indicator is commonly used to assess faecal contamination of drinking water?

• pH measurement
• Turbidity only
• Presence of thermotolerant coliforms or E. coli
• Chlorine residual concentration exclusively

Correct Answer: Presence of thermotolerant coliforms or E. coli

Q7. How does improved sanitation contribute to antimicrobial stewardship?

• By increasing antibiotic production locally
• Reducing infection incidence and thereby limiting unnecessary antibiotic use
• By promoting self-medication for diarrheal diseases
• By substituting antibiotics with herbal remedies

Correct Answer: Reducing infection incidence and thereby limiting unnecessary antibiotic use

Q8. Which chemical is commonly used for household water disinfection and leaves a residual to prevent recontamination?

• Calcium hydroxide
• Sodium hypochlorite (bleach)
• Potassium nitrate
• Hydrogen peroxide in high concentration

Correct Answer: Sodium hypochlorite (bleach)

Q9. Which waste management practice is most critical to prevent vector-borne disease in rural areas?

• Open burning of large quantities of plastics
• Proper disposal and timely removal of solid waste and animal feces
• Burying all waste without segregation
• Dumping waste into water bodies

Correct Answer: Proper disposal and timely removal of solid waste and animal feces

Q10. What is the SAFE acronym used in sanitation and hygiene promotion contexts?

• Sanitation, Antimicrobials, Food safety, Education
• Sewage, Antibiotics, Filtration, Elimination
• Sanitation, Antenatal care, Food, Education
• Surgery, Antibiotics, Fluids, Electrolytes

Correct Answer: Sanitation, Antenatal care, Food, Education

Q11. Which monitoring indicator measures access to improved sanitation facilities?

• Percentage of households using improved sanitation facilities
• Number of pharmacies per village
• Annual antibiotic consumption per capita
• Average rainfall per year

Correct Answer: Percentage of households using improved sanitation facilities

Q12. In rural sanitation program design, what is the main purpose of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)?

• Subsidize latrine hardware for all households
• Trigger collective behavior change to end open defecation without hardware subsidies
• Provide centralized sewerage systems to rural homes
• Distribute antibiotics to prevent diarrheal diseases

Correct Answer: Trigger collective behavior change to end open defecation without hardware subsidies

Q13. Which of the following is a low-cost method to reduce turbidity before disinfection in household water treatment?

• Coagulation-flocculation using locally available materials like alum or Moringa
• Adding sugar to settle particles
• Mixing water with milk
• Exposure to ambient air for 24 hours

Correct Answer: Coagulation-flocculation using locally available materials like alum or Moringa

Q14. Which sanitation intervention most directly reduces helminth transmission in rural communities?

• Mass distribution of antipyretics
• Improved latrines and safe stool disposal
• Vitamin supplementation
• Indoor residual spraying for mosquitoes

Correct Answer: Improved latrines and safe stool disposal

Q15. For surveillance of diarrheal disease in a village, which measure provides the most timely early-warning signal?

• Annual household census
• Routine weekly reporting of diarrheal cases from local health posts
• Yearly water quality tests only
• Monthly pharmaceutical sales reports

Correct Answer: Routine weekly reporting of diarrheal cases from local health posts

Q16. How can pharmacists support rural sanitation campaigns?

• By prescribing antibiotics for every case of diarrhoea
• By educating communities on hygiene, safe medication disposal, and infection prevention
• By selling cheaper counterfeit medicines
• By discouraging water treatment to promote natural immunity

Correct Answer: By educating communities on hygiene, safe medication disposal, and infection prevention

Q17. What is the recommended residual free chlorine concentration for household drinking water at point of use?

• 0.2–0.5 mg/L
• 5–10 mg/L
• 0 mg/L (no chlorine residual)
• 50–100 mg/L

Correct Answer: 0.2–0.5 mg/L

Q18. Which behavior change technique is evidence-based for increasing latrine use?

• Punitive fines only
• Social norm activation and community monitoring
• Providing antibiotics to households
• Mandatory latrine installation without community input

Correct Answer: Social norm activation and community monitoring

Q19. Which method is best for detecting bacterial contamination in water samples in field settings?

• Cultural methods for E. coli or thermotolerant coliforms using simple membrane filtration
• Electron microscopy
• Mass spectrometry
• Clinical symptoms of household members

Correct Answer: Cultural methods for E. coli or thermotolerant coliforms using simple membrane filtration

Q20. Which statement links sanitation to nutrition in children?

• Poor sanitation contributes to environmental enteric dysfunction, impairing nutrient absorption
• Sanitation has no impact on child growth
• Only dietary supplements affect child nutrition
• Sanitation improves appetite but not absorption

Correct Answer: Poor sanitation contributes to environmental enteric dysfunction, impairing nutrient absorption

Q21. What is an important consideration when disposing of expired or unused antibiotics in rural areas?

• Flush them into the nearest river for dilution
• Collect and dispose through take-back programs or safe incineration to prevent environmental contamination
• Dump them with household organic waste
• Share them within the community

Correct Answer: Collect and dispose through take-back programs or safe incineration to prevent environmental contamination

Q22. Which of the following is a direct effect of handwashing with soap on child health?

• Increase in antibiotic resistance
• Reduction in incidence of diarrhoea and respiratory infections
• Higher malnutrition rates
• Increased vector breeding

Correct Answer: Reduction in incidence of diarrhoea and respiratory infections

Q23. Which design feature improves ventilation and odor control in pit latrines?

• Adding a ventilation pipe and screened vent at the top (VIP latrine)
• Leaving the pit open
• Covering the pit with cloth only
• Using a narrow unventilated squat hole

Correct Answer: Adding a ventilation pipe and screened vent at the top (VIP latrine)

Q24. In community water supply, what is the purpose of maintaining a chlorine residual in distribution systems?

• To make water taste salty
• To provide ongoing disinfection and reduce recontamination risk during storage and distribution
• To neutralize all minerals
• To increase turbidity for sedimentation

Correct Answer: To provide ongoing disinfection and reduce recontamination risk during storage and distribution

Q25. Which public health metric directly reflects sanitation-related disease burden?

• Incidence of diarrhoeal diseases per 1,000 population
• Number of pharmacies per district
• Average number of household pets
• Annual rainfall levels

Correct Answer: Incidence of diarrhoeal diseases per 1,000 population

Q26. Which intervention helps reduce child exposure to faecal matter in households with animals?

• Allowing animals inside living spaces at night
• Designated animal enclosures and separating animal and child play areas
• Feeding animals near household water storage
• Encouraging free-range animal defecation near the house

Correct Answer: Designated animal enclosures and separating animal and child play areas

Q27. Which of the following correctly describes ‘improved sanitation facility’ as per WHO/UNICEF JMP?

• Private or shared facility that hygienically separates excreta from human contact, such as a flush toilet to piped sewer system or pit latrine with slab
• Any open field used for defecation
• Bucket emptied into open drain
• Unlined pit with no slab or platform

Correct Answer: Private or shared facility that hygienically separates excreta from human contact, such as a flush toilet to piped sewer system or pit latrine with slab

Q28. What role does environmental surveillance of wastewater play in rural sanitation efforts?

• It replaces clinical surveillance completely
• It helps detect pathogens circulation and antimicrobial resistance trends at community level
• It is used only for measuring chemical toxins
• It is irrelevant to public health

Correct Answer: It helps detect pathogens circulation and antimicrobial resistance trends at community level

Q29. Which point-of-use filter characteristic is most important for reliably removing bacteria from drinking water?

• Filter pore size small enough to exclude bacteria (e.g., 0.2–1 micron) and regular maintenance
• Brightly colored housing only
• Large pore size to allow faster flow
• No replacement or cleaning required for years

Correct Answer: Filter pore size small enough to exclude bacteria (e.g., 0.2–1 micron) and regular maintenance

Q30. Which community-level measure most effectively sustains long-term hygiene improvements?

• One-time distribution of hygiene kits without follow-up
• Continuous health education, local leadership, and monitoring with community participation
• Strict external enforcement without local engagement
• Only infrastructure construction without behavioral interventions

Correct Answer: Continuous health education, local leadership, and monitoring with community participation

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