Identifying appropriate sanitation for near-coastal communities in Vizhinjam (Kerala, India) adopting the sanitation-approach framework

The 'sanitation approach' is a framework developed to understand the nature of psychosocio-economic influences that determine the societal approach to sanitation. It refers to the perception, feel, and practices involved in satisfying the primal need to defecate and urinate (and their disposal). This framework facilitates the identification and provision of appropriate/improved sanitation facilities keeping in mind appropriate resource availability and use, environmental consonance, usability/acceptability, and sustainability for a specific community. This paper evaluates and assesses the robustness and applicability of the sanitation-approach framework by establishing the relevance and significance of each of its factors on the community's sanitation practices. Appropriate strategies for improved sanitation have been identified. Five wards in a fisher community located in Vizhinjam in Kerala (India) have been chosen as the case study to evaluate the framework. Besides a brief on the sanitation-approach structure, the paper utilizes a detailed study methodology for adopting the sanitation approach in five wards.  [authors abstract]