Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, H: Environment & Earth Science, Volume 22 Issue 1

The District covers a surface area with a landmass of 2,714squarekilometres. There are three (3) Area Councils in the District Namely Sang, Kpabia, and Jimle. The District has 20 Electoral Areas and 171 communities. Mean annual rainfall for the district is 715mm. The raining season rainfall for the district is from April to October while the dry season is from November to March. Temperature ranges between 21 0 C- 40 0 C giving rise to high temperature range. The climate of the district is the guinea savannah type. The degraded savannah type of vegetation is found around settlements and heavily cultivated areas. The rampant and extensive bush burning is having an adverse effect on the vegetation and consequently the climate. High temperatures make the environment uncomfortable for both biotic and abiotic organisms to function effectively. Economic trees in the district include Shea trees, Dawadawa, Mango and Cashew. The rock type is sedimentary and predominantly voltarian sandstone, shales and mudstones. The soils derived from the rocks range from laterite, ochrosols, sandy soils, alluvial soils and clay. The organic content of the soils is low and increasingly worsened by the extensive bush burning and bad agricultural practices. This to a large extent accounts for the low yield per acre of crops and its consequent food shortage during the dry or lean season in the district. The population of the District is 81,812 (GSS, 2012) and is varied in terms of ethnicity with the Dagomba constituting the majority. The other ethnic groups include Konkomba, Akan, Ewe, Basare, Moshie, Chokosi and Hausa. The population is largely rural. About 92.0% live in the rural areas while 8.0% are in towns. The population growth rate is approximately 2.9% per annum. Some of the major towns in the District include: Sang, Sambu, Jimle, Kpabia, Zakpalsi and Sakpe. The main religious groupings are Moslems, Christians and Traditionalists. Migration pattern is more pronounced among the youth and especially female girls who basically travel down south to engage in menial jobs popularly called ‘Kayaye’. Out migration by young girls exposes them to all forms of sexual abuse and low female school enrolment or high dropouts. The state of environmental sanitation in the district is improving; however, a lot more needs to be done. Out of the total refuse generated, about 51% of it is collected but not dispose of properly. Meanwhile, most houses in the high density areas lack toilet facilities and drains. With regard to excreta disposal management, the 2014 regional analysis of the 2010 population and housing census indicates that, 41.6% of the population in the district have access to improved toilet due to the implementation of the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) whiles 58.4% are sharing and use unimproved sources of toilet such as public toilet (GSS, 2014). c) Sample Size The total households of Mion District stand at 7,139 and the average household size is 9.3 and there are three (3) Area Councils in the District namely Jimle, Sang and Kpabia (GSS, 2012). A sample size of 225 was selected from each of the area councils. d) Determination of Sample Size This study employed multiple stages. First of all, simple random sampling was used to select 20 ODF communities from the Mion District Assembly for the study (Table 1). These communities were selected because they were part of those communities in which community led total sanitation (CLTS) is been implemented in the district and therefore have knowledge regarding the implementation of the CLTS and what open defecation free (ODF) communities are. Also, these communities were selected because of the willingness of the community members to respond to the survey questionnaire and above all the accessibility of the researcher to the community leaders to assist in the mobilization of the heads of households. Secondly a formula for determining sample size given by (Krejcie and Morgan, 1970) was used to determine the sample size of 225 respondents from a population of 542 household heads. Thus: S=X 2 NP(1-P)/d 2 (N-1)+X 2 P(1-P) … ...(1) Where: S=required sample size X 2 = The table value of Chi-square for 1 degree of freedom at desired confidence interval (3.841 or 1.96×1.96) N=the population size=542 P=the population proportion (Assumed to be 0.5 since this would provide the maximum sample size) S=3.841(542)(0.5)(1-0.5)/(0.05) 2 (542 - 1)+(3.841)(0.5)(1- 0.5) S=520.4555/1.3525+0.96025 S=520.4555/2.31275 S=225.0375 S=225 © 2022 Global Journals 1 Year 2022 30 Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXII Issue ersion I VI ( H ) d=the degree of accuracy expressed as a proportion (0.05). From the information above; Thirdly, the sample size of 225 respondents was proportionally distributed to the communities based on the total number of households as given by the Mion District Assembly. The sample frame and the sample size of the communities are shown in table 1. Assessing the Determinants of Open Defecation Free Communities b ased on the Socio-Demographic and Economic Status of Household Heads in the Mion District of Northern Region, Ghana