Vol. 2, Issue 1, Part A (2025)

This research examines the influence of community nurse‑led cleanliness drives on waste‑segregation behaviour in semi‑urban slum settings. In many developing‑country contexts, informal settlements or slums exhibit low rates of source segregation of household waste, contributing to inadequate municipal waste‑management services, environmental degradation and public‑health risks. Past research has highlighted the capacity of nurse‑led sanitation education to improve hygiene and sanitation practices in slum populations ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}. Meanwhile, investigations into household waste‑segregation behaviour emphasise the roles of awareness, motivational drivers, reuse habits and community‑based institutional support ^{[5, 6, 7, 8, 9]}. Yet few studies have specifically assessed structured, nurse‑facilitated cleanliness drives targeting waste‑segregation in semi‑urban slum populations. The objectives of the present research are:

(1) To evaluate changes in households’ self‑reported waste‑segregation behaviour following nurse‑led cleanliness drives;

(2) To compare segregation behaviour between intervention and control slum clusters; and

(3) To identify which dimensions of the intervention (nurse education, practical demonstrations, community‑monitoring) are most strongly associated with behavioural change.

We hypothesise that households in slums exposed to nurse‑led cleanliness drives will show significantly higher levels of waste‑segregation behaviour compared with those unexposed, and that the magnitude of behaviour change will correlate with the intensity of nurse‑community engagement. Data were collected from two semi‑urban slum settlements, with one serving as the intervention cluster (cleanliness drives led by community‑health nurses working with local volunteers) and the other as the control (no specific nurse‑led intervention). Pre‑ and post‑intervention surveys measured key outcome variables including separate disposal of wet and dry waste, use of colour‑coded bins, and participation in community‑cleanup sessions. The findings are expected to inform waste‑management policy for low‑income urban areas and demonstrate the potential of nurse‑led community engagement in improving sustainable‑waste practices.