The government of Ethiopia has been working in creating and increasing the number of open defecation free kebeles as a strategy of improving sanitation coverage in the country. However, apart from increasing sanitation coverage, data on utilization of the constructed latrines was not well investigated. Therefore, the study objective was to assess the latrine utilization coverage of the kebeles who have already declared open defecation free. Community-based cross-sectional study design with multistage sampling technique was employed. Data were checked, coded and entered into EpiInfo version 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression model were fitted to identify factors associated with latrine utilization. Odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was used as a measure of association. Eighty-three percent of the dwellers utilized their latrine. The odds of latrine utilization was higher among households which had latrine constructed after 2 years [AOR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.23, 4.19], maintained latrine [AOR: 2.71; 95% CI: 1.61, 4.55], and had under-five children [AOR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.24, 3.26]. However, households which had latrine constructed from wood and plastic [AOR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.81] and who constructed their latrine looking at their friends [AOR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.68] were less likely to use their latrine. The extent of latrine utilization is high in the community. Further strengthening of implementation modalities giving due consideration for the aforementioned factors is highly recommended. 

 

Key words: Latrine utilization, open defecation free, cross sectional, Ethiopia.