Using a unique combination of ethnographic methods, healthcare facility chart reviews, and individual waterborne parasite tests, the health impacts of providing water treatment systems for communities in Uganda are compared to the impact measured using identical water technology and similar research methods in Honduras. While self-reported diarrhea rates improved in the Ugandan test communities when compared to controls, no significant impact was detected in any of the other measures. This contrasts sharply with findings in Honduras where all measures demonstrated statistically significant improvement after installation of identical water treatment systems. Ongoing ethnographic work reveals that knowledge of waterborne pathogens was universal in both Uganda and Honduras while practices related to water consumption varied greatly. Additional factors effecting these outcomes will be discussed.
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Research Article|
November 17 2014
A multidimensional measurement of the health impact of community-based water treatment systems in Uganda
Jeffery L. Deal;
1Water Missions International, 2049 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407, USA
E-mail: jldeal@comcast.net
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Henry Massa;
Henry Massa
2Water Missions Uganda, Jinja, Uganda
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Kristen Check;
Kristen Check
3Rule of Law Collaborative, University of South Carolina, USA
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Christiana Naaktgeboren;
Christiana Naaktgeboren
4University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Alyson M. Malone;
Alyson M. Malone
5The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
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Jeffrey Rozelle
Jeffrey Rozelle
6Department of Psychology, Taylor University, USA
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Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development (2015) 5 (1): 1–8.
Article history
Received:
May 20 2014
Accepted:
October 25 2014
Citation
Jeffery L. Deal, Henry Massa, Kristen Check, Christiana Naaktgeboren, Alyson M. Malone, Jeffrey Rozelle; A multidimensional measurement of the health impact of community-based water treatment systems in Uganda. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development 1 March 2015; 5 (1): 1–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2014.184
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