Ten Environmental Sustainability Initiatives for Implementation in Human-Service Organizations.

Climate change is happening at an escalating rate. Every organization, including human-service organizations, needs to determine how their policies and practices positively and negatively affect the environment and enact a plan for reducing their negative impacts. There is no targeted guidance for leaders of human-service organizations, like applied behavior analysis organizations, to reduce their negative impact on the environment. This article provides 10 initiatives human service organizations can implement toward this goal.

Diarrhea prevalence in a randomized, controlled prospective trial of point-of-use water filters in homes and schools in the Dominican Republic.

BACKGROUND: Lack of sustainable access to clean drinking water continues to be an issue of paramount global importance, leading to millions of preventable deaths annually. Best practices for providing sustainable access to clean drinking water, however, remain unclear. Widespread installation of low-cost, in-home, point of use water filtration systems is a promising strategy. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled trial whereby 16 villages were selected and randomly assigned to one of four treatment arms based on the installation location of Sawyer® PointONE™ filters (filter in both home and school; filter in home only; filter in school only; control group). Water samples and self-reported information on diarrhea were collected at multiple times throughout the study. RESULTS: Self-reported household prevalence of diarrhea decreased from 25.6 to 9.76% from installation to follow-up (at least 7 days, and up to 200 days post-filter installation). These declines were also observed in diarrhea with economic or educational consequences (diarrhea which led to medical treatment and/or missing school or work) with baseline prevalence of 9.64% declining to 1.57%. Decreases in diarrhea prevalence were observed across age groups. There was no evidence of a loss of efficacy of filters up to 200 days post-filter installation. Installation of filters in schools was not associated with decreases in diarrhea prevalence in school-aged children or family members. Unfiltered water samples both at schools and homes contained potential waterborne bacterial pathogens, dissolved heavy metals and metals associated with particulates. All dissolved metals were detected at levels below World Health Organization action guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: This controlled trial provides strong evidence of the effectiveness of point-of-use, hollow fiber membrane filters at reducing diarrhea from bacterial sources up to 200 days post-installation when installed in homes. No statistically significant reduction in diarrhea was found when filters were installed in schools. Further research is needed in order to explore filter efficacy and utilization after 200 days post-installation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03972618 . Registered 3 June 2019-retrospectively registered.

Adult correlates of adverse childhood experiences in Ukraine.

BACKGROUND: The impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adult life outcomes is well-documented by a considerable body of research. This study investigates the relationship between ACEs and both physical and mental health outcomes in a nationally representative sample of Ukrainian adults. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze whether ACEs are associated with lifetime physical and mental health outcomes in a nationally representative sample of Ukrainian adults. Participants and Setting In 2002, the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) was administered to a national probability sample of Ukrainian adults (n = 4725). METHODS: Associations between ACEs and later life physical and mental health outcomes are examined using logistic regression models. RESULTS: ACEs were significantly correlated with poor later life mental and physical health. Participants with three or more ACEs were most likely to have chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, other disease, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, and all disability metrics analyzed. Adjusted odds ratios for these models ranged from 1.80 to 3.81. Additionally, we found a large association between the number of ACES and later negative health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that in Ukraine, ACEs have a strong negative effect on later life mental and physical health. Further research is needed to explore specific ACEs and examine potential mediators such as social support in the relationship between ACEs and health outcomes.

Evaluating the efficacy of point-of-use water filtration units in Fiji.

BACKGROUND: To develop and evaluate a strategy for reducing the prevalence and impact of waterborne disease, a water quality intervention was developed for Fiji by Give Clean Water, Inc. in partnership with the Fiji Ministry of Health. Residents were provided and trained on how to use a Sawyer® PointONE™ filter, while also being taught proper handwashing techniques. At the time of the filter installation, all households were surveyed inquiring about the prior 2- to 4-week period. Households were measured a second time between 19 and 225 days later (mean = 66 days). RESULTS: To date, five economic and health outcomes have been tracked on 503 households to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention. When comparing baseline to follow-up among the 503 households, the 2-week diarrhea prevalence decreased in households from 17.5% at baseline to 1.8% at follow-up. Also, the 2-week prevalence of severe diarrhea decreased per household from 9.7% at baseline to 0.6% at follow-up. Finally, monthly diarrhea-related medical costs reduced by an average of Fijian (FJ) $3.54 per person, and monthly water expenses reduced by FJ $0.63 per person. All estimated values are obtained from general linear and logistic mixed-effect models, which adjusted for location, season, time to follow-up, household size, water source, and respondent changing. Changes in economic and health outcomes from installation to follow-up were statistically significant (p < 0.05) in all cases, in both unadjusted and adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS: The installation of water filters shows promise for the reduction of diarrhea prevalence in Fiji, as well as the reduction of diarrhea-related medical costs and water expenses. Future work entails evaluation in other countries and contexts, long-term health monitoring, and comparison to alternative water quality interventions.