What point-of-use water treatment products do consumers use? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial among the urban poor in Bangladesh.
PLoS One
; 6(10): e26132, 2011.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22028817
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
There is evidence that household point-of-use (POU) water treatment products can reduce the enormous burden of water-borne illness. Nevertheless, adoption among the global poor is very low, and little evidence exists on why.METHODS:
We gave 600 households in poor communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh randomly-ordered two-month free trials of four water treatment products dilute liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite solution, marketed locally as Water Guard), sodium dichloroisocyanurate tablets (branded as Aquatabs), a combined flocculant-disinfectant powdered mixture (the PUR Purifier of Water), and a silver-coated ceramic siphon filter. Consumers also received education on the dangers of untreated drinking water. We measured which products consumers used with self-reports, observation (for the filter), and chlorine tests (for the other products). We also measured drinking water's contamination with E. coli (compared to 200 control households).FINDINGS:
Households reported highest usage of the filter, although no product had even 30% usage. E. coli concentrations in stored drinking water were generally lowest when households had Water Guard. Households that self-reported product usage had large reductions in E. coli concentrations with any product as compared to controls.CONCLUSION:
Traditional arguments for the low adoption of POU products focus on affordability, consumers' lack of information about germs and the dangers of unsafe water, and specific products not meshing with a household's preferences. In this study we provided free trials, repeated informational messages explaining the dangers of untreated water, and a variety of product designs. The low usage of all products despite such efforts makes clear that important barriers exist beyond cost, information, and variation among these four product designs. Without a better understanding of the choices and aspirations of the target end-users, household-based water treatment is unlikely to reduce morbidity and mortality substantially in urban Bangladesh and similar populations.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pobreza
/
Água Potável
/
Cidades
/
Purificação da Água
/
Comportamento do Consumidor
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
Limite:
Humans
País como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article