Assessing the Impact of a School-based Safe Water Intervention on Household Adoption of Point-of-Use Water Treatment Practices in Southern India

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Matthew Freeman, Emory University; Thomas Clasen, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2011-03-04
• Publisher: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: ©The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• ISSN: 0002-9637
• Volume: 84
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 370
• End Page: 378
• Grant/Funding Information: The cost of this assessment was paid by HUL, though the sponsoring agency did not play a role in data collection or analysis.; Matthew Freeman and Thomas Clasen are members of the staff of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which receives funding for research from both UNICEF and HUL.
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

We assessed a pilot project by UNICEF and Hindustan Unilever Limited to improve the quality of drinking water for children in schools through adoption of improved drinking water practices among households in southern India. The intervention consisted of providing classrooms of 200 schools a commercial water purifier, and providing basic hygiene and water treatment information to students, parents, and teachers. We found no evidence that the intervention was effective in improving awareness or uptake of effective water treatment practices at home. A similar proportion of household members in the intervention and control groups boiled their water (P = 0.60), used a ceramic filtration system (P = 0.33), and used a cloth filter (P = 0.89). One year after the launch of the campaign, household ownership of the commercial purifier promoted at schools was higher in the intervention group (26%) than the control group (19%), but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.53).