Socio-Economic Factors Related to Drinking Water Source and Sanitation in Malaysia

Assessment of Safe Drinking Water Handling Practices in Households of Northern India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Waterborne diseases are the most common form of infectious disease, spreading from contaminated water, especially in a developed country. These diseases are a major concern for the environment and public health. The living conditions in developing countries like India affect the water-handling practices, which make the population vulnerable to waterborne diseases. The inability to access safe drinking water also adds to this. Water safety for a community relies on water collection, treatment, storage, and handling in the household setting. Therefore, the burden of waterborne disease can be reduced by treating point-of-use drinking water, including improving handling and transport. Objectives The aim was to assess the safe drinking water handling practices in households. The objectives were to assess the safe drinking water-handling practices, namely, treatment, storage, lid status of the storage vessel, and water drawing technique, and to estimate the sources of safe drinking water. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Etawah district on a total of 312 eldest female family members actively working in the kitchen. Descriptive analysis and Chi-Square test were applied to the collected data and a p-value <0.05 at 95% confidence interval (CI) was taken as statistically significant. Results Overall, 135 (85.9%) households in urban areas relied on public supply. However, in rural areas mostly 130 (83%) households depended on private supply. In water-handling practices, 276 (88.4%) used some method to purify drinking water, a total of 209 (67%) households kept the lid of the storage container covered, and 249 (79.8%) households drew water either by pouring or scooping with a long handle. Conclusion The study concluded that both private and public sources were used for drinking water. Regarding water-handling practices, most households drank purified water, kept their containers covered, and drew water either by scooping or pouring from storage containers. Those who drank purified water mostly belonged to nuclear families and had private sources of drinking water.

The environmental occurrence, fate, and risks of 25 endocrine disruptors in Slovenian waters

Natural hormones, synthetic steroids and bisphenols are among the most active endocrine disruptors (EDs) in the aquatic environment, with great potential for causing adverse effects in aquatic organisms and humans. In this study, a focused group of 25 potent estrogenic and other ED compounds were simultaneously measured in wastewaters (WWs) and receiving surface waters (SWs) before and after wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), where their removal efficiency was also estimated. Up to 16 of 25 EDs were successfully quantified in SWs and WWs, with bisphenols BPS, BPA, and BPF together with estriol and chlormadinone being the most prevalent with the highest measured concentrations of up to 35 μg/L in WWs and 400 ng/L in SWs. High load and insufficient removal of these substances by WWTPs lead to a significant increase in their concentrations in the receiving SWs downstream, while other sources could be responsible for an important portion of river contamination with EDs. Removal efficiency was very good for most EDs, although only from 0 to 44 % for E2, which shows a need for the improvement of current removal techniques. E2 and EE2 contribute the most to the alarmingly high risks of the total ED estrogenic potential, with the value increased by 36 % in SWs downstream from WWTPs, and the RQ value for the total estrogenic potential in individual SW samples being three orders of magnitude higher than that representing high risk. An additional comprehensive multi-parameter risk assessment determined high risk quotient and priority index values for BPA, E2, BPS and E1 with values of up to 450 in SWs. Our results show a focused insight into the risks associated with an important group of EDs and the role of WWTPs, while further highlighting the importance of regular monitoring of the environmental occurrence and risks of a focused range of EDs.

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and drinking water contamination risk levels in households of Bishoftu Town, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Background and Aims

Access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene is a fundamental human right and essential to control infectious diseases. However, many countries, including Ethiopia, do not have adequate data to report on basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Although contaminated drinking water spreads diseases like cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, and dysentery, studies on drinking water contamination risk levels in households are limited in Ethiopia. Therefore, closing this gap needs investigation.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 5350 households were included. A systematic, simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The information was gathered through in-person interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Furthermore, 1070 drinking water samples were collected from household water storage.

Results

This investigation revealed that 9.8%, 83.9%, and 4.9% of households used limited, basic, and safely managed drinking water services, respectively. Besides, 10.2%, 15.7% and 59.3% of households used safely managed, basic and limited sanitation services, respectively. Yet, 10.6% and 4.2% of households used unimproved sanitation facilities and open defecation practices. Also, 40.5% and 19.4% of households used limited and basic hygiene services. On the other hand, 40.1% of households lacked functional handwashing facilities. In this study, 12.1%, 26.3%, and 42% of households' drinking water samples were positive for Escherichia coli, fecal coliforms, and total coliforms, respectively. Also, 5.1% and 4.5% of households' drinking water samples had very high and high contamination risk levels for E. coli, respectively. We found that 2.5% and 11.5% of households and water distributors had unacceptable fluoride concentrations, respectively.

Conclusion

The majority of households in Bishoftu town lack access to safely managed sanitation, drinking water, and basic hygiene services. Many households' water samples had very high and high health risk levels. Hence, the government and partner organizations should implement water and sanitation safety plans.

Estimation of Access to Safe Drinking Water to Households in Etawah District: A Cross-Sectional Study

CONTEXT

Unsafe drinking water causes diarrheal disease and environmental enteropathy. The quality of water is determined by its physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Water sources have a significant impact on household members' health, particularly children. To combat this, India is committed to providing household tap connections to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water with the "Jal Jeevan Mission."

AIMS

This study aims to estimate the access to safe drinking water and the physical and chemical qualities of water (qualitatively) in the urban and rural areas of Etawah district, India.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Etawah district from January 2020 to December 2021. The study subjects were the eldest female of the family. A total of 312 females were included. The data collected were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25 (released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) for descriptive analysis.

RESULTS

In the present study, 76.3% (238/312) of households in the urban and rural areas had access to safe drinking water (here, the meaning of the word "safe" is based on its operational definition). A total of 130 (83.3%) households in rural areas and only 21 (13.5%) in urban areas had private supply as the primary water source. The physical and chemical qualities of water were within the requirement (acceptable limit) and permissible limit in all the study areas, so the water is considered safe for drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reported that 76.3% (238) households had access to safe drinking water according to the operational definition. The major public source of drinking water was public-supplied tap water, and in private sources, submersible or boreholes were the most common.

Methods in Public Health Environmental Justice Research: a Scoping Review from 2018 to 2021

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The volume of public health environmental justice (EJ) research produced by academic institutions increased through 2022. However, the methods used for evaluating EJ in exposure science and epidemiologic studies have not been catalogued. Here, we completed a scoping review of EJ studies published in 19 environmental science and epidemiologic journals from 2018 to 2021 to summarize research types, frameworks, and methods.

RECENT FINDINGS

We identified 402 articles that included populations with health disparities as a part of EJ research question and met other inclusion criteria. Most studies (60%) evaluated EJ questions related to socioeconomic status (SES) or race/ethnicity. EJ studies took place in 69 countries, led by the US (n = 246 [61%]). Only 50% of studies explicitly described a theoretical EJ framework in the background, methods, or discussion and just 10% explicitly stated a framework in all three sections. Among exposure studies, the most common area-level exposure was air pollution (40%), whereas chemicals predominated personal exposure studies (35%). Overall, the most common method used for exposure-only EJ analyses was main effect regression modeling (50%); for epidemiologic studies the most common method was effect modification (58%), where an analysis evaluated a health disparity variable as an effect modifier. Based on the results of this scoping review, current methods in public health EJ studies could be bolstered by integrating expertise from other fields (e.g., sociology), conducting community-based participatory research and intervention studies, and using more rigorous, theory-based, and solution-oriented statistical research methods.

A multilevel analysis of improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia: Using 2019 Ethiopia mini demographic and health survey

Background

Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is an important element for communicable disease control including the existing COVID-19 pandemic. This is due to the growing water demand and decreasing water availability, because of shrinking resources, increased urbanization, and pollution. This problem is higher, particularly among least developed countries like Ethiopia. This study, therefore, aimed at investigating the level of improved water sources and sanitation as well as their predictors in Ethiopia using EMDHS-2019.

Method

Mini Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys 2019 database survey was used in this study. Data collection took place over 3 months, from 21 March 2019 to 28 June 2019. A total of 9,150 households were selected for the sample, of which 8,794 were engaged. Among involved households, 8,663 were successfully interviewed at a response rate of 99%. The dependent variables measured in this study were improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities. Due to the nested nature of DHS data, multilevel binary logistic regression analysis was done using Stata-16.

Results

The majority (72.62%) of household heads were men, and 69.47% of participants were from rural areas. Close to half (47.65%) of study participants did not have any form of formal education, while the lowest proportion (9.89%) of them had higher education. Approximately 71.74 and 27.45% of the households have accessed improved water sources and sanitation, respectively. Based on the final model results, wealth index, educational status, and having a television individual-level variables while community-level poverty, community-level education, community-level media exposure, and place of residence were statistically significant predictors of getting improved water source and sanitation.

Conclusion

The level of access to improved water sources is moderate but it lacks progress, while access to improved sanitation was lower. Based on these findings, great improvements should be made in providing access to an improved water source and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia. Based on these findings, great improvements should be made in providing access to improved water source and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia.

Access to basic drinking water services, safe water storage, and household water treatment practice in rural communities of northwest Ethiopia

Protecting water from cross contamination at source and point of use is an important strategy to improve water quality. However, water safety measures at the source and point of use may not be implemented in the rural communities. This community-based cross-sectional study was, therefore, conducted among 1190 randomly selected households in a rural setting of northwest Ethiopia to assess access to basic drinking water services, safe water storage, and household water treatment practices. Water service level was determined using JMP criteria and practices that prevent cross contamination of water at point of use were used to determine safe water storage. Results showed that 23.0% of the households had access to basic water services; 37.0% practiced safe water storage; and 15.4% practiced one or more household water treatment methods. Public taps (54.5%) and protected spring (25.1%) were the common water sources to rural communities in northwest Ethiopia. Boiling (43.2%), chlorination or water guard (26.8%), and plain sedimentation (23.0%) were among the household water treatment methods commonly practiced in the area. In conclusion, rural households in the studied region has low access to basic water services. Safe water storage practice was also low in the area and household water treatment is not commonly practiced.

Household access to basic drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities: secondary analysis of data from the demographic and health survey V, 2017-2018

BACKGROUND

In Benin, access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remains an issue. This study aims to provide an overview of household access to basic WASH services based on nationally representative data.

METHOD

Secondary analyses were run using the 'HOUSEHOLD' dataset of the fifth Demographic and Health Survey 2017-2018. The dependent variables were household access to individual and combined basic WASH services. The characteristics of the household head and those related to the composition, wealth and environment of the household were independent variables. After a descriptive analysis of all study variables, multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of outcome variables.

RESULTS

The study included 14,156 households. Of these, 63.98% (95% CI = 61.63-66.26), 13.28% (95% CI = 12.10-14.57) and 10.11% (95% CI = 9.19-11.11) had access to individual basic water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, respectively. Also, 3% (95% CI = 2.53-3.56) of households had access to combined basic WASH services. Overall, the richest households and few, and those headed by people aged 30 and over, female and with higher levels of education, were the most likely to have access to individual and combined basic WASH services. In addition, disparities based on the department of residence were observed.

CONCLUSION

The authors suggest a multifactorial approach that addresses the identified determinants.

The Health-Seeking Behavior among Malaysian Adults in Urban and Rural Areas Who Reported Sickness: Findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019

Understanding care-seeking behavior among urban and rural populations can help to support the planning and implementation of appropriate measures to improve health in the community. This study aims to determine the factors associated with the health-seeking behavior among Malaysian adults in urban and rural areas who reported sickness. This study used data of Malaysian adults aged 18 years and over from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019; a cross-sectional, national household survey that targeted all non-institutionalized residents in Malaysia. Respondent’s characteristics and health-seeking behavior were described using complex sample descriptive statistics. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between potential factors (sociodemographic characteristics, enabling, and health need) and health-seeking behaviors (seeking treatment from healthcare practitioners and self-medication). A total of 10,484 respondents, estimated to represent 18.9 million Malaysian adults aged 18 years and over, were included in the analysis. Prevalence of seeking treatment from healthcare practitioners and self-medication among Malaysian adults with self-reported sickness were 57.3% and 23.3%, respectively. Self-reported sickness among both the urban and rural populations who rated their health as poor to very poor was more likely to seek treatment than those who rated good to excellent. However, among the urban population, those who rated their health as poor to very poor were less likely to self-medicate. Among the urban population, government employees were more likely to seek treatment, and being without formal education significantly increased the likelihood to self-medicate. Among the rural population, those with at least one long-term condition were more likely to seek treatment than those with none. Understanding the factors which influence health-seeking behavior among the urban and rural population could close the gaps in healthcare utilization among the population in Malaysia.