Assessment of the relationship between water insecurity, hygiene practices, and incidence of diarrhea among children from rural households of the Menoua Division, West Cameroon

Abstract

The objectives of a cross-sectional, semi-quantitative study were to: i) assess the prevalence of water insecurity and its association with water access-related behaviors such as time, distance, and sources of water; ii) identify major themes of concern raised in reference to anxiety, water quality/quantity, and perceived health risk domains of water insecurity, and; iii) examine the relationship between water insecurity, hygiene practices, and diarrhea lincidence among children in rural areas of the Menoua Division in the Western Region of Cameroon In-person interviews were conducted with 18 years or older women living with at least one child between 2 and 5 years old (n=134). Participants spent on average 17±12 minutes walking to a drinking water source. Prevalence of water insecurity was 58%, and it was associated with a lower hygiene score among caretakers, i.e., hygiene score of water secure: 9.2±1.2 vs. insecure: 8.2±2.2, F(1, 132)=8.096, P<0.01). Overall, the incidence of diarrhea among children was 18%, and it was significantly higher among water insecure house-holds (79%) compared with secure house-holds (21%, P=0.02). In conclusion, access to improved sources of water is an issue in rural areas. Addressing water insecurity is critical in promoting optimal health and development of children due to its association with poor hygiene practices among caretakers.

A Qualitative Examination of Water Access and Related Coping Behaviors to Understand Its Link to Food Insecurity among Rural Households in the West Region in Cameroon

“…All three discussions took place in a private setting on different days and were conducted in French by the primary author fluent in the language. The results of previous research conducted in the study area [22,23] and water access-related literature were used to develop the discussion guide. In alignment with the study objectives, the FGD was divided into two sections: (1) water access, its management, and daily water use; and, (2) changes in behavior and strategies used at the household level to manage limited water access.…”

“…The triangulation strategy was used involving different data collection techniques (FGD vs. KII) and different individuals analyzing the data. The authors also used observations and results of the previous research [22,23] in the study area in order to validate the data of the current study.…”

Development of water insecurity scale for rural households in Cameroon- Central Africa

“…Based on the findings from previous water access-related studies conducted in the study area [ 25 , 26 ] and existing household water insecurity scales literature [ 6 ], questions for the FGDs were designed.…”

The toll of household water insecurity on health and human biology: Current understandings and future directions

“…Hadley and Freeman used a locally tailored scale in Ethiopia and found that each point increase in water insecurity was associated with a 20% increase in the odds of diarrheal prevalence for children under 5 years of age (Hadley & Freeman, 2016). Nounkeu and colleagues used a 6‐item water insecurity scale and found that children in those households classified as water insecure were more likely to report diarrhea than children from water secure households (Nounkeu et al, 2019). Rosinger created a locally appropriate household water insecurity scale in Lowland Bolivia and found that high water insecurity was associated with nine times the odds of diarrhea following a catastrophic flood for adults, but not significantly higher for children, compared to those from low water insecurity households (Rosinger, 2018).…”