Development and Validation of a Photo‐Evidence Tool to Examine Characteristics of Effective Drinking Water Access in Schools

Abstract

BACKGROUND Federal law requires water access in schools where meals are served. Schools report high rates of water accessibility in cafeterias, but observations indicate lower adherence. Although observation is costly, it permits a more detailed assessment of a water source to determine whether it provides effective access that encourages water consumption and thus, healthy hydration for students. METHODS To offer a less costly alternative to observations, researchers developed and validated a photo‐evidence tool to examine characteristics of effective school drinking water access. Two observers recorded characteristics of 200 water sources in 30 schools, including type, wear, cleanliness, and water flow, and examined obstructions and beverage promotion near sources, as well as, drinking vessel availability. Observers photographed sources which were coded by a separate research team. Agreement between observation audits and photograph coding was assessed through percent agreement, and kappa statistics and correlation coefficients. RESULTS Kappas indicated substantial (K > 0.60) or near perfect agreement (K > 0.80) for all characteristics of effective drinking water access with exception of wear. There was moderate agreement (r = 0.66) for water source cleanliness. CONCLUSIONS Development and validation of a photo‐evidence tool to examine characteristics of effective drinking water access in schools.

Go-Brown, Go-Green and smart initiatives implemented by the University of Delhi for environmental sustainability towards futuristic smart universities: Observational study

“… Water: The current practice in DU colleges is mandatory installation of hydration-stations, few measures to implement harvesting rainwater systems and none for smart water resulting in water wastage. Go-Brown aims to make free drinking water available to students through hydration-stations like, “Water-Coolers” or “Water-Fountains”, thus reducing the need for single-use plastic bottles [ 16 ]. As per WEF, 90% of single-use plastic bottles contain tiny pieces of plastic; thus, hydration-stations will protect the health of students.…”

“…Go-Brown aims to make free drinking water available to students through hydration-stations like, “Water-Coolers” or “Water-Fountains”, thus reducing the need for single-use plastic bottles [ 16 ]. As per WEF, 90% of single-use plastic bottles contain tiny pieces of plastic; thus, hydration-stations will protect the health of students.…”

A randomized trial of a multi-level intervention to increase water access and appeal in community recreation centers

“…A survey was developed for the current study to measure key aspects of fountain maintenance including removal of trash, food/gum, graffiti, dust/dirt, and bodily secretions as well as fountain clogging and flooding based on previous research measuring these aspects of fountain cleanliness (21). Center liaisons or maintenance staff responded to eight questions about the previous week on a 4-point scale (i.e., everyday, three to four times, once or twice, or never) indicating how often they had to perform the various maintenance cleanliness tasks.…”

Preschool teachers display a flexible pattern of pedagogical actions in promoting healthy habits in children

“…It has been used as a source of data to analyze healthy eating within schools ( Bélanger et al, 2016 ), to compare the nutritional quality of morning snacks ( Bucher Della Torre et al, 2021 ), to measure what students at elementary schools select and consume from school cafeteria meals ( Swanson, 2008 ), and to evaluate what items children chose from the salad bar at schools ( Moreno-Black and Stockard, 2018 ). Photography has also been applied to examine the characteristics of effective drinking water access in schools ( Patel et al, 2020 ).…”