 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Robert Quick, MD, MPH, Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 North Clifton Road, MS-38, Atlanta, GA 30333, 404/639-2206, rxq1@cdc.gov
In response to the Latin American cholera epidemic in the 1990’s, CDC and PAHO/WHO developed the Safe Water System (SWS), an intervention with 3 elements: water disinfection with locally-produced dilute bleach, safe water storage, and behavior change techniques, such as social marketing, community mobilization, and motivational interviewing. Field trials of the SWS in households in Latin America, Africa, and Asia have demonstrated a consistent reduced risk of diarrhea of 40-60% when compared to households using traditional water handling methods. In partnership with Population Services International (PSI), social marketing has been used to scale up SWS projects to increase access and generate demand; 5 PSI-CDC projects are national in scope. Community mobilization methods employed by CARE resulted in short term SWS product adoption rates of 60% in project households in rural Western Kenya. Motivational interviewing techniques developed by the Medical University of South Carolina resulted in short term SWS product adoption rates of 78% in a peri-urban community in Zambia. When behavior change techniques are not used in projects, product adoption rates are extremely low. Behavior change methods are a critical component of SWS projects. Several major issues are a current focus of research: 1) which behavior change methods are optimal in terms of effectiveness and cost; 2) which strategies motivate sustained behavior change; 3) which methods are most effective for people living at the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid; and 4) which behavior change approaches best facilitate incorporating effective handwashing and sanitation into SWS projects.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Behavior Modification, Diarrhea
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.