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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Ryan Gene Gaia Sinclair, MPH and Andrew Englande, PhD PE. Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University SPH&TM, Suite 2131, 1440 Canal St., Tidewater Place, New Orleans, LA 70112, 5049880503, rsinclai@tulane.edu

In many countries, the burden of diarrhea disease remains as one of the biggest obstacles to quality of life. Fortunately, many recent interventions have demonstrated that a significant reduction in diarrhea disease incidence is possible with a point-of-use water treatment system. This study monitors changes in diarrhea disease period prevalence among a rural population using solar disinfection (SODIS) as household water treatment in seven villages of Rovieng district, Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. A quasi-experimental study design monitored the 214 SODIS-user families and 265 control families' mother-reported diarrhea period prevalence at two-week intervals over six months. Early results showed the overall two- week period prevalence in both the control and intervention groups dropped from 21.4% in the baseline to 4.82%, two weeks after receiving the intervention. This corresponded to an attributable fraction of 77.4% in the intervention group. Early unadjusted odds ratios (OR) demonstrate the protective effect of SODIS for all ages, villages, and among both sexes; where, the OR was 0.20 (95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.15 to 0.28). Although user compliance in the intervention group was problematic over the six months, the attributable fraction remained consistent when calculated between control and intervention groups, and among stratified age groups. These results justify recommending the SODIS technology as necessary for populations where diarrhea prevalence is an issue. The results further describe specific promotion techniques which result in better compliance of the technology.

Learning Objectives: After viewing the presentation, the participant will be able to

• Use Solar Disinfection as an alternative for household water treatment and understand why it is promoted in developing countries and the South East Asia region in general.
• Describe how drinking water technologies are validated using contemporary epidemiology designs.
• List at least two important predictors of diarrhea disease common to many water treatment validation studies.

Keywords: Water, Diarrhea

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation