A study [1] conducted among 300 households in three slum areas in Delhi, found that good storage practices for uncontaminated water do not necessarily lead to lower incidence rates of diarrhoeal diseases. The study located individual risk factors within a larger socioeconomic, political and administrative framework.

The explanation lies in factors which were external to the home and beyond the control of the household. The study concludes, therefore, that household level behavioural factors such as storage practises should not be analysed in isolation as determinants of diarrhoeal illness particularly when pitted against stronger neighbourhood and external determinants.

[1] Dasgupta R. (2008). Exploring intra-household factors for diarrhoeal diseases: a study in slums of Delhi, India. Journal of water and health ; vol. 6, no. 2 ; p. 289-99. doi:10.2166/wh.2008.025

Contact: Rajib Dasgupta, Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India, dasgupta_jnu@yahoo.com

Tags: hygiene promotion, water quality, water treatment, water-related diseases