49 research outputs found
The Power of Culture in Selecting Health Care Providers in Rural Bangladesh: An Ethno Scientific Analysis
No full textThe R code that was used to graph the acid dissociation data for H<sub>3</sub>As(V)O<sub>4</sub> in S4 File.
No full textThe R code that was used to graph the acid dissociation data for H3As(V)O4 in S4 File.</p
The R code that was used to graph the acid dissociation data for H<sub>3</sub>As(III)O<sub>3</sub> in S4 File.
No full textThe R code that was used to graph the acid dissociation data for H3As(III)O3 in S4 File.</p
The R code that was used to analyze the arsenic concentration, dissolved oxygen concentration, oxidation-reduction potential, specific conductance, pH, and temperature data in S1 File.
No full textThe R code that was used to analyze the arsenic concentration, dissolved oxygen concentration, oxidation-reduction potential, specific conductance, pH, and temperature data in S1 File.</p
Using ArcMap, Google Earth, and Global Positioning Systems to Select and Locate Random Households in Rural Haiti
No full textBackground: A remote sensing technique was developed which combines a Geographic Information System (GIS); Google Earth, and Microsoft Excel to identify home locations for a random sample of households in rural Haiti. The method was used to select homes for ethnographic and water quality research in a region of rural Haiti located within 9 km of a local hospital and source of health education in Deschapelles, Haiti. The technique does not require access to governmental records or ground based surveys to collect household location data and can be performed in a rapid, cost-effective manner.
Methods: The random selection of households and the location of these households during field surveys were accomplished using GIS, Google Earth, Microsoft Excel, and handheld Garmin GPSmap 76CSx GPS units. Homes were identified and mapped in Google Earth, exported to ArcMap 10.0, and a random list of homes was generated using Microsoft Excel which was then loaded onto handheld GPS units for field location. The development and use of a remote sensing method was essential to the selection and location of random households.
Results: A total of 537 homes initially were mapped and a randomized subset of 96 was identified as potential survey locations. Over 96% of the homes mapped using Google Earth imagery were correctly identified as occupied dwellings. Only 3.6% of the occupants of mapped homes visited declined to be interviewed. 16.4% of the homes visited were not occupied at the time of the visit due to work away from the home or market days. A total of 55 households were located using this method during the 10 days of fieldwork in May and June of 2012.
Conclusions: The method used to generate and field locate random homes for surveys and water sampling was an effective means of selecting random households in a rural environment lacking geolocation infrastructure. The success rate for locating households using a handheld GPS was excellent and only rarely was local knowledge required to identify and locate households. This method provides an important technique that can be applied to other developing countries where a randomized study design is needed but infrastructure is lacking to implement more traditional participant selection methods
Sea level rise from climate change is expected to increase the release of arsenic into Bangladesh’s drinking well water by reduction and by the salt effect
No full textWATER AND SANITATION IN HAITI AN ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE
No full textInteractions between cultural perceptions regarding water, water quality data, and water consumption are critical to obtaining a complete understanding of water resources and water resource interventions in rural Haiti. Ethnographic survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were used to collect data to understand cultural perception associated with water quality and water use in the study area. Over 100 water samples, 60 interviews, and 6 focus groups were conducted in 8 rural Haitian communities. The data suggests that religious and social rituals are associated with water pollution, water use and treatment. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and government agencies seeking to address unsafe water are often hampered by misperceptions of water quality, a lack of contamination data, and a thorough understanding of cultural practices. Contamination and ethnographic data provide cultural context and water supply vulnerability factors related to water source characteristics, sanitation, and intervention methods. The type of ethnographic and water quality data collected for this study, can be used as a model to make water systems in other underdeveloped countries more resilient and sustainable, and provide guidance to policy makers
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Rural Haiti: A Medical Anthropology
No full textHaitis complex history and culture plays a major role in shaping the current access to safe water resources and improved sanitation. The goal of providing safe and sustainable supplies of water and improved sanitation is dependent on our understanding of the complex and poorly understood interaction of political, socioeconomic, religious beliefs/cultural, and environmental factors that relate to how Haitians perceive illness. Improved understanding of water borne diseases can be obtained by listening to, interpreting the individual stories of vodou and catholic priests, protestant pastors, teachers, peasant farmers, and women selling charcoal in the market. The water and sanitation problem in Haiti must be viewed from a holistic point of view in order to craft sustainable and culturally compatible water and sanitation solutions. This paper explores the cultural codes that guide Rural Haitians in using water, sanitation and hygiene. Data were collected from 60 ethnographic survey, 6 Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Over 100 water samples from 8 rural Haitian communities take to analyze water quality. The data suggests that religious and social rituals, as well as eco-political factors, are influencing water use, water contamination, water treatment, and sanitation practices. The health culture is influenced by both traditional healing and herbal medicines; western-style medicine; and other sociocultural factors. The efforts of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and government agencies to provide safe water, better sanitation and hygiene, and health care for the study population if their efforts are informed by ethnographic data so that socially suitable interventions are implemented
Sea level rise from climate change is expected to increase the release of arsenic into Bangladesh's drinking well water by reduction and by the salt effect.
No full textBackgroundOver 165,000,000 people live in Bangladesh; approximately 97% of Bangladeshis drink well water. Approximately 49% of Bangladesh's area has drinking well water with arsenic (As) concentrations that exceed the 10 micrograms per liter (μg/L) World Health Organization (WHO) guideline. This exposure to a potent carcinogen is a significant threat to public health. About 21% of Bangladesh is flooded each year during a typical monsoon season. As climate change progresses, sea levels will continue to rise, and the area and duration of these annual floods will increase. We hypothesize that these consequences of climate change can increase the release of arsenic from sediments into Bangladesh's drinking well water.MethodsDrinking well water samples were collected during a national-scale survey in Bangladesh. The dissolved oxygen concentration, oxidation-reduction potential, specific conductance, pH, and temperature were measured at sampling with calibrated portable electronic sensors. The arsenic concentration was measured by the silver diethyldithiocarbamate method.ResultsAs the concentration of dissolved oxygen decreases, the concentration of arsenic increases (p-value = 0.0028). Relatedly, as the oxidation-reduction potential decreases, the concentration of arsenic increases (p-value = 1.3×10-5). This suggests that arsenic is released from sediments into Bangladesh's drinking well drinking water by reduction. As the specific conductance increases, the concentration of arsenic increases (p-value = 0.023). This suggests that arsenic is also released from sediments into water by the salt effect.ConclusionsRising sea levels can cause a decrease in the dissolved oxygen concentration and oxidation-reduction potential of the underlying aquifer; this should increase the dissolution of insoluble arsenate (H3-xAs(V)O4x-) in sediments by reduction. This, in turn, should release soluble arsenite (H3-xAs(III)O3x-) into the drinking well water. Rising sea levels can cause an increase in the salt concentration of the underlying aquifer; this should increase the release of arsenic from sediments into the drinking well water by the salt effect
