1,721,223 research outputs found
Challenges in the reuse of learning materials: technical lessons from the delivery of an online GIS MSc module
No full textProgramme delivery through consortia of institutions, each contributing different areas of expertise, is seen as one solution to the teaching challenges posed by increasing subject
specialization within academic departments. For the institutions within such consortia, this may mean that specialist modules will be delivered to multiple streams of students from different
institutions, backgrounds, and possibly even countries. This paper draws on experiences in delivering a specialist online GIS MSc module to distance learners studying at three different US and UK institutions. It describes technical lessons learnt from delivering the same learning materials to different groups of students, from both a GIS and an educational perspective
Household characteristics associated with home water treatment: an analysis of the Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey
No full textObjectives: The objective of this study is to understand the characteristics of households who treat their water in the home. In promoting home water treatment, there may be valuable
lessons to be learnt from countries with many home water treatment users.
Methods: Responses to the new Demographic and Health Survey question on water treatment were analysed for 21,972 Egyptian households interviewed during 2005. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between home water treatment and household characteristics.
Results: 5.9% (CI 5.2–6.7%) of households used home water treatment, mostly either home filtration or letting water stand to settle. Filtration use was significantly related to educational
attainment and wealth, whilst letting water stand to settle was related to use of stoneware water vessels, groundwater sources, and water supply disruptions.
Discussion: The Egyptian data suggest that 4.5 million people use home water treatment and confirm some water handling behaviours reported elsewhere. Because of limited detail in the
DHS data about the technologies used and their effectiveness, it is unclear whether this behaviour reduces waterborne disease. Further research should consider how such data can be augmented with additional information to address this question
The impact of the delegated management model of urban piped service delivery on water quality in Kisumu, Kenya
No full textDelegated management (DMM) is a water service delivery model, whereby micro-operators financially and operationally manage underserved areas of a piped network. This post-hoc evaluation aimed to assess the impact of DMM on water safety. Kiosk and household stored water in DMM and matched control areas were tested for microbiological quality, showing comparable, substantial post-collection contamination. DMM increased household piped connections, reducing the need for household water storage and thereby post-collection contamination. However, DMM kiosk users remain exposed to recontaminated water. DMM remains a viable service delivery model, but other strategies are needed to address post-collection contamination of household stored water
A qualitative study of living experience and life courses following dam release flooding in northern Ghanaian communities, 2020
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Overall Quality of Outcomes Framework scores lower in practices in deprived areas
No full textThere has been much debate as to whether quality points allocated through the new general medical services contract are more difficult to achieve for practices in deprived and rural areas. We used multiple regression to assess the relationships between deprivation, rurality and the number of overall quality points achieved by each practice. Multiple deprivation was significantly inversely related to quality points achieved. Practices in villages and towns gained 2% more quality points than urban areas and hamlets
Impact of flooding on microbiological contamination of domestic water sources: a longitudinal study in northern Ghana
No full textFlooding is the most frequent natural hazard globally, but evidence of its impact on domestic water point contamination remains limited. This study aimed to assess dam-related flooding’s impact on microbiological contamination of rural water points and to evaluate agreement of satellite-derived flood maps with ground-based observations of water point flooding. Fieldwork took place in two Ghanaian districts frequently flooded following dam overspill. Fifty-seven water points were tested for bacterial parameters during and immediately after flooding. Forty water points were resampled in the dry season, with the remainder having run dry. Ground-based observations of flooding were compared with three satellite-derived flood maps. Boreholes were less contaminated than wells or surface waters (geometric mean E. coli = 20.2, 175.6, and 590.7 cfu/100 ml, respectively). Among groundwater points, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated significantly greater median E. coli and thermotolerant coliform contamination during flooding (p = 0.025 and p < 0.001, respectively), but Shigella, salmonella, and intestinal enterococci counts were not significantly different between seasons. In contrast, among surface water points, E. coli, Shigella, and Salmonella counts were significantly greater in dry season samples (p < 0.005 for all parameters), possibly reflecting a “concentration” effect. Satellite-derived flood maps had no or low agreement with ground-based observations of water point flooding. Although groundwater quality deteriorated during and after flooding, surface waters were the most microbiologically contaminated in both seasons. The greatest public health risk thus occurred where households switched to surface water collection during or following flood season. Flood risk should be assessed before borehole installation and existing flood-prone boreholes remediated to mitigate population exposure to contaminated water
A cross-sectional ecological study of spatial scale and geographic inequality in access to drinking-water and sanitation
Full text linkIntroductionMeasuring inequality in access to safe drinking-water and sanitation is proposed as a component of international monitoring following the expiry of the Millennium Development Goals. This study aims to evaluate the utility of census data in measuring geographic inequality in access to drinking-water and sanitation.MethodsSpatially referenced census data were acquired for Colombia, South Africa, Egypt, and Uganda, whilst non-spatially referenced census data were acquired for Kenya. Four variants of the dissimilarity index were used to estimate geographic inequality in access to both services using large and small area units in each country through a cross-sectional, ecological study.ResultsInequality was greatest for piped water in South Africa in 2001 (based on 53 areas (N) with a median population (MP) of 657,015; D?=?0.5599) and lowest for access to an improved water source in Uganda in2008 (N?=?56; MP?=?419,399; D?=?0.2801). For sanitation, inequality was greatest for those lacking any facility in Kenya in 2009 (N?=?158; MP?=?216,992; D?=?0.6981), and lowest for access to an improved facility in Uganda in 2002 (N?=?56; MP?=?341,954; D?=?0.3403). Although dissimilarity index values were greater for smaller areal units, when study countries were ranked in terms of inequality, these ranks remained unaffected by the choice of large or small areal units. International comparability was limited due to definitional and temporal differences between censuses.ConclusionsThis five-country study suggests that patterns of inequality for broad regional units do often reflect inequality in service access at a more local scale. This implies household surveys designed to estimate province-level service coverage can provide valuable insights into geographic inequality at lower levels. In comparison with household surveys, censuses facilitate inequality assessment at different spatial scales, but pose challenges in harmonising water and sanitation typologies across countries
Area selection for post-hoc impact evaluation of the delegated management model of urban water service delivery in Kisumu, Kenya
No full textBackground: delegated management, also known as a water operator partnership, is a model under which a utility delegates operational responsibility for urban water services to a small-scale provider. The model is currently operational in parts of Maputo(Mozambique), Arusha ( Tanzania), and Kisumu in Kenya. To date, studies of the impact of delegated management model have focused on expansion of services, pipeline breakages and supply interruptions, and revenue recovery, but have not considered its impacts on water quality and thereby ultimately health.Aim: this study therefore aims to evaluate the impact of delegated management on microbiological water quality at kiosks through to point-of-consumption in the home in off-grid neighbourhoods of Kisumu.Methods: this post hoc impact evaluation study will compare E. coli contamination of household stored water in a matched sample of Enumeration Areas (EA) under delegated management versus a control group. Characteristics of urban EAs under delegated management (including metered water connections per household; kiosks per capita; population density; proximity to sewerage lines; and probability of built-up land cover measured via Sentinel-2 satellite imagery) were collated within a GIS and compared with those not under delegated management using logistic regression. To minimise differences between EAs under delegated management and control EAs, a balanced sample of EAs will be selected using coarsened exact matching based on these characteristics. Within selected EAs, E. coli will be measured in water at kiosks, in vendors’ hand-carts, and in water stored by consumers, targeting 90 households in intervention and control groups. Final analysis will examine the effect of delegated management on E. coli in household stored water using logistic or multinomial regression, controlling for risk factors related to the vendor (e.g. vessel cleaning and handwashing), the household (e.g. water storage and handling practices), and the piped supply (e.g. adequate residual chlorine).Preliminary results: of 342 urban EAs in Kisumu County, the 16 under delegated management had significantly less built-up land cover (mean probability of built-up land cover 19.7% compared to 27.6% in comparison EAs, p=0.008). Examination of other EA characteristics indicated non-significant differences in mean population density and imbalance in their joint distribution, indicating the need to select comparable EAs for the control group. Final EA selection and fieldwork is ongoing.Conclusions: these preliminary findings suggest there are systematic differences between EAs under delegated management and those directly managed by the utility. Such differences need to be controlled for in developing evidence concerning the impact of delegated management on the quality of water services in Kisumu.<br/
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