How Do Rural Ethiopians Rate the Severity of Water Insecurity Scale Items? Implications for Water Insecurity Measurement and Interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
Yihenew Tesfaye ◽  
Kenneth Maes ◽  
Roza Abesha ◽  
Sera Young ◽  
Jedidiah S. Snyder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Urban Residence ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Scale Item ◽  
Measurement Evaluation ◽  
Subjective Perceptions ◽  
Household Water ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Relationship

Recently developed scales aim to advance understanding of household water insecurity and inform interventions to address this critical global problem. The relative severity of items included in household water insecurity scales has been established as an inverse of the proportion of the population that reports experiencing the item. Here, we assess subjective perceptions of scale item severity among people who experience household water insecurity. In 2017, we surveyed 259 women in Amhara, Ethiopia, assessing both experiences of water insecurity and perceptions of item severity using a pictorial scale. The mean subjective severity of most items was at the high end of our pictorial scale. Subjective severity of items was not associated with whether or not a participant experienced the item in the last thirty days, with a participant’s summary household water insecurity score, or with rural versus peri-urban residence, but was consistently associated with community of residence. Item severity as defined by the proportion of the population experiencing the item aligned with average perceptions of item severity, with one exception: drinking water that might not be safe. We discuss these findings’ implications for water insecurity measurement, evaluation of interventions, and studies of the relationship between water insecurity and psychological distress.

Validation of household water insecurity scale in urban Nepal

Water Policy ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1019-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoko Aihara ◽  
Salina Shrestha ◽  
Futaba Kazama ◽  
Kei Nishida
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Opportunity Costs ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Household Water ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lost Opportunity

Water security is one of the central global issues today. This study aimed to describe and test the validity and reliability of a household water insecurity scale, and to assess the impact of household water insecurity on psychological distress among 371 women living in urban Nepal. A household interview survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Approximately 70% of the participants experienced collecting less water than they needed. Four domains of household water insecurity emerged from the principal components factor analysis: (i) difficulties in house-work related to water, (ii) lost opportunity costs and social interactions related to water, (iii) an insufficient safe water supply, and (iv) difficulties in basic activities related to water. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the domains of ‘lost opportunity costs and social interactions’, ‘difficulties in house-work’ and ‘difficulties in basic activities’ were associated with psychological distress among women. The impact of household water insecurity on psychological distress differed by water supply service levels. The current household water insecurity scale is a simple instrument which can be used to prioritise the target population for water interventions. Further research should be conducted towards the development of a universally applicable measurement tool.

scholarly journals Community Water Improvement, Household Water Insecurity, and Women’s Psychological Distress: An Intervention and Control Study in Ethiopia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e0153432 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. J. Stevenson ◽  
A. Ambelu ◽  
B. A. Caruso ◽  
Y. Tesfaye ◽  
M. C. Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Community Water ◽  
Household Water ◽  
And Control ◽  
Control Study

When water is scarce: the perception of water quality and effects on the vulnerable

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamdiyah Alhassan ◽  
Paul Adjei Kwakwa
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Women And Children

The world has over 1 billion people without access to safe drinking water and it is expected that the number of people living in water-stressed or water-scarce places will increase to 3.4 billion by 2025 and one cannot ignore the effect such a situation will have on the vulnerable groups. The current study among other things examines household water insecurity and assesses its impact on vulnerable groups especially women and children in Dungu, a rural community in the northern region of Ghana. Relying on 125 respondents sampled, the findings show that the main source of drinking water in the community, a dam, fails to fulfil the household water security situation with respect to quantity, quality, reliability and accessibility. Because of the unwholesome nature of the water, the majority of the respondents treat water by using cloth filtering, boiling and the use of alum. Contentiously, the insecurity of water in the community has numerous negative effects ranging from health to economic effects on women and children who have to walk for 2 km in search of water and this could be reduced with the availability of a good quality water source close to home.

Interpersonal Stress and Poor Health

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette M. Aanes ◽  
Maurice B. Mittelmark ◽  
Jørn Hetland
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Somatic Symptoms ◽  
Total Effect ◽  
Subjective Feeling ◽  
Interpersonal Stress ◽  
The Relationship

This paper investigated whether the lack of social connectedness, as measured by the subjective feeling of loneliness, mediates the well-known relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological distress. Furthermore, a relationship between interpersonal stress and somatic symptoms was hypothesized. The study sample included 3,268 women and 3,220 men in Western Norway. The main findings were that interpersonal stress was significantly related to psychological distress as well as to somatic symptoms, both directly and indirectly via paths mediated by loneliness. The size of the indirect effects varied, suggesting that the importance of loneliness as a possible mediator differs for depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and somatic symptoms. In the case of depressive symptoms, more than 75% of the total effect was mediated through loneliness, while in the case of somatic symptoms just over 40% of the total effect was mediated through loneliness. This study supports the hypotheses that social connectedness mediates a relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological distress. The study also provides the first link between interpersonal stress, as measured by the Bergen Social Relationships Scale, and somatic symptoms, extending earlier research on the relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological distress.

A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Relationship Between Scale-Item Length, Label Format, and Reliability

Methodology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Hamby ◽  
Robert A. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Item Response ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Category Label ◽  
Response Category ◽  
Analytic Investigation ◽  
Scale Item ◽  
Item Characteristics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Reliability Coefficients

Abstract. Using two meta-analytic datasets, we investigated the effect that two scale-item characteristics – number of item response categories and item response-category label format – have on the reliability of multi-item rating scales. The first dataset contained 289 reliability coefficients harvested from 100 samples that measured Big Five traits. The second dataset contained 2,524 reliability coefficients harvested from 381 samples that measured a wide variety of constructs in psychology, marketing, management, and education. We performed moderator analyses on the two datasets with the two item characteristics and their interaction. As expected, as the number of item response categories increased, so did reliability, but more importantly, there was a significant interaction between the number of item response categories and item response-category label format. Increasing the number of response categories increased reliabilities for scale-items with all response categories labeled more so than for other item response-category label formats. We explain that the interaction may be due to both statistical and psychological factors. The present results help to explain why findings on the relationships between the two scale-item characteristics and reliability have been mixed.

Exploring the Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Abuse Potential

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra L. Rovers ◽  
John J. Van Epps ◽  
Esra B. Akturk ◽  
Elizabeth A. Skowron
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Abuse Potential ◽  
The Relationship

Multi-Center Calibration of the Second Reference Material for Thromboplastin, Rabbit, Plain, Coded CRM 149R

1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (03) ◽  
pp. 263-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M H P van den Besselaar ◽  
R M Bertina
Keyword(s):  
Reference Material ◽  
Standard Error ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Significant Bias ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
International Sensitivity Index

SummaryIn a collaborative trial of eleven laboratories which was performed mainly within the framework of the European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), a second reference material for thromboplastin, rabbit, plain, was calibrated against its predecessor RBT/79. This second reference material (coded CRM 149R) has a mean International Sensitivity Index (ISI) of 1.343 with a standard error of the mean of 0.035. The standard error of the ISI was determined by combination of the standard errors of the ISI of RBT/79 and the slope of the calibration line in this trial.The BCR reference material for thromboplastin, human, plain (coded BCT/099) was also included in this trial for assessment of the long-term stability of the relationship with RBT/79. The results indicated that this relationship has not changed over a period of 8 years. The interlaboratory variation of the slope of the relationship between CRM 149R and RBT/79 was significantly lower than the variation of the slope of the relationship between BCT/099 and RBT/79. In addition to the manual technique, a semi-automatic coagulometer according to Schnitger & Gross was used to determine prothrombin times with CRM 149R. The mean ISI of CRM 149R was not affected by replacement of the manual technique by this particular coagulometer.Two lyophilized plasmas were included in this trial. The mean slope of relationship between RBT/79 and CRM 149R based on the two lyophilized plasmas was the same as the corresponding slope based on fresh plasmas. Tlowever, the mean slope of relationship between RBT/79 and BCT/099 based on the two lyophilized plasmas was 4.9% higher than the mean slope based on fresh plasmas. Thus, the use of these lyophilized plasmas induced a small but significant bias in the slope of relationship between these thromboplastins of different species.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of ST2 and NT-proBNP in the Diagnosis and Prediction of Short- Term Prognosis in Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivananda B Nayak ◽  
Dharindra Sawh ◽  
Brandon Scott ◽  
Vestra Sears ◽  
Kareshma Seebalack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Ejection Fraction ◽  
Cardiac Biomarkers ◽  
Double Blind Study ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Reduced Ejection Fraction ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Design And Methods ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose: i) To determine the relationship between the cardiac biomarkers ST2 and NT-proBNP with ejection fraction (EF) in heart failure (HF) patients. ii) Assess whether a superiority existed between the aforementioned cardiac markers in diagnosing the HF with reduced EF. iii) Determine the efficacy of both biomarkers in predicting a 30-day cardiovascular event and rehospitalization in patients with HF with reduced EF iv) To assess the influence of age, gender, BMI, anaemia and renal failure on the ST2 and NT-proBNP levels. Design and Methods: A prospective double-blind study was conducted to obtain data from a sample of 64 cardiology patients. A blood sample was collected to test for ST2 and NT-proBNP. An echocardiogram (to obtain EF value), electrocardiogram and questionnaire were also obtained. Results: Of the 64 patients enrolled, 59.4% of the population had an EF less than 40%. At the end of the 30- day period, 7 patients were warded, 37 were not warded, one died and 17 were non respondent. Both biomarkers were efficacious at diagnosing HF with a reduced EF. However, neither of them were efficacious in predicting 30-day rehospitalization. The mean NT-proBNP values being: not rehospitalized (2114.7486) and 30 day rehospitalization (1008.42860) and the mean ST2 values being: not rehospitalized (336.1975), and 30-day rehospitalization. (281.9657). Conclusion: Neither ST2 or NT-proBNP was efficacious in predicting the short- term prognosis in HF with reduced EF. Both however were successful at confirming the diagnosis of HF in HF patients with reduced EF.

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