scholarly journals Context and intentions: practical associations for fecal sludge management in rural low-income Cambodia

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-201
Author(s):  
James Harper ◽  
Angela Bielefeldt ◽  
Amy Javernick-Will ◽  
Toeur Veasna ◽  
Chris Nicoletti
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
Fecal Sludge ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Generous Support ◽  
Future Work

Abstract Finite storage capacities of household pit latrines make safely managing fecal sludge a recurring challenge for 2.7 billion people globally. Frequently without guidance from standards or regulation, rural latrine owners choose how to manage their own fecal sludge. However, their intentions – what behavioral science says are the best predictors of future behaviors – when pits fill are poorly understood, inhibiting the development of safe fecal sludge management (FSM) solutions and deteriorating public and environmental health. Using survey data commonly measured by development practitioners, we analyze response frequencies and their associations with contextual factors, such as location, month that the survey was administered, and poverty level. We also use binomial logistic regression to determine if contextual factors can be used to predict the intentions of rural Cambodian latrine owners when pits fill. We found that four in ten rural latrine owners intend to manage their fecal sludge unsafely (41%), and one in six did not have a plan (16%). Desirable FSM intentions increased markedly after rice harvest and varied markedly across provinces. Many predictors of desirable FSM intentions, such as location and satisfaction with the household's latrine, were also identified. Associations between FSM intentions and contextual factors can be used to help predict FSM behaviors and improve FSM service delivery, behavior change campaigns, and product design. However, future work should seek to characterize the complete decision-making processes of rural latrine owners when pits fill. This article has been made Open Access thanks to the generous support of a global network of libraries as part of the Knowledge Unlatched Select initiative.

scholarly journals Experiences of shared sanitation – towards a better understanding of access, exclusion and ‘toilet mobility’ in low-income urban areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-590
Author(s):  
Ella Foggitt ◽  
Sally Cawood ◽  
Barbara Evans ◽  
Patricia Acheampong
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Global Network ◽  
New Town ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Generous Support ◽  
Public Toilets

Abstract Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.2 calls for ‘adequate and equitable sanitation for all’. In dense, rapidly urbanising cities, the challenge of providing household sanitation means that many countries include shared, community and public toilets in their national strategies to meet global goals. However, shared sanitation is associated with several problems including poor management and exclusion. This study examines shared sanitation access and use by using innovative mapping methods in compound house units in Fante New Town, Kumasi, Ghana. This study reveals that 56% of house units have at least one toilet. Of the 47% of people living in these house units, almost a third were excluded from using the toilet. Tenure status was the main driver for exclusion, with nearly half of people reporting non-usage ‘not allowed’ to use the toilet by the landlord. This study outlines key policy interventions to address broader institutional and regulatory barriers to shared sanitation. At the settlement level, this includes the provision of safe, well-managed public toilets and engagement with landlords to improve house unit toilet access. At the national and global level, this study calls for nuanced indicators to assess the quality of access and to ensure shared sanitation works for everyone. This article has been made Open Access thanks to the generous support of a global network of libraries as part of the Knowledge Unlatched Select initiative.

scholarly journals When the pits fill up: (in)visible flows of waste in urban India

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Sharada Prasad ◽  
Isha Ray
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Social Mechanisms ◽  
Open Defecation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fecal Sludge ◽  
Generous Support

Abstract India's flagship program on sanitation and hygiene – the Swachh Bharat Mission – aims to eliminate open defecation and to manage urban waste for a ‘Clean India’. The emptying of toilet pits and the transport of waste are as critical as more toilets are for sustainable sanitation. In unsewered cities of the global South, these services are mainly provided by privately run cleaning trucks. We find that the physical and social mechanisms through which these services are organized are virtually invisible in national fecal sludge and waste management policies. Based on a rich ethnography of cleaning trucks in Bangalore, India, we show that trucking operations dispose of sludge in ways that harm both public health and the environment, and that the caste composition of sanitation work helps to keep it invisible from officials and the public. We draw on the concept of the social role of disgust to explain the seen-and-unseen nature of these trucks. ‘Seeing’ sludge management as it is practiced is essential for understanding how the sanitary city is being produced and for the success of future sanitation reforms. This article has been made Open Access thanks to the generous support of a global network of libraries as part of the Knowledge Unlatched Select initiative.

scholarly journals Expanding safe fecal sludge management in Kisumu, Kenya: an experimental comparison of latrine pit-emptying services

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 744-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Peletz ◽  
Andy Feng ◽  
Clara MacLeod ◽  
Dianne Vernon ◽  
Tim Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Experimental Comparison ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
Septic Tanks ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Fecal Sludge ◽  
The City ◽  
Safety Procedures

Abstract Most residents of Kisumu, Kenya, use latrines constructed over basic pits or attached to more durable concrete vaults and septic tanks. Only one-third of fecal sludge generated in the city, however, is safely collected and treated. Programs for improving fecal sludge management among poor households include the development of formal manual emptying organizations that are recognized by local authorities, employ safety procedures, and transport fecal sludge to a treatment site. In this study, we compared the financial structures of these organizations with those of vacuum trucks that primarily serve wealthier households. We also employed an incentives-based strategy to promote the expansion of safe pit-emptying services in a low-income area and compared the performance of three managing groups to coordinate these services: (1) The Association of Wastewater Managers (The Association); (2) a formal manual emptying organization; and (3) a community-based water supplier interested in coordinating emptying services. Vacuum trucks were more cost-effective than the formal manual emptying organization, and The Association was most efficient in servicing poor households. The Association also demonstrated the ability to service low-income areas comprehensively by delegating a fraction of jobs (11%) to formal manual emptiers in locations not serviceable by VTOs, and overall showed the highest potential to achieve pro-poor service delivery at scale.

scholarly journals Fecal Sludge Management in Low Income Settlements: Case Study of Nakuru, Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheillah Simiyu ◽  
Ivy Chumo ◽  
Blessing Mberu
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Fecal Sludge ◽  
Treatment And Disposal

Introduction: In order to meet the sustainable development goals targets of sanitation, countries aim to increase access to safely managed sanitation services for its citizens. Safely managed sanitation services refers to improved sanitation technologies that are not shared with other households and where excreta is treated and disposed; or stored, transported and treated off-site. In most Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, on-site sanitation facilities such as latrines and septic tanks are common, with low-income urban settlements mainly using pit latrines. However, little is documented about the management of sludge from these facilities, especially in low income settlements in secondary and emerging cities. This lack of data is a major hindrance to public health, development and planning efforts by governments and planning agencies. This study specifically assesses practices and challenges along the sanitation value chain related to containment, emptying, transportation, treatment and recycling of fecal sludge.Methods: The study was carried out in low income settlements in Nakuru, a secondary city in Kenya. Over half the population in Nakuru live in low income areas and majority of these residents use pit latrines. A case study design was selected for this study and data was collected using qualitative methods. Data was collected through In-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions using in depth interview guide and focus group discussion guides that had questions on sanitation practices along the value chain, challenges, opportunities available, and recommendations for improvement. Analysis was done through content analysis by reading the transcripts multiple times to gain a sense of the flow of the discussion. Thereafter, coding was done by following emergent issues and thereafter categories were identified which formed the basis for providing a picture of FWM practices in the settlements.Results: On site sanitation facilities are dominant in the settlements, but they are few and are shared by several households. These facilities were unclean, and they filled up at a fast rate because of the high number of users. The latrines were emptied by manual emptiers who used mechanized equipment but complemented with manual emptying using buckets. Sludge was transported to a central collection point using large and small scale means of transportation, before transfer to the treatment site for final treatment and disposal. Various stakeholders are involved in capacity building of emptiers as well as in the transportation, treatment and disposal of fecal sludge in the settlements. Challenges along the stages of the value chain included negative community perceptions and attitudes toward fecal sludge management.Conclusion: The results highlight the need to address the challenges along the chain by involvement of state and non-state actors. Low income areas have high populations and thus contribute huge amounts of fecal sludge. Deliberate efforts to consolidate such data from low income areas will result in availability of data, and informed decision making for stakeholders at national and international levels.

scholarly journals Healthy eating: a matter of prioritisation by households or policymakers?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Joreintje Dingena Mackenbach
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Food System ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Abstract I reflect upon the potential reasons why American low-income households do not spend an optimal proportion of their food budgets on fruits and vegetables, even though this would allow them to meet the recommended levels of fruit and vegetable consumption. Other priorities than health, automatic decision-making processes and access to healthy foods play a role, but solutions for the persistent socio-economic inequalities in diet should be sought in the wider food system which promotes cheap, mass-produced foods. I argue that, ultimately, healthy eating is not a matter of prioritisation by individual households but by policymakers.

scholarly journals Greenspace, Air Pollution, Neighborhood Factors, and Preeclampsia in a Population-Based Case-Control Study in California

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5127
Author(s):  
Kari A. Weber ◽  
Wei Yang ◽  
Evan Lyons ◽  
David K. Stevenson ◽  
Amy M. Padula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Effect Modification ◽  
Severe Preeclampsia ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Neighborhood Factors

To investigate preeclampsia etiologies, we examined relationships between greenspace, air pollution, and neighborhood factors. Data were from hospital records and geocoded residences of 77,406 women in San Joaquin Valley, California from 2000 to 2006. Preeclampsia was divided into mild, severe, or superimposed onto pre-existing hypertension. Greenspace within 100 and 500 m residential buffers was estimated from satellite data using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Air quality data were averaged over pregnancy from daily 24-h averages of nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter <10 µm (PM10) and <2.5 µm (PM2.5), and carbon monoxide. Neighborhood socioeconomic (SES) factors included living below the federal poverty level and median annual income using 2000 US Census data. Odds of preeclampsia were estimated using logistic regression. Effect modification was assessed using Wald tests. More greenspace (500 m) was inversely associated with superimposed preeclampsia (OR = 0.57). High PM2.5 and low SES were associated with mild and severe preeclampsia. We observed differences in associations between greenspace (500 m) and superimposed preeclampsia by neighborhood income and between greenspace (500 m) and severe preeclampsia by PM10, overall and among those living in higher SES neighborhoods. Less greenspace, high particulate matter, and high-poverty/low-income neighborhoods were associated with preeclampsia, and effect modification was observed between these exposures. Further research into exposure combinations and preeclampsia is warranted.

scholarly journals Stress and the working poor

Human Affairs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuzana Řimnáčová ◽  
Alena Kajanová
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Working Poor ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Entire Family

Abstract The working poor are not a clearly defined group. There are still people who work full-time, but have incomes bordering on poverty level. They tend to remain in work despite their low wages simply to avoid becoming unemployed and risk social exclusion. However, working in low-income jobs for long periods creates stress and gives rise to further problems. Stress affects sleep patterns and leads to problems associated with food intake and nutrition, and thus to disorders of the gastrointestinal system. Cardiovascular and neurological disorders may occur too. A lack of finances, and the stresses stemming from that are statistically significant and a strong predictor of a worse mental state. There is also a higher probability of psychosis occurring. All this affects the entire family, especially children. The inability to invest money and time in their development is another consequence.

scholarly journals Food insecurity, coping strategies and glucose control in low-income patients with diabetes

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1103-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria L Mayer ◽  
Kevin McDonough ◽  
Hilary Seligman ◽  
Nandita Mitra ◽  
Judith A Long
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Glucose Control ◽  
Economic Stress ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Patients With Diabetes ◽  
And Coping

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the relationship between food insecurity and coping strategies (actions taken to manage economic stress) hypothesized to worsen glucose control in patients with diabetes.DesignUsing a cross-sectional telephone survey and clinical data, we compared food-insecure and food-secure individuals in their use of coping strategies. Using logistic regression models, we then examined the association between poor glucose control (glycated Hb, HbA1c≥8·0 %), food insecurity and coping strategies.SettingAn urban medical centre, between June and December 2013.SubjectsFour hundred and seven adults likely to be low income (receiving Medicaid or uninsured and/or residing in a zip code with >30 % of the population below the federal poverty level) with type 2 diabetes.ResultsOf respondents, 40·5 % were food insecure. A significantly higher percentage of the food-insecure group reported use of most examined coping strategies, including foregone medical care, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)) and use of emergency food programmes. Food insecurity was associated with poor glucose control (OR=2·23; 95 % CI 1·22, 4·10); coping strategies that were more common among the food insecure were not associated with poor glucose control. Among the food insecure, receipt of SNAP was associated with lower risk of poor glucose control (OR=0·27; 95 % CI 0·09, 0·80).ConclusionsWhile food insecurity was associated with poor glucose control, most examined coping strategies did not explain this relationship. However, receipt of SNAP among food-insecure individuals was associated with better diabetes control, suggesting that such programmes may play a role in improving health.

Septage Characterization and Sustainable Fecal Sludge Management in Rural Nablus – Palestine

2021 ◽  
pp. 375-416
Author(s):  
A. Rasem Hasan ◽  
Mohammed A. Hussein ◽  
Hanan A. Jafar ◽  
Amjad I.A. Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Sludge Management ◽  
Fecal Sludge
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