Barriers and Enabling Factors Associated with the Implementation of Household Solar Water Disinfection: A Qualitative Study in Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Household water treatment including solar disinfection (SODIS) is recognized worldwide as an important intervention for prevention and control of diarrheal and other waterborne diseases. However, in Ethiopia's countryside, SODIS is not being practiced. Therefore, the objective of this qualitative study conducted in villages of Dabat district in northwest Ethiopia was to explore barriers to and enabling factors for consistent and wider implementation of SODIS. This phenomenological study design included four focus group discussions with 25 parents of children younger than 5 years and interviews with four key informants to elicit their experiences and opinions. ATLAS.ti 8.0 software (GmbH, Berlin, Germany) was used for data organization, and the content was analyzed thematically. Enabling factors were categorized into four themes, such as supportive values for SODIS (positive attitude, advantage of SODIS, and cultural acceptance of SODIS), consistent use of SODIS (community's interest, health education, availability of bright sunlight, and simplicity of the method), participation of family and community in daily implementation of the SODIS process (controlling theft of bottles and recognizing the importance of SODIS technology), and willingness to pay for new polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. On the other hand, barriers were grouped into three themes such as sociocultural (poor knowledge, hesitation to leave SODIS bottles unguarded outdoor, less attention, and unplanned social events), environmental (cloud, shadow over SODIS bottles, turbidity and leeches in source water, and geographical settings), and behavioral (mishandling of SODIS bottles and drinking water). The analysis of the data revealed that all the participants had positive attitude toward the implementation of SODIS, and it was culturally accepted. They identified the barriers to and enabling factors for the implementation of SODIS. Promoting enabling factors and mitigating barriers are substantially important for consistent implementation of SODIS as a long-term interventional measure widely in rural Ethiopia for the achievement of the goal of safe drinking water for all.

Access to basic drinking water services, safe water storage, and household water treatment practice in rural communities of northwest Ethiopia

“…Over all, the low-level practice of household water treatment in the area can be due to psychological factors. Attitude towards water-related technology or behavior is the most important psychological factor to make people treat the drinking water 34 – 36 .…”

“…Over all, the low-level practice of household water treatment in the area can be due to psychological factors. Attitude www.nature.com/scientificreports/ towards water-related technology or behavior is the most important psychological factor to make people treat the drinking water [34][35][36] . This study revealed that safe water storage was significantly associated with health education, health supervision, and family size.…”

Community perceptions and practices on quality and safety of drinking water in Mbarara city, south western Uganda

“…Communities' perception of the quality of drinking water is informed by health risk perception, perceived control, past experience, trust on water service provider, influence of impersonal and interpersonal information like media and peers, contextual factors, colour, taste of the water, appearance and demographic variables [15,16]. However, these perceptions are influenced by sociocultural, sociodemographic, and personal experiences and are shaped by service satisfaction, confidence in local and national authorities, selection of the water source as well as beliefs in human control of environment issues and formal and informal flow of information [17]. Community perceptions and practices of health risks related to drinking water are associated with drinking water, the persistence of these health problems and the level of awareness of the problem.…”

Desempenho de estrutura para o tratamento de água de origem pluvial baseada no método SODIS

“…Nesse contexto se insere o método Solar Water Desinfection (SODIS), uma técnica desenvolvida para atender populações isoladas e sem acesso a água tratada. Essa técnica consiste em armazenar água em recipientes transparentes de plástico ou vidro, os quais são expostos a luz solar, em intervalos de tempo que variam de 6 a 48 h, dependendo da intensidade da radiação solar e da sensibilidade dos patógenos (McGUIGAN et al, 2012;BITEW et al, 2020). Seu efeito germicida é baseado na combinação de dois fenômenos: o aquecimento térmico e a radiação ultravioleta (UV) (McGUIGAN et al, 2012).…”

“…Segundo esses autores, pela sua simplicidade e baixo custo, o SODIS se popularizou e tem sido disseminado em mais de 50 países da Ásia, América Latina e África, abrangendo uma população superior a 5 milhões de pessoas. Essa técnica pode ser complementada por um tratamento secundário com a utilização de filtros, quando necessário (BITEW et al, 2020).…”