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Measuring Water Quantity Used for Personal and Domestic Hygiene and Determinants of Water Use in a Low-Income Urban Community

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  • Rebeca Sultana

    (Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research, Global Health Section, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark
    Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
    icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh)

  • Nazmun Nahar

    (Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Medical Faculty of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany)

  • Stephen P. Luby

    (Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA)

  • Sayeda Tasnuva Swarna

    (icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh)

  • Emily S. Gurley

    (Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA)

  • Charlotte Crim Tamason

    (Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research, Global Health Section, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Shifat Khan

    (icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh)

  • Nadia Ali Rimi

    (icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh)

  • Humayun Kabir

    (icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh)

  • Md. Khaled Saifullah

    (icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh)

  • Sushil Ranjan Howlader

    (Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh)

  • Peter Kjær Mackie Jensen

    (Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research, Global Health Section, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark)

Abstract

There is a paucity of recent research on direct water quantity measurement for personal and domestic hygiene. We aimed to measure the water quantity used for personal and domestic hygiene and to explore the reasons and determinants for variation of water usage. We conducted this study from September 2014 to June 2016 in a low-income urban community in Dhaka. In 12 households, the team conducted a day-long bimonthly ethnographic observation for one year to measure the volume of water used per activity per person. They conducted 28 in-depth interviews to explore the reasons for changes of water usage. Participants used a median of 75 L (61–100) of water per capita per day (LCPD) and of this 75 LCPD they used a median of 39 LCPD (26–58) for personal hygiene. Women used less water than men. Individual and social norms, beliefs, and weather determinants determined personal hygiene. Water availability determined domestic hygiene (e.g., washing dishes, toilets and bathrooms). This study helps to elucidate a range of determinants of water usage of the participants from the participants’ perspective. The quantity of water used for domestic and personal hygiene and its relationship to fecal-oral transmitted disease can be explored in future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebeca Sultana & Nazmun Nahar & Stephen P. Luby & Sayeda Tasnuva Swarna & Emily S. Gurley & Charlotte Crim Tamason & Shifat Khan & Nadia Ali Rimi & Humayun Kabir & Md. Khaled Saifullah & Sushil Ranjan, 2022. "Measuring Water Quantity Used for Personal and Domestic Hygiene and Determinants of Water Use in a Low-Income Urban Community," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:15656-:d:983602
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rebeca Sultana & Nazmun Nahar & Nadia Ali Rimi & Sayeda Tasnuva Swarna & Shifat Khan & Md. Khaled Saifullah & Humayun Kabir & Peter Kjær Mackie Jensen, 2022. "The Meaning of “Hygiene” and Its Linked Practices in a Low-Income Urban Community in Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    2. Emmy De Buck & Vere Borra & Elfi De Weerdt & Axel Vande Veegaete & Philippe Vandekerckhove, 2015. "A Systematic Review of the Amount of Water per Person per Day Needed to Prevent Morbidity and Mortality in (Post-)Disaster Settings," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    3. Rachel D. Stelmach & Thomas Clasen, 2015. "Household Water Quantity and Health: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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