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Cited by 33Child Nutrition and Water AccessPoverty, Education, and Child WelfareWater Resource Management and Quality

Impact of the Provision of Safe Drinking Water on School Absence Rates in Cambodia: A Quasi-Experimental Study

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Hunter, Paul R., Risebro, Helen, Yen, Marie, Lefebvre, Hélène, Lo, Chay, Hartemann, Philippe, Longuet, Christophe, Jaquenoud, François·2014·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0091847PMC PMC3954794
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Education is one of the most important drivers behind helping people in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty. However, even when schooling is available absenteeism rates can be high. Recently interest has focussed on whether or not WASH interventions can help reduce absenteeism in developing countries. However, none has focused exclusively on the role of drinking water provision. We report a study of the association between absenteeism and provision of treated water in containers into schools. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We undertook a quasi-experimental longitudinal study of absenteeism rates in 8 schools, 4 of which received one 20 L container of treated drinking water per day. The water had been treated by filtration and ultraviolet disinfection. Weekly absenteeism rates were compared across all schools using negative binomial model in generalized estimating equations. There was a strong association with provision of free water and reduced absenteeism (Incidence rate ratio = 0.39 (95% Confidence Intervals 0.27-0.56)). However there was also a strong association with season (wet versus dry) and a significant interaction between receiving free water and season. In one of the intervention schools it was discovered that the water supplier was not fulfilling his contract and was not delivering sufficient water each week. In this school we showed a significant association between the number of water containers delivered each week and absenteeism (IRR = 0.98 95%CI 0.96-1.00). CONCLUSION: There appears to be a strong association between providing free safe drinking water and reduced absenteeism, though only in the dry season. The mechanism for this association is not clear but may in part be due to improved hydration leading to improved school experience for the children.

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  • Interventions that deliver hand-washing promotion and point-of-use water treatment have reported reductions in student absence of between 21% and 61%, with one study specifically identifying reduced absence among girls (i.e., 58% reduction in the odds of absence for girls).

    “Interventions that deliver hand-washing promotion and point-of-use water treatment have reported reductions in student absence of between 21% [32] and 61% [38] with one study specifically identifying reduced absence among girls (i.e., 58% reduction in the odds of absence for girls) [21].”

    From Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools in Low-Income Countries: A Review of Evidence of Impact (2019) · cites this paper as [38]

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Authors
Hunter, P. R., Risebro, H., Yen, M., Lefebvre, H., Lo, C., Hartemann, P., Longuet, C., & Jaquenoud, F.
Affiliations
  • University of East Anglia (GB)
  • Université de Lorraine (FR)
  • Fondation Mérieux (FR)
Corresponding author
Hunter, Paul R.
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2014-03-14
Volume
9
Issue
3
Pages
e91847
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0091847
PMC
PMC3954794
OpenAlex
W2060911870
Cited by
33
References
19
Citations by year
2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1
FWCI
0.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Danone
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Water Resource Management and Quality
Keywords
school absenteeism, safe drinking water, water supply, WASH interventions, ultraviolet disinfection, water filtration, seasonal variation, hydration, child health, Cambodia
MeSH terms
Absenteeism, Adolescent, Cambodia, Child, Humans, Risk Factors, Schools, Drinking Water

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