Abstract
Objective: Progress towards equitable and sufficient water has primarily been measured by population-level data on water availability. However, higher-resolution measures of water accessibility, adequacy, reliability and safety (ie, water insecurity) are needed to understand how problems with water impact health and well-being. Therefore, we developed the Household Water InSecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale to measure household water insecurity in an equivalent way across disparate cultural and ecological settings. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were implemented in 8127 households across 28 sites in 23 low-income and middle-income countries. Data collected included 34 items on water insecurity in the prior month; socio-demographics; water acquisition, use and storage; household food insecurity and perceived stress. We retained water insecurity items that were salient and applicable across all sites. We used classical test and item response theories to assess dimensionality, reliability and equivalence. Construct validity was assessed for both individual and pooled sites using random coefficient models. Findings Twelve items about experiences of household water insecurity were retained. Items showed unidimensionality in factor analyses and were reliable (Cronbach's alpha 0.84 to 0.93). The average non-invariance rate was 0.03% (threshold <25%), indicating equivalence of measurement and meaning across sites. Predictive, convergent and discriminant validity were also established. Conclusions: The HWISE Scale measures universal experiences of household water insecurity across low-income and middle-income countries. Its development ushers in the ability to quantify the prevalence, causes and consequences of household water insecurity, and can contribute an evidence base for clinical, public health and policy recommendations regarding water.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | e001750 |
| Journal | BMJ Global Health |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2019 |
Funding
Funding This project was funded with the Competitive Research Grants to Develop Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA). IMMANA is funded with UK Aid from the UK government. This project was also supported by the Buffett Institute for Global Studies and the Center for Water Research at Northwestern University; Arizona State University’s Center for Global Health at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change and Decision Center for a Desert City (National Science Foundation SES-1462086); the Office of the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Miami; the National Institutes of Health grant NIEHS/FIC R01ES019841 for the Kahemba Study, DRC. We also acknowledge the National Science Foundation's HWISE Research Coordination Network (BCS-1759972) for support of the collaboration. SLY was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIMH R21 MH108444; NIMH K01 MH098902). WEJ was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1560962). Funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation or writing of the report. Authors had full access to all study data and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. This project was funded with the Competitive Research Grants to Develop Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA). IMMANA is funded with UK Aid from the UK government. This project was also supported by the Buffett Institute for Global Studies and the Center for Water Research at Northwestern University; Arizona State University's Center for Global Health at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change and Decision Center for a Desert City (National Science Foundation SES-1462086); the Office of the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Miami; the National Institutes of Health grant NIEHS/FIC R01ES019841 for the Kahemba Study, DRC. We also acknowledge the National Science Foundation's HWISE Research Coordination Network (BCS-1759972) for support of the collaboration. SLY was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIMH R21 MH108444; NIMH K01 MH098902). WEJ was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1560962). Funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation or writing of the report. Authors had full access to all study data and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.
Keywords
- anthropology
- cross-cultural
- food insecurity
- household water insecurity
- scale development
- scale validation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Health Policy
