Evaluation of risk communication for rural water supply management

A case study of a coastal area of Bangladesh

Bibliographic Data

ID9744865
AuthorsMd Atikul Islam (0000-0003-3467-1075, Yamaguchi University), Hiroyuki Sakakibara (0000-0003-4497-1311, Yamaguchi University, corresponding author), Md Rezaul Karim (0009-0005-2147-9203, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology), Masahiko Sekine (0000-0002-0489-9864, Yamaguchi University)
Year2011
Volume14
Issue10
Pages1237-1262
Publication date2011-11-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Risk Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1366-9877 • E-ISSN: 1466-4461
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13669877.2011.574315
OpenAlexW2156672472
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited23

Consumption of safe drinking water is an important public health issue. In this study, we considered the risk communication topic of human health concerns related to unsafe water consumption in rural coastal areas of Bangladesh, where potable water is scarce. Our objective was to investigate the level of knowledge that rural residents had concerning safe water consumption and to evaluate the effects of risk communication on knowledge and behavior changes. We considered four rural villages of southwest coastal areas of Bangladesh as sample. This study was based on the results of a questionnaire survey administered before and after risk communication. The pre- and post-survey were conducted during August 2009 and March 2010, respectively. Data were collected from 120 women aged 18–60 years. Two format presentations, with and without water quality information, were used to convey the risk messages. In the present study, indicator bacterial (Escherichia coli) contamination levels in drinking water sources were considered as water quality information since absence of E. coli is the safety margin for the detection of disease-causing organisms. Analysis of the survey data revealed that risk communication can be vital to changes in water consumption knowledge and behavior. Overall general knowledge scores were almost same in the pre-survey for without- (mean score 3.16) and with-information (mean score 3.10) villages. However, after risk communication, there were detectable increases in the mean scores (mean scores, 3.54 and 3.64, respectively, on a 4 point scale) for both groups. Furthermore, risk communication with water quality information appears to be a more effective method of risk communication. Dissemination of risk messages was also higher in with-information villages. Seventy four percent of the participants from with-information villages reported that they had discussed the risk messages with family members and neighbors, compared to 59% of those from without-information villages. The results of this study revealed that age, education, and distance of water sources influence changes in consumption and maintenance behavior. These findings suggest that, in addition to installation of water supply facilities, there is a need to address the low levels of knowledge about safe water consumption in rural coastal communities of Bangladesh. Location specific water quality information may be more useful to convey health risk messages concerning unsafe drinking water consumption

Business · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Risk analysis (engineering · Risk communication · Risk management · Water resource management · Water supply · Disaster Management and Resilience · Environmental Science · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · Risk Perception and Management · Environmental Engineering · Finance

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