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Development and validation protocol for an instrument to measure household water insecurity across cultures and ecologies: the Household Water InSecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:A wide range of water-related problems contribute to the global burden of disease. Despite the many plausible consequences for health and well-being, there is no validated tool to measure individual- or household-level water insecurity equivalently across varying cultural and ecological settings. Accordingly, we are developing the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale to measure household-level water insecurity in multiple contexts. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:After domain specification and item development, items were assessed for both content and face validity. Retained items are being asked in surveys in 28 sites globally in which water-related problems have been reported (eg, shortages, excess water and issues with quality), with a target of at least 250 participants from each site. Scale development will draw on analytic methods from both classical test and item response theories and include item reduction and factor structure identification. Scale evaluation will entail assessments of reliability, and predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity, as well as the assessment of differentiation between known groups. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Study activities received necessary ethical approvals from institutional review bodies relevant to each site. We anticipate that the final HWISE Scale will be completed by late 2018 and made available through open-access publication. Associated findings will be disseminated to public health professionals, scientists, practitioners and policymakers through peer-reviewed journals, scientific presentations and meetings with various stakeholders. Measures to quantify household food insecurity have transformed policy, research and humanitarian aid efforts globally, and we expect that an analogous measure for household water insecurity will be similarly impactful.

SUBMITTER: Young SL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6340431 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Development and validation protocol for an instrument to measure household water insecurity across cultures and ecologies: the Household Water InSecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale.

Young Sera L SL Collins Shalean M SM Boateng Godfred O GO Neilands Torsten B TB Jamaluddine Zeina Z Miller Joshua D JD Brewis Alexandra A AA Frongillo Edward A EA Jepson Wendy E WE Melgar-Quiñonez Hugo H Schuster Roseanne C RC Stoler Justin B JB Wutich Amber A

BMJ open 20190117 1

<h4>Introduction</h4>A wide range of water-related problems contribute to the global burden of disease. Despite the many plausible consequences for health and well-being, there is no validated tool to measure individual- or household-level water insecurity equivalently across varying cultural and ecological settings. Accordingly, we are developing the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale to measure household-level water insecurity in multiple contexts.<h4>Methods and analysis</h4 ...[more]

PMID: 30782708

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Project description:Our ability to measure household-level food insecurity has revealed its critical role in a range of physical, psychosocial, and health outcomes. Currently, there is no analogous, standardized instrument for quantifying household-level water insecurity, which prevents us from understanding both its prevalence and consequences. Therefore, our objectives were to develop and validate a household water insecurity scale appropriate for use in our cohort in western Kenya. We used a range of qualitative techniques to develop a preliminary set of 29 household water insecurity questions and administered those questions at 15 and 18 months postpartum, concurrent with a suite of other survey modules. These data were complemented by data on quantity of water used and stored, and microbiological quality. Inter-item and item-total correlations were performed to reduce scale items to 20. Exploratory factor and parallel analyses were used to determine the latent factor structure; a unidimensional scale was hypothesized and tested using confirmatory factor and bifactor analyses, along with multiple statistical fit indices. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and the coefficient of stability, which produced a coefficient alpha of 0.97 at 15 and 18 months postpartum and a coefficient of stability of 0.62. Predictive, convergent and discriminant validity of the final household water insecurity scale were supported based on relationships with food insecurity, perceived stress, per capita household water use, and time and money spent acquiring water. The resultant scale is a valid and reliable instrument. It can be used in this setting to test a range of hypotheses about the role of household water insecurity in numerous physical and psychosocial health outcomes, to identify the households most vulnerable to water insecurity, and to evaluate the effects of water-related interventions. To extend its applicability, we encourage efforts to develop a cross-culturally valid scale using robust qualitative and quantitative techniques.

Dataset Information

Development and validation protocol for an instrument to measure household water insecurity across cultures and ecologies: the Household Water InSecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale.

Publications

Development and validation protocol for an instrument to measure household water insecurity across cultures and ecologies: the Household Water InSecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale.

Similar Datasets

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