Adoption rates are the most critical success metric for Dispensers for Safe Water and as an organization focused on continuous improvement, we are always looking for ways to sustain and improve these rates.
Despite the availability of inexpensive and easy-to-use technologies and simple behaviors that can prevent diarrhea, it kills more than half a million children a year, predominantly in the developing world. More troubling still, social scientists have found it challenging to get high adoption rates and maintain participation amongst poor households, even when the technology is provided free.
In a randomized controlled trial in Karachi, Pakistan, I test the hypothesis that perhaps families need tools that clearly demonstrate the impact of health interventions – in this case, chlorine tablets for water purification.
A new review of safe water, hygiene and sanitation research seems just as interested in the question of adoption as we are. What factors affect sustained adoption of safe water, hygiene and sanitation technologies? is a systematic review of the literature completed an in-depth synthesis of 44 published studies explicitly reporting on sustained adoption. What did the authors find, and how does this evidence square with what our approach to a sustainable water service - Dispensers for Safe Water?