Determinants of Adoption of Life Straw Family Water Treatment Method in Matayos Division, Busia County, Kenya

Abstract

Waterborne diseases remain a serious health crisis in many parts of the world particularly in the developing world where diarrhoeal diseases are major contributor to deaths especially for the children under the age of five years. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.7 million deaths attributed to diarrhoea globally could be prevented by improvements in the drinking water quality, sanitation and hygiene. In Kenya waterborne disease continue to be a major health problem with cases of cholera witnessed in different parts of the country over the years. LifeStraw family is a household based water treatment intervention that has been demonstrated as effective in removing microbiological organisms and particulate matter from water thereby providing quality drinking water. Large scale use of LifeStraw in Kenya was introduced in 2011 courtesy of Carbon-for-Water program; a private-public partnership between Vestergaard Africa Limited and the Kenyan Government. This study sought to establish the determinants of adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method in Matayos division, Busia County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives; 1) to determine the extent to which capacity building influences adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method at household level, 2) to establish how water source determines adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method at household level, 3) to assess the degree to which the cost of water treatment determines adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method at household level and 4) to examine how the alternative water treatment methods affect adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method at household level. The researcher employed descriptive survey study design, using quantitative and qualitative techniques of collecting information. Structured and key informant questionnaires were used to collate quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The researcher worked with a sample size of 384 households out of a target population of 13,101. Stratified random sampling based on the five locations of Matayos division and systematic sampling based on the household barcodes was employed to obtain the sample households. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the results were recorded in the form of frequency tables, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Based on the analysis of data and the discussions, the following were the key findings of the study. For the case of objective 1) Capacity building influenced adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method to a great extent. Similarly, household sensitization was an effective approach in disseminating LifeStraw information and its adoption in Matayos division. On objective 2) Quality of water at the source determined the adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method. On objective 3) Cost of water treatment was a key factor in the choice and adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method. 4) The alternative water treatment method affected the extent to which LifeStraw family water treatment method was adopted. From these findings the study recommends that; 1) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene stakeholders should develop appropriate health behaviour change messages with special focus on benefits of water treatment to increase uptake and sustained adoption of household water treatment methods. 2) The ministries of Health and Water should regularly undertake quality assessment on all water sources to ensure the safety of water at the source. 3) The ministry of water should explore ways and means of providing clean and safe water for all citizens in line with the UN convention on water. 4) Vestergaard Africa Limited should explore further improvements on LifeStraw family filter to enhance its capacity and efficiency. Suggestion for further studies: 1) Replication of the study in another sub county, 2) The sustainability of adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method in Western part of Kenya, and 3) Correlation study on adoption of LifeStraw family water treatment method and the prevalence of waterborne diseases.