Zandra Hollaway Duprey Transcultural
fund recipient
Summer 2002, Dominican Republic
Follow-up Evaluation of the Eagle Water Filter Intervention
Project
in the Dominican Republic
THE SCIENCE
Approximately, 1.1 billion people in the developing world are without
access to safe water. Exposure to contaminated water results in a sundry
of waterborne diseases, half of which are diarrheal in nature. Diarrheal
disease is one of the leading contributors to morbidity and mortality,
especially in children under 5, in the developing world. Recent surveys
conducted by the PAHO, in 1999, revealed that 21% of the population
in the Dominican Republic is not using improved water sources. The majority
of those without proper access live in rural areas.
Seven years ago, Eagle Water Filters were placed in several communities
throughout the Dominican Republic to address this problem. These filters
were laboratory tested but field-testing has not been comprehensive.
Initial field evaluation revealed that the filters are accepted in the
sampled communities but water quality is less than optimal in over 40%
of the Eagle-filtered water samples tested.
This study was significant because of the time and monetary investment
of filter distribution and education should be justified by accessing
the effective and health impact of the filter.
The objective of my study was to evaluate filter use, determine the
effectiveness of the filter versus traditional methods and to determine
the reduction of diarrheal disease due to filter use through active
weekly diarrheal surveillance. Approximately 163 households were randomly
selected in the rural communities of El Venu and Blanco Arriba. These
communities are located north of Tenares in the north of the Dominican
Republic. Questionnaires about demographics of the household, water
purification methods, and knowledge of diarrheal prevention were administered
to all of the households. Water quality testing was performed on all
selected households regardless of purification method for comparison
between methods.
Preliminary result indicate that the non-filter using group have a slight
increase in incidence of diarrhea as compared to groups that use the
filter despite water quality being much poorer for the non-filter group.
More information and findings will be elicited upon further statistical
analysis of the data.
THE SUN
Although much time and effort was dedicated to my study, much fun was
had during my summer in the Dominican Republic! I was able to attend
a Spanish immersion course with great people from all over the globe
before beginning my study. I spent 3 weeks in the capital of the Dominican
Republic, Santo Domingo, getting acclimated the culture and language
of the country while living with a wonderful host family. I went to
many outdoor festivals and concerts to partake in food and fun in the
Dominican Republic, honed my salsa and meringue skills, and took "oceanic
water samples" at many of the beautiful beaches in the Dominican
Republic!
THE SALUTATION
I'd like thank the Transcultural Committee and Dr. and Mrs. Eugene Gangarosa
for enabling me to have this opportunity. I'd also like to thank all
of those who facilitated the successful completion of my project especially
Dr. Pedro Bernal, Dr. Rob Quick, Elizabeth Thiele, Don Hector Rizik,
and the Villa Villa family.
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