Drinking Water Management: Health Risk Perceptions and Choices in First Nations and Non-First Nations Communities in Canada

Diane Dupont, Cheryl Waldner, Lalita Bharadwaj, Ryan Plummer, Blair Carter, Kate Cave and Rebecca Zagozewski
Additional contact information
Cheryl Waldner: School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada
Lalita Bharadwaj: School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada
Ryan Plummer: Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
Blair Carter: Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Kate Cave: Institute for Water, Environment, and Health, United Nations University, Hamilton, ON L8P OA1, Canada
Rebecca Zagozewski: Safe Water for Health Research Team, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: The relationship between tap water and health has been a topic of public concern and calls for better management in Canada since well-publicized contamination events in two provinces (Ontario and Saskatchewan) in 2000–2001. This study reports the perspectives on health risks from tap water and corresponding use of, and spending on, bottled water in a number of different communities in Canada. In 2009–2010, four First Nations communities (three from Ontario and one from Saskatchewan) and a geographically diverse sample of non-First Nations Canadians were surveyed about their beliefs concerning health risks from tap water and their spending practices for bottled water as a substitute. Responses to five identical questions were examined, revealing that survey respondents from Ontario First Nations communities were more likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe bottled water is safer than tap water (OR 1.6); more likely to report someone became ill from tap water (OR 3.6); more likely to express water and health concerns related to tap water consumption (OR 2.4); and more likely to spend more on bottled water (OR 4.9). On the other hand, participants from one Saskatchewan First Nations community were less likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe that someone had become ill from drinking tap water (OR 3.8), less likely to believe bottled water is safer than tap (OR 2.0), and less likely to have health concerns with tap water (OR 1.5). These differences, however, did not translate into differences in the likelihood of high bottled water expenditures or being a 100% bottled water consumer. The paper discusses how the differences observed may be related to water supply and regulation, trust, perceived control, cultural background, location, and past experience.

Keywords: bottled water expenditures; health risk beliefs; First Nations; generalized estimating equations; odds-ratios (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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