Sanitation and Collective Efficacy in Rural Cambodia: The Value Added of Qualitative Formative Work for the Contextualization of Measurement Tools

Allison P. Salinger, Gloria D. Sclar, James Dumpert, Davin Bun, Thomas Clasen and Maryann G. Delea
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Allison P. Salinger: Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Gloria D. Sclar: Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
James Dumpert: Learning & Documentation, WaterAid Cambodia, Phnom Penh 12207, Cambodia
Davin Bun: Learning & Documentation, WaterAid Cambodia, Phnom Penh 12207, Cambodia
Thomas Clasen: Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Maryann G. Delea: Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Community-level action may be required to achieve the levels of sanitation uptake necessary for health gains. Evidence suggests that collective action is influenced by collective efficacy (CE)—a group’s belief in its abilities to organize and execute action to achieve common goals. The extent to which it is necessary to fully contextualize existing CE measurement tools, in order to conduct meaningful assessments of the factors influencing CE perceptions, is not well understood. This study examines the value added of contextualizing an existing CE measurement tool using qualitative formative research. We employed a modified grounded theory approach to develop a contextualized CE framework based on qualitative data from rural Cambodian villages. The resulting framework included sub-constructs that were pertinent for the rural Cambodian context for which an existing, hypothesized framework did not account: perceived risks/benefits, action knowledge, shared needs/benefits, and external accountability. Complex confirmatory factor analyses indicated that contextualized models fit the data better than hypothesized models for women and men. This study demonstrates that inductive, qualitative research allows community-derived factors to enhance existing tools for context-specific CE measurement. Additional research is needed to determine which CE factors transcend contexts and could, thus, form the foundation of a general CE measurement tool.

Keywords: collective efficacy; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); behavior change; collective action; community-based interventions; participatory development approaches; factor analysis; social context (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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