Narrative Review of Primary Preventive Interventions against Water-Borne Diseases: Scientific Evidence of Health-EDRM in Contexts with Inadequate Safe Drinking Water

Emily Ying Yang Chan, Kimberley Hor Yee Tong, Caroline Dubois, Kiara Mc Donnell, Jean H. Kim, Kevin Kei Ching Hung and Kin On Kwok
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Emily Ying Yang Chan: Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, Hong Kong, China
Kimberley Hor Yee Tong: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Caroline Dubois: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Kiara Mc Donnell: GX Foundation, Hong Kong, China
Jean H. Kim: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Kevin Kei Ching Hung: Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, Hong Kong, China
Kin On Kwok: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-20

Abstract: Waterborne diseases account for 1.5 million deaths a year globally, particularly affecting children in low-income households in subtropical areas. It is one of the most enduring and economically devastating biological hazards in our society today. The World Health Organization Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (health-EDRM) Framework highlights the importance of primary prevention against biological hazards across all levels of society. The framework encourages multi-sectoral coordination and lessons sharing for community risk resilience. A narrative review, conducted in March 2021, identified 88 English-language articles published between January 2000 and March 2021 examining water, sanitation, and hygiene primary prevention interventions against waterborne diseases in resource-poor settings. The literature identified eight main interventions implemented at personal, household and community levels. The strength of evidence, the enabling factors, barriers, co-benefits, and alternative measures were reviewed for each intervention. There is an array of evidence available across each intervention, with strong evidence supporting the effectiveness of water treatment and safe household water storage. Studies show that at personal and household levels, interventions are effective when applied together. Furthermore, water and waste management will have a compounding impact on vector-borne diseases. Mitigation against waterborne diseases require coordinated, multi-sectoral governance, such as building sanitation infrastructure and streamlined waste management. The review showed research gaps relating to evidence-based alternative interventions for resource-poor settings and showed discrepancies in definitions of various interventions amongst research institutions, creating challenges in the direct comparison of results across studies.

Keywords: biological hazard; primary prevention; health-EDRM; water-borne disease; diarrheal disease; safe drinking water (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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