EAWAG: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology , Ueberlandstrasse 133, P.O. Box 611, 8600 Duebendorf, Zurich, Switzerland.
Environ Sci Technol. 2013 Nov 19;47(22):12661-8. doi: 10.1021/es402787s. Epub 2013 Oct 30.
Evidence suggests that the effectiveness of technology designed to provide safe and healthy water is dependent on the degree of its use. In addition to providing safe water "hardware" (i.e., new infrastructure or equipment) to populations at risk, it might be necessary to also provide suitable "software" programs (behavior change strategies) to support use. A longitudinal survey was conducted in rural Ethiopia following the distribution of fluoride-removal household filters. Three intervention groups were evaluated. Group 1 only received the hardware, i.e., the fluoride-removal filter. Groups 2 and 3 also received software in the form of two evidence-based psychological interventions: a planning and social prompts intervention and an educational workshop with pledging. Group 2 received both software interventions, and Group 3 only received the educational workshop. The effects of the hardware and software on behavior and thus filter use were analyzed along with specific psychological factors. The results showed that the provision of the hardware alone (the fluoride-removal filter) was not enough to ensure sufficient use of the equipment. The addition of a software component in the form of psychological interventions increased filter use up to 80%. An increase in filter use was measured following each intervention resulting in the health-risk being minimized. We conclude that it is necessary that the implementation of hardware of this nature is accompanied by evidence-based intervention software.
有证据表明，旨在提供安全健康用水的技术的有效性取决于其使用程度。除了为处于危险中的人群提供安全水“硬件”（即新的基础设施或设备）外，可能还需要提供合适的“软件”程序（行为改变策略）来支持使用。在向农村埃塞俄比亚分发除氟家用过滤器后，进行了一项纵向调查。评估了三个干预组。第 1 组仅收到硬件，即除氟过滤器。第 2 组和第 3 组还收到了两种基于证据的心理干预措施的软件形式：计划和社会提示干预以及有承诺的教育研讨会。第 2 组同时收到了这两种软件干预措施，而第 3 组仅收到了教育研讨会。分析了硬件和软件对行为的影响，从而对过滤器的使用产生影响，并分析了特定的心理因素。结果表明，仅提供硬件（除氟过滤器）不足以确保设备的充分使用。以心理干预形式提供软件组件可将过滤器的使用率提高到 80%。每次干预后都会测量过滤器使用量的增加，从而将健康风险降至最低。我们的结论是，必须在实施这种性质的硬件的同时，辅以基于证据的干预软件。
