Department of Mechanical Engineering, Portland State University , Portland, Oregon 97201, United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2013;47(23):13602-10. doi: 10.1021/es403412x. Epub 2013 Nov 19.
Remotely reporting electronic sensors offer the potential to reduce bias in monitoring use of environmental health interventions. In the context of a five-month randomized controlled trial of household water filters and improved cookstoves in rural Rwanda, we collected data from intervention households on product compliance using (i) monthly surveys and direct observations by community health workers and environmental health officers, and (ii) sensor-equipped filters and cookstoves deployed for about two weeks in each household. The adoption rate interpreted by the sensors varied from the household reporting: 90.5% of households reported primarily using the intervention stove, while the sensors interpreted 73.2% use, and 96.5% of households reported using the intervention filter regularly, while the sensors interpreted no more than 90.2%. The sensor-collected data estimated use to be lower than conventionally collected data both for water filters (approximately 36% less water volume per day) and cookstoves (approximately 40% fewer uses per week). An evaluation of intrahousehold consistency in use suggests that households are not using their filters or stoves on an exclusive basis, and may be both drinking untreated water at times and using other stoves ("stove-stacking"). These results provide additional evidence that surveys and direct observation may exaggerate compliance with household-based environmental interventions.
远程报告电子传感器有可能减少监测环境健康干预措施使用的偏倚。在卢旺达农村地区为期五个月的家用滤水器和改良炉灶随机对照试验中,我们通过以下两种方法收集干预家庭对产品合规性的数据:(i) 社区卫生工作者和环境卫生官员每月进行的调查和直接观察,以及 (ii) 在每户家庭中大约部署两周的配备传感器的滤水器和炉灶。传感器解读的采用率与家庭报告的不同:90.5%的家庭报告主要使用干预炉灶,而传感器解读的使用率为 73.2%,96.5%的家庭报告定期使用干预滤水器,而传感器解读的使用率不超过 90.2%。与传统收集的数据相比,传感器收集的数据估计水过滤器(每天的用水量减少约 36%)和炉灶(每周的使用次数减少约 40%)的使用量较低。对家庭内使用一致性的评估表明,家庭并非排他性地使用其滤水器或炉灶,可能有时饮用未经处理的水,并且可能使用其他炉灶(“炉灶堆叠”)。这些结果提供了更多证据表明,调查和直接观察可能夸大了家庭环境干预措施的合规性。