West S, Lynch M, Turner V, Munoz B, Rapoza P, Mmbaga B B, Taylor H R
Bull World Health Organ. 1989;67(1):71-5.
As part of an epidemiological survey of risk factors for trachoma in 20 villages in the United Republic of Tanzania, we investigated the relationship of village water pumps, distance to water source, and quantity of household water to the risk of inflammatory trachoma. We also evaluated whether there was an association between the cleanliness of children's faces and these water variables. No association was found between the presence of a village water supply and the prevalence of trachoma. However, the risk of trachoma in the household increased with the distance to a water source--although there was no association with the estimated daily amount of water brought into the house. Likewise, children were more likely to have unclean faces if they lived more than 30 minutes from a water source, but whether they had clean faces was not associated with the daily quantity of water brought into the household. The effect of the distance to water supply on trachoma may well reflect the value placed on water within the family, and this determines the priority for its use for hygiene purposes. The results of the study suggest that changing the access to water per se may be insufficient to alter the prevalence of trachoma without also a concomitant effort to change the perception of how water should be utilized in the home.
作为对坦桑尼亚联合共和国20个村庄沙眼危险因素进行的一项流行病学调查的一部分，我们研究了村庄水泵、到水源的距离以及家庭用水量与炎性沙眼风险之间的关系。我们还评估了儿童面部清洁度与这些水变量之间是否存在关联。未发现村庄供水的存在与沙眼患病率之间存在关联。然而，家庭中沙眼的风险随着到水源距离的增加而增加——尽管与带入家中的估计每日水量没有关联。同样，如果儿童居住在距离水源超过30分钟路程的地方，他们的面部更有可能不干净，但他们面部是否干净与带入家庭的每日水量无关。到供水点的距离对沙眼的影响很可能反映了家庭对水的重视程度，而这决定了将水用于卫生目的的优先级。研究结果表明，在没有同时努力改变家庭对水的使用观念的情况下，仅仅改变用水机会本身可能不足以改变沙眼的患病率。
