Simiyu Sheillah, Swilling Mark, Cairncross Sandy, Rheingans Richard
School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag, X1, Matieland, 7602, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Great Lakes University of Kisumu (GLUK), Box 2224-40100, Kisumu, Kenya.
BMC Public Health. 2017 Jan 11;17(1):68. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-4009-6.
Shared facilities are not recognised as improved sanitation due to challenges of maintenance as they easily can be avenues for the spread of diseases. Thus there is need to evaluate the quality of shared facilities, especially in informal settlements, where they are commonly used. A shared facility can be equated to a common good whose management depends on the users. If users do not work collectively towards keeping the facility clean, it is likely that the quality may depreciate due to lack of maintenance. This study examined the quality of shared sanitation facilities and used the common pool resource (CPR) management principles to examine the determinants of shared sanitation quality in the informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya.
Using a multiple case study design, the study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. In both phases, users of shared sanitation facilities were interviewed, while shared sanitation facilities were inspected. Shared sanitation quality was a score which was the dependent variable in a regression analysis. Interviews during the qualitative stage were aimed at understanding management practices of shared sanitation users. Qualitative data was analysed thematically by following the CPR principles.
Shared facilities, most of which were dirty, were shared by an average of eight households, and their quality decreased with an increase in the number of households sharing. The effect of numbers on quality is explained by behaviour reflected in the CPR principles, as it was easier to define boundaries of shared facilities when there were fewer users who cooperated towards improving their shared sanitation facility. Other factors, such as defined management systems, cooperation, collective decision making, and social norms, also played a role in influencing the behaviour of users towards keeping shared facilities clean and functional.
Apart from hardware factors, quality of shared sanitation is largely due to group behaviour of users. The CPR principles form a crucial lens through which the dynamics of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements can be understood. Development and policy efforts should incorporate group behaviour as they determine the quality of shared sanitation facilities.
由于维护方面的挑战，共享设施不被视为改善后的卫生设施，因为它们很容易成为疾病传播的途径。因此，有必要评估共享设施的质量，特别是在非正式住区，因为这些设施在那里被广泛使用。共享设施可以等同于一种公共物品，其管理依赖于用户。如果用户不共同努力保持设施清洁，由于缺乏维护，设施质量很可能会下降。本研究调查了共享卫生设施的质量，并运用公共池塘资源（CPR）管理原则来研究肯尼亚基苏木非正式住区共享卫生质量的决定因素。
本研究采用多案例研究设计，运用了定量和定性方法。在两个阶段中，都对共享卫生设施的用户进行了访谈，并对共享卫生设施进行了检查。共享卫生质量是一个分数，作为回归分析中的因变量。定性阶段的访谈旨在了解共享卫生设施用户的管理实践。定性数据按照CPR原则进行了主题分析。
共享设施大多很脏，平均有八户家庭共用，其质量随着共用家庭数量的增加而下降。数量对质量的影响可以通过CPR原则所反映的行为来解释，因为当较少的用户合作改善他们的共享卫生设施时，更容易界定共享设施的边界。其他因素，如明确的管理系统、合作、集体决策和社会规范，也在影响用户保持共享设施清洁和正常运行的行为方面发挥了作用。
除了硬件因素外，共享卫生设施的质量很大程度上取决于用户的群体行为。CPR原则是理解非正式住区共享卫生设施动态的关键视角。发展和政策努力应纳入群体行为，因为它们决定了共享卫生设施的质量。
