Tube-Wells as a Community Health Intervention: Can They Be Effective in Bangladesh?

Azizur R. Molla, Pennsylvania State University
Gretchen Cornwell, Pennsylvania State University

The study’s purpose is to examine factors influencing the use of tube-wells, a common health intervention in Bangladesh, compared to use of other water sources, and the implications of specific sources for health. A 1998 study of eight rural villages provides information describing households, villages, and water source quality derived from surveys, focus groups, and laboratory analyzes of tube-well and pond water samples. Results suggest that households who rely on tube-well water are more likely to report skin disease (thought to be associated with arsenic in water), while those households for whom cultural practices interface with poverty resulting in the use of contaminated pond water for daily household use are more likely to report diarrhea. Logistic regression findings further suggest that household demographic, socio-economic and village factors are important in shaping health related water source decisions in rural Bangladesh.