effect of adolescents' participation on drinking water consumption habits in the rural area of Rostam Abad

ABSTRACT

Water - related diseases are among the most important public health problems in developing countries and providing the people with safe water is a key factor in health promotion. Thus, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of adolescents' participation on drinking water habits of Rostam Abad village in Bouin Zahra in 2004. This research is a quasi - experimental study with 36 adolescent cases who covered 102 families. At first, training sessions were held for the adolescents and then each of them took charge of a few families [average 3 families] for education and control. Ultimately, the percentage of rural families who used healthy water [chlorinated or boiled] before and after adolescents' participation was compared. To compare the mean consumption of safe water pre and post intervention t - test was used. The results showed that none of the rural families consumed healthy water before intervention. However, 68.8% of the families used healthy water after intervention. Paired t-test showed a significant difference between mean consumption of safe water pre and post intervention [P=0.001]. Adolescent participation affects the index of providing and consumption of healthy water in rural areas. Thus, it is suggested that this approach be applied as a practical means to increase the healthy water consumption in rural areas