ArticleBMJ global health2018
Is water carriage associated with the water carrier's health? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative evidence.
Article in BMJ global health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epidemiology of sleep disturbances among medical students in the Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Drinking water and the implications for gender equity and empowerment: A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative evidence.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on movement behaviours of children and adolescents: a systematic review.BMJ global health · 2022Pooled it
- Diverse Health, Gender and Economic Impacts from Domestic Transport of Water and Solid Fuel: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the association between physical demands of domestic labor and back pain among women.BMC women's health · 2021Pooled it
- Household Water and Food Insecurity Are Positively Associated with Poor Mental and Physical Health among Adults Living with HIV in Western Kenya.The Journal of nutrition · 2021Trial
- Mixed-methods study to test and assess uptake for gender-specific WASH indicators in Bangladesh: study protocol.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Women's experiences collecting and accessing water in Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, and Zimbabwe: A mixed-methods investigation.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Coping strategies for household water insecurity in rural Gambia, mediating factors in the relationship between weather, water and health.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Exploring the experiences of the overburden of water collection responsibility of rural women in Ghana.Journal of water and health · 2024Article
- Water Treatment Practices and Misperceived Social Norms among Women Living with Young Children in Rural Uganda.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- Women, water and access: inscribing gender power in and through a place.Journal of water and health · 2024Article
- Water fetching and musculoskeletal health across the life-course in Sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Self-reported musculoskeletal disorder symptoms and associated factors among water carrying women in Legambo district, Northeastern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study design.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Water carrying in hills of Nepal-associations with women's musculoskeletal disorders, uterine prolapse, and spontaneous abortions.PloS one · 2022Article
- Assessing the relationship between domestic work experience and musculoskeletal health among rural Nigerian women.PloS one · 2022Article
- The embodiment of water insecurity: Injuries and chronic stress in lowland Bolivia.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2021Article
- Water Security and Nutrition: Current Knowledge and Research Opportunities.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2021Review
- A Qualitative Exploration in Causes of Water Insecurity Experiences, and Gender and Nutritional Consequences in South-Punjab, Pakistan.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- COVID-19 water, sanitation, and hygiene response: Review of measures and initiatives adopted by governments, regulators, utilities, and other stakeholders in 84 countries.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe work of carrying water falls mainly on women and children, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and rural areas. While concerns have been raised, how water carriage is associated with health of the water carrier is not clear. The aim of this review is to summarise evidence on whether, and how, water carriage is associated with the water carrier's health.
methodsA systematic review of literature was conducted, searching Embase; Medline; Web of Science Social Sciences Citation Index; Web of Science Arts and Humanities Citation Index; International Initiative for Impact Evaluation website; WHO Virtual Health Sciences Library and WHO African index medicus, from inception to 8 November 2017.
resultsForty-two studies were included. Their ability to demonstrate cause and effect relationships was limited by study design and fair or poor methodological quality. Overall, the studies suggest that water carriage is associated with negative aspects of the water carriers' health. There is moderate quantitative and strong qualitative evidence that water carriage is associated with pain, fatigue, perinatal health problems and violence against vulnerable people, and inconclusive evidence of an association with stress or self-reported mental health and general health status.
conclusionIn many circumstances, water carriage is a potential barrier to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 target 'universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all' and SDG 3 'ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages'. Efforts should focus on providing water on premises, and where this is not possible, providing water close to home and reducing risk of gender-based violence.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.