Trial reportBMJ open2019
Measuring open defecation in India using survey questions: evidence from a randomised survey experiment.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of a low-cost, behaviour-change intervention on latrine use and safe disposal of child faeces in rural Odisha, India: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Planetary health · 2022Trial
- Article
- Prevalence of zero-sanitation in India: Patterns of change across the states and Union Territories, 1993-2021.Journal of global health · 2023Article
- Demographic, social and economic factors affecting the adoption of green toilets among rural households in India.Environment, development and sustainability · 2023Article
- Contextual and psychological factors influencing open defecation free status: an exploratory qualitative study in rural South Western Uganda.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Child Undernutrition following the Introduction of a Large-Scale Toilet Construction Campaign in India.The Journal of nutrition · 2021Observational
- What Drives Open-air Defecation and How Widespread Is It? A Mixed Methods Study from a Tribal Predominant Block of Jharkhand, India.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate differences in reported open defecation between a question about latrine use or open defecation for every household member and a household-level question.
settingRural India is home to most of the world's open defecation. India's Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2015-2016 estimates that 54% of households in rural India defecate in the open. This measure is based on a question asking about the behaviour of all household members in one question. Yet, studies in rural India find substantial open defecation among individuals living in households with latrines, suggesting that household-level questions underestimate true open defecation.
participantsIn 2018, we randomly assigned latrine-owning households in rural parts of four Indian states to receive one of two survey modules measuring sanitation behaviour. 1215 households were asked about latrine use or open defecation individually for every household member. 1216 households were asked the household-level question used in India's DHS: what type of facility do members of the household usually use?
resultsWe compare reported open defecation between households asked the individual-level questions and those asked the household-level question. Using two methods for comparing open defecation by question type, the individual-level question found 20-21 (95% CI 16 to 25 for both estimates) percentage points more open defecation than the household-level question, among all households, and 28-29 (95% CI 22 to 35 for both estimates) percentage points more open defecation among households that received assistance to construct their latrines.
conclusionsWe provide the first evidence that individual-level questions find more open defecation than household-level questions. Because reducing open defecation in India is essential to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, and exposure to open defecation has consequences for child mortality and development, it is essential to accurately monitor its progress. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Registry for International Development Impact Evaluations (5b55458ca54d1).
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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.