Combining hygiene behavior change with water and sanitation : monitoring progress in Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic. Part II. (December 2001-March 2004)

This report updates a previous EHP Activity Report to include the comparison of results from two subsequent household surveys, June 2003 (second midterm survey) and March 2004 (final survey). Between December 2001 and March 2004, four household surveys were conducted to measure the results of a hygiene behavior change programming process in nine communities of the municipality of Hato Mayor in the Dominican Republic. The purpose of these surveys was to provide NGO program managers and communities with timely information about changes in diarrhea prevalence and hygiene behaviors before and after water and hygiene interventions were introduced. The surveys were part of the process and could be characterized as 'participatory monitoring'. They provided a clear picture of a combined hygiene behavior change and health hardware intervention. Most of the hygiene behaviors promoted as part of the intervention showed statistically significant improvements from the time of baseline to the first follow-up survey. The findings seem to indicate that some behaviors, once changed, may not require additional promotion. Behaviors which improved in early surveys that returned to baseline levels in subsequent surveys would seem to indicate the need for supplemental, more sustained, or a different type of reinforcement. [taken from the executive summary]