This document summarizes research on the impact of health education on the water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviors of pastoralists in Tanzania. The researcher conducted a study with 196 pastoralist households from 21 villages who received health education in 2014. Preliminary results show that health education significantly increased water treatment in both rainy season and year-round, water treatment frequency, handwashing after working with animals, and handwashing frequency at various times. The research aims to contribute new evidence on the impacts of short-term health education on pastoralists' preventive health behaviors and help inform future WASH interventions. Next steps include publishing results and examining disease occurrence reports related to water-borne pathogens and health

1. Mazbahul Ahamad
Ph.D. Student, School of Natural Resources, UNL
Advisors: Christopher Gustafson1 and Elizabeth VanWormer2, 3
1Agricultural Economics, UNL
2School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 3School of Natural Resources, UNL
DWFI Research Forum; April 26, 2018 | UNL
The Impact of Health Education on Pastoralists’ Water
Treatment, Sanitation, and Hygiene Behaviors in Tanzania

2. Background
 Pastoralists are livestock keepers who often have limited access to water,
sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services
 Risk of water-borne diseases linked to daily household decisions such as
sharing water with livestock and wildlife can cause health concerns for
pastoralists
 Health education is frequently suggested as an effective intervention
technique to create positive impacts on WASH behaviors
 We examine how health education can improve pastoralists’ WASH
behaviors in rural Tanzania
 WASH behaviors relate to freshwater use and health, which is a
component of DWFI’s 4th subject area of focus.

3. Research Question
Does health education affect pastoralists’ water
treatment, sanitation, and handwashing (WASH)
behavior?
 Research Hypotheses:
We hypothesize that pastoralists who received
health education will:
H1: increase treatment of drinking water from
surface and ground water sources in both dry and
rainy seasons;
H2: use an improved sanitation system such as pit
toilet; and
H3: wash their hands more (with and without
soap) at three critical points of time (e.g., after
toilet use and after working with animals)

4. Study Design & Analysis Strategy
 The study is based on a pre/post
intervention comparison of WASH
behaviors of 196 pastoralists from 21
villages in Iringa Rural District,
Tanzania
 In summer 2014, all households
received health education on basic
preventive health behaviors
 Household data were collected in two
baseline and two follow-up surveys
 We assessed pre/post differences in
pastoralists’ WASH outcomes
Figure 1: Study Area

5. Key Preliminary Results
Table 1: Impact of Health Education on WASH Behavior (Pre-Post Comparison)
Outcome Variables
Baseline
Mean (B)
Follow-up
Mean (F)
Difference
(F-B)
%
Change
t-test P-value
(t-test)
𝝌 𝟐 P-value
( 𝝌 𝟐
)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (8) (9)
i. Water Treatment (WA)
Water Treatment
(rainy season)
0.141 0.267 +0.146*** +89.36 3.458 0.000 - -
Water Treatment
(year-round)
0.151 0.298 +0.220*** +97.35 3.422 0.000 - -
Water Treatment Frequency
(rainy season)
0.339 0.713 +0.375*** +110.32 3.494 0.000 12.046 0.007
Water Treatment Frequency
(year-round)
0.370 0.743 +0.373*** +100.81 3.389 0.000 11.504 0.009
ii. Sanitation Behaviors (S)
Pit Toilet
Use
0.625 0.632 +0.007 +1.12 0.129 0.897 - -
iii. Hygiene Behaviors (H)
Handwashing
(after working with animals)
0.785 0.976 +0.190*** +24.33 5.589 0.000 - -
Handwashing Frequency
(before eating)
3.366 3.488 +0.121** +3.62 1.646 0.100 8.6464 0.034
Handwashing Frequency
(after toilet use)
2.802 2.932 +0.129** +4.64 0.987 0.325 9.500 0.050
Handwashing Frequency
(after working with animals)
3.174 3.329 +0.155 +4.88 1.822 0.069 3.581 0.167
Note: **p<0.05, ***p<0.01

6. Summary
 Preliminary results show that health education significantly increased
average:
owater treatment in the rainy season and year-round
owater treatment frequency in the rainy season and year-round
ohandwashing after working with animals
ohandwashing frequency before eating, after toilet use, and after working with
animals
 Main research contributions:
o Considers all three components of WASH behaviors, and
o Provides new evidence on impacts of short-term health education on
pastoralists’ preventive health behaviors in Tanzania, which may help to
inform future WASH interventions

7. Research Outcomes and Next Steps
 Complete draft on the impact of health education on WASH behaviors
(second objective of DWFI project)
 Submit finalized manuscript on the determinants of WASH-related
preventive health behaviors (first objective of DWFI project) for
publication
 Initiate research to examine pastoralists’ reports of diseases occurrences,
which may be due to water-borne pathogens and household health
behaviors (third objective of DWFI project)

8. Acknowledgements
We are grateful for graduate student funding
from Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food
Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of
Nebraska.
Data collection was supported by a grant from
the USAID Feed the Future Livestock and
Climate Change Innovation Lab at Colorado
State University. We also thank the Tanzania
Commission for Science and Technology
(COSTECH) for granting field research
approval (Research Permit No. 2012-272- NA-
2012-45), and the University of California,
Davis for human subjects research approval
(IRB Protocol No. 240188-1).

9. Thank You!
waterforfood.nebraska.edu