What are some of participatory methods that can be used for the investigation of hygiene practices and action planning?
Updated - Monday 28 November 2005
What are some of participatory methods that can be used for the investigation of hygiene practices and action planning?
Methods suitable for the investigation of hygiene practices and for action planning include:
Three pile sorting: Three pile sorting can be used to start a discussion on sensitive issues such as latrine use and to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices in the community.Participants are given a set of drawings showing situations related to defecation, protection of water sources, water use and personal hygiene etc. they are then asked to discuss each drawing as a group and arrive at a consensus as to whether it is good, bad or in-between and put it on the coinciding pile. At the end of the exercise the participants are asked to give feed back and explain each choice.
Pocket chart: This methodology can be used for example to investigate which water sources are used for which purposes. To do so, the participants will be shown two sets of pictures. The first set depicting the different water sources available in the community and a second set with the different water uses. After all the participants have had a chance to familiarize themselves with the pictures, they will be placed in a matrix. After this, each participant will be given a number of voting cards equal to the number of water uses. In order to collect gender sensitive information, women and men can be given different colour cards. The participants are then asked to vote and indicate for each water use which source they (mainly) use. After this, one or two participants assist in counting the votes and the outcomes are discussed.
Semi-structured interviews: this method can be used to investigate general as well as specific issues. The questions during this kind of interviews are asked informally but systematically. The method can help to find out, for example, which hygiene practices are considered ideal and acceptable.
Focused group discussions: In a focus group discussion, people from a similar background or expertise are brought together to discuss a specific topic of interest to the investigator. The purposes of the discussion are to explore the range of options/views on a specific topic, to get an insight in the local terms and expressions used and to get a (better) understanding of the other findings in the study.
Source: Almedom et al., (1997). Hygiene evaluation procedures: approaches and methods for assessing water- and sanitation-related hygiene practices, Boston, MA, USA : International Nutrition Foundation for Developing Countries.
