DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5hqbzkhjh
title: Use of the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) scale to evaluate rural water delivery in small Ecuadorian communities

description: Community-led water systems are an important strategy to provide reliable,
 clean piped water to small, rural, and dispersed communities. However,
 evaluating the effect of these systems on small communities is
 challenging. To complement the  WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring
 Programme (JMP) water service ladder, the Household Water Insecurity
 Experiences (HWISE) Scale, an experiential measure of water availability,
 accessibility, use, acceptability, and reliability that has been linked to
 multiple health and social outcomes, may support an improved understanding
 of how improvements in water access affect communities. In 2023, Green
 Empowerment, an organization that supports the development of
 community-managed water systems in Ecuador, and local partner
 organizations, integrated the HWISE Scale, using a 4-week recall period,
 into routine monitoring and evaluation surveys for communities where a new
 piped water system, or an upgrade to an existing piped water system, was
 planned. Baseline data were collected from 19 Ecuadorian communities in
 three regions (coastal, highland, and Amazon) and in three languages
 (Spanish, Kichwa, and Cha’palaa). This included communities with no piped
 water and communities with water systems with varying levels of service
 quality. Endline (post-intervention) evaluations were completed in 4 of
 these communities. We also collected baseline and endline data from 1
 Colombian community where an non-perceivable infrastructure modification
 in the water system was implemented. We used logistic regression to
 evaluate risk factors for reported water insecurity at baseline and
 unpaired two-sided t-tests to evaluate differences in reported water
 insecurity pre- versus post-intervention. We found that communities with
 unreliable piped water often reported considerable water insecurity
 between households, with mean HWISE scores similar to those of communities
 fully reliant on surface or rainwater. Reported water insecurity was
 reduced by 1.6-3.3 points on the HWISE-4 Scale post-intervention in 4
 communities with a tangible system improvement, and by 0.8 points in the
 community with the non-perceivable intervention. The HWISE Scale enriched
 traditional water service/access indicators and was sensitive to changes
 in households’ experiences of water or attitudes towards their water
 infrastructure.
description: # Use of the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) scale to
 evaluate rural water delivery in small Ecuadorian communities Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.5hqbzkhjh](10.5061/dryad.5hqbzkhjh) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This directory contains the data required to
 reproduce analyses reported in the associated paper. Contact: Gwenyth O.
 Lee
 ([gwenyth.lee@globalhealth.rutgers.edu](mailto:gwenyth.lee@globalhealth.rutgers.edu); [gwenyth.lee@gmail.com](mailto:gwenyth.lee@gmail.com)) Samuel B. Schlesinger ([sam@greenempowerment.org](mailto:sam@greenempowerment.org)) ### Files and variables #### File: Data.csv **Description:**  Some variables (survey date, respondent age, sex, and household size) have been omitted to maintain anonymity, as per Dryad legal and ethical guidelines ##### Variables * survey_partner: partner organization engaged in project implementation * survey_language: survey language. "Chaʼpalaa" includes surveys administered in a combination of Chaʼpalaa and Spanish while "Kichwa'  includes surveys administered in a combination of Kichwa. and Spanish * survey_phase: Phase 1 or phase 2, as described in the associated manuscript. * country: Ecuador or Colombia. * region: Coastal, Amazonian, or Highland (Sierra). * community: Community name. * baseline_endline: Baseline (pre-intervention) or endline (post-intervention). * house_id: anonymized house ID. * hwise_worry: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently did you or anyone in your household worry you would not have enough water for all of your household needs? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_interrupt: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently has your main water source been interrupted or limited (e.g. water pressure, less water than expected, river dried up)? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_clothing: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have problems with water meant that clothes could not be washed? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_plans: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have you or anyone in your household had to change schedules or plans due to problems with your water situation? (Activities that may have been interrupted include caring for others, doing household chores, agricultural work, income-generating activities, sleeping, etc.)Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_food: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have you or anyone in your household had to change what was being eaten because there were problems with water (e.g., for washing foods, cooking, etc.)? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_hands: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have you or anyone in your household had to go without washing hands after dirty activities (e.g., defecating or changing diapers, cleaning animal dung) because of problems with water? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_bathe: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have you or anyone in your household had to go without washing their body because of problems with water (e.g., not enough water, dirty, unsafe)? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_drink: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently has there not been as much water to drink as you would like for you or anyone in your household? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_angry: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently did you or anyone in your household feel angry about your water situation? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_sleep: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have you or anyone in your household gone to sleep thirsty because there wasn’t any water to drink? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_none: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently has there been no useable or drinkable water whatsoever in your household? Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise_shame: In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have problems with water caused you or anyone in your household to feel ashamed/excluded/stigmatized?  Responses options are: never (0 times) scored as 0, rarely (1-2 times) scored as 1, sometimes (3-10 times) scored as 2, and often and always (more than 10 times) scored as 3, 'don't know' or 'not applicable' is a missing value. As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise4: HWISE 4 scale (continuous). Sum of the 'worry', 'plans', 'hands' and 'drink' items. As described in Young SL, Miller JD, Frongillo EA, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Neilands TB. Validity of a four-item household water insecurity experiences scale for assessing water issues related to health and well-being. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2020 Oct 26;104(1):391. * hwise4_bin: Water secure versus insecure using the HWISE-4 cut-off (water secure: HWISE 4 score of 0-3, water insecure: HWISE 4 score of &gt;=4).  As described in Young SL, Miller JD, Frongillo EA, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Neilands TB. Validity of a four-item household water insecurity experiences scale for assessing water issues related to health and well-being. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2020 Oct 26;104(1):391. * hwise12: HWISE 12 scale (continuous). Sum of all 12 HWISE items ('worry' - 'shame'). As described in Young SL, Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Miller JD, et al. (2019) *Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale.* User Manual , HWISE Research Coordination Network , North Western University , USA * hwise12_cat: Categorical definitions of “none to marginal” (0-2), “low” (3-11), “moderate” (12-23) and “high” (24-36) water insecurity from the HWISE 12. As described in Frongillo EA, Bethancourt HJ, Miller JD, Young SL. Identifying ordinal categories for the Water Insecurity Experiences Scales. J Water Sanit Hyg Dev 2024; 14: 1066–78. * drinkwater_source: Primary drinking water source. * drinkwater_carried: Household reports carrying their drinking water * drinkwater_carried_time: Time required to carry drinking water * drinkwater_perceivedunsafe: Respondent reports at least occasional consumption of some drinking water perceived to be unsafe. * drinkwater_secondsource: Respondent reports that household uses a secondary drinking water source in past two weeks. * drinkwater_treat: Respondent reports that household treats their drinking water (by boiling, chlorination, filtration, or other method) * waterstore: Enumerator-observed quantity of water stored in household at time of interview. * pipedwater: The household has a piped water connection. * pipedwater_currentlyworking: If the household has a piped water connection, whether it is currently functioning. * pipedwater_predictableoutages: If the household has a piped water connection, are outages predictable when they occur. * pipedwater_outageover24hr: If the household has a piped water connection, outages over 24 hours long occur * pipedwater_satisfied: The household is satisfied with their piped water * pipedwater_50Lpercapita: Piped water per person per day, based on water meter reading ## Code/software Data is provided in csv format. ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * NA Data was derived from the following sources: * Data was shared by Green Empowerment and their partner organizations. ## Human subjects data All data were collected by Green Empowerment partner organizations for monitoring and evaluation purposes. The Rutgers ethical review board approved the protocol for secondary data analysis and issued a waiver of informed consent (Rutgers IRB Protocol Number 2023001464). Deidentified data were shared with Rutgers University in batches on 16/11/2023, 03/04/2024, 24/07/2024, 25/09/2024, and 12/02/2025.