Cultural Responses to Water Shortage among Palestinians in Jordan: The Water Crisis and Its Impact on Child Health

Abstract

Jordan is facing a serious problem with regard to its water supply. This problem has implications for the distribution of childhood diarrhea. Previous anthropological studies have related diarrheal illnesses to both water quality and quantity. This project has applied an integrative biocultural model to the study of the cultural responses to the water crisis among Palestinians living in two urban sites in Amman-Jordan. This study was carried out over a one-year period. Research phases included: an ethnographic phase, baseline censuses, morbidity surveys, and collection of water samples for microbial analysis. Participant observation and structured and semi-structured interviews in households provided information about the different cultural and environmental factors that influenced the distribution of diarrhea. These factors covered: mothers' age, educational levels, parity, income, household structure, breastfeeding and gender ideology. The biological factor was investigated by analyzing water specimens taken during family visits. Morbidity data indicated that the occurrence of diarrhea among children under five in Hassan site was two and a half times as great as that in Mahatta. In both sites, females infants accounted for the highest number of diarrheal cases. Income, mother's age, and education showed no significant impact on the spread of diarrhea, while lack of water, parity, breastfeeding, and household structure were significantly associated with the occurrence of diarrhea.