Table 2. Student-Reported Availability of School Water Fountains or Dispensers by Sociodemographic Characteristics and State Plumbing Codes for Schoolsa .
| Characteristic (No. of Respondents) | Student-Reported Availability of School Water Fountains or Dispensersb
|
χ2 P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Few or None | Widely Available | ||
| Overall N (weighted %) | 487 (42.6%) | 653 (57.4%) | NA |
| Age, y | |||
| 9–10 (n = 221) | 44.4% | 55.6% | .45 |
| 11–13 (n = 326) | 39.8% | 60.2% | |
| 14–18 (n = 593) | 43.4% | 56.6% | |
| Sex | |||
| Male (n = 643) | 40.9% | 59.1% | .27 |
| Female (n = 497) | 44.3% | 55.7% | |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| White (n = 775) | 43.0% | 57.0% | .009 |
| Black (n = 125) | 32.2% | 67.8% | |
| Hispanic (n = 159) | 49.6% | 50.4% | |
| Other (n = 81) | 44.9% | 55.1% | |
| Annual household income, $ | |||
| <25,000 (n = 166) | 42.8% | 57.2% | .55 |
| 25,000–59,999 (n = 324) | 44.5% | 55.5% | |
| >59,999 (n = 650) | 41.2% | 58.8% | |
| Census region | |||
| Northeast (n = 227) | 48.5% | 51.5% | <.001 |
| South (n = 423) | 39.4% | 60.4% | |
| Midwest (n = 290) | 34.6% | 65.4% | |
| West (n = 200) | 54.3% | 45.7% | |
| Metropolitan statistical area | |||
| Nonmetropolitan area (n = 233) | 43.8% | 56.2% | .30 |
| Population <500,000 (n = 204) | 37.9% | 62.1% | |
| Population ≥500,000 (n = 703) | 43.5% | 56.5% | |
| Drinking fountains required per student per state plumbing codec | |||
| 1 fountain per <100 students (n = 182) | 42.5% | 57.6% | .0048 |
| 1 fountain per 100 students (n = 750) | 40.0% | 60.1% | |
| 1 fountain per >100 students (n = 146) | 54.6% | 45.4% | |
| Nonplumbed water sources allowed?d | |||
| Nonplumbed water sources may substitute for all fountains (n = 135) | 39.0% | 61.0% | .0007 |
| Nonplumbed water sources may substitute half of fountains (n = 647) | 39.0% | 61.1% | |
| Nonplumbed water sources may not substitute for fountains (n = 315) | 51.5% | 48.5% | |
Abbreviation: NA, not applicable.
a
Values are expressed as percentages unless otherwise indicated. Rows may not sum to 100 because of rounding
b
Participants responded either “Yes, there are many,” “Yes, only a few,” “No, none work,” or “There are no water fountains” to the question “Does your school have working drinking fountains or dispensers that you can drink from?” “Widely available drinking fountains” correspond with participants reporting “Yes, there are many.”
c
Excluded participants in states where there was no code.
d
Excluded participants in states where the state code did not specify a fountain to student ratio or a proportion of fountains that could be replaced by nonplumbed sources.