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. 2019 Sep 29;4(5):e001750. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001750

Table 4.

Items, responses and scoring of the Household Water InSecurity Experiences Scale

Label Item*
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?
Interrupt In the last 4 weeks, how frequently has your main water source been interrupted or limited (eg, water pressure, less water than expected, river dried up)?
Clothes In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have problems with water meant that clothes could not be washed?
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, etc.)
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 (eg, for washing foods, cooking, etc.)?
Hands In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have you or anyone in your household had to go without washing hands after dirty activities (eg, defecating or changing diapers, cleaning animal dung) because of problems with water?
Body 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 (eg, not enough water, dirty, unsafe)?
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?
Angry In the last 4 weeks, how frequently did you or anyone in your household feel angry about your water situation?
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?
None In the last 4 weeks, how frequently has there been no useable or drinkable water whatsoever in your household?
Shame In the last 4 weeks, how frequently have problems with water caused you or anyone in your household to feel ashamed/excluded/stigmatised?

*Responses to items are: never (0 times), rarely (1–2 times), sometimes (3–10 times), often (11-20 times), always (more than 20 times), don’t know and not applicable/I don’t have this. Never is scored as 0, rarely is scored as 1, sometimes is scored as 2 and often/always are scored as 3.