Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 404 enrolled children by intervention group
| Filter (n = 102) | Ceramic tablet (n = 99) | Safe storage (n = 105) | No intervention (n = 98) | Overall (n = 404) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic/household characteristics | |||||
| Mother’s age (years), mean (±SD) | 28.4 (±7.1) | 27.0 (±6.5) | 28.2 (±6.3) | 27.8 (±6.8) | 27.8 (±6.7) |
| Highest school grade level of mother, n (%) | |||||
| Primary | 4 (3.9) | 5 (5.1) | 4 (3.8) | 1 (1.0) | 14 (3.5) |
| Secondary | 61 (59.8) | 55 (55.6) | 64 (61.0) | 57 (58.2) | 237 (58.7) |
| Matriculation | 24 (23.5) | 26 (26.3) | 21 (20.0) | 26 (26.5) | 97 (24.0) |
| Undergraduate | 7 (6.9) | 10 (10.1) | 11 (10.5) | 8 (8.2) | 36 (8.9) |
| Postgraduate | 4 (3.9) | 1 (1.0) | 5 (4.8) | 5 (5.1) | 15 (3.7) |
| Missing | 2 (2.0) | 2 (2.0) | 0 (0) | 1 (1.0) | 5 (1.2) |
| Highest school grade level of the head of the household, n (%) | |||||
| None | 6 (5.9) | 4 (4.0) | 5 (4.8) | 6 (6.1) | 21 (5.2) |
| Primary | 24 (23.5) | 26 (26.3) | 29 (27.6) | 24 (24.5) | 103 (25.5) |
| Secondary | 47 (46.1) | 52 (52.5) | 40 (38.1) | 40 (40.8) | 179 (44.3) |
| Matriculation | 16 (15.7) | 11 (11.1) | 21 (20.0) | 19 (19.4) | 67 (16.6) |
| Undergraduate | 6 (5.9) | 2 (2.0) | 6 (5.7) | 4 (4.1) | 18 (4.5) |
| Postgraduate | 3 (2.9) | 4 (4.0) | 4 (3.8) | 5 (5.1) | 16 (4.0) |
| Relationship of the head of the household to the child, n (%) | |||||
| Father | 37 (36.3) | 33 (33.3) | 38 (36.2) | 27 (27.6) | 135 (33.4) |
| Mother | 15 (14.7) | 13 (13.1) | 13 (12.4) | 21 (21.4) | 62 (15.3) |
| Grandmother | 32 (31.4) | 29 (29.3) | 32 (30.5) | 31 (31.6) | 124 (30.7) |
| Grandfather | 15 (14.7) | 24 (24.2) | 20 (19.0) | 15 (15.3) | 74 (18.3) |
| Sibling | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (0.2) |
| Other | 3 (2.9) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.9) | 3 (3.1) | 8 (2.0) |
| Socioeconomic status score [WAMI; mean (±SD)] | 0.79 (±0.11) | 0.78 (±0.12) | 0.78 (±0.13) | 0.78 (±0.11) | 0.78 (±0.11) |
| Monthly household income (ZAR), mean (±SD) | 1,746 (±1,154) | 1,987 (±1,865) | 2,300 (±3,066) | 1,626 (±886) | 1,920 (±1,965) |
| Adults older than 15 years in household, mean (±SD) | 2.9 (±1.2) | 3.1 (±1.6) | 3.1 (±1.4) | 2.9 (±1.6) | 3.0 (±1.5) |
| Children younger than 15 years in household, mean (±SD) | 2.3 (±1.0) | 2.3 (±1.1) | 2.5 (±1.4) | 2.5 (±1.2) | 2.4 (±1.2) |
| Crowded household (> 2/room for sleeping), n (%) | 47 (46.1) | 47 (47.5) | 54 (51.4) | 55 (56.1) | 203 (50.2) |
| Water use practices | |||||
| Primary drinking water source, n (%) | |||||
| Municipal | 38 (37.3) | 47 (47.5) | 39 (37.1) | 44 (44.9) | 168 (41.6) |
| Surface water from tap/pipe | 41 (40.2) | 32 (32.3) | 41 (39.0) | 32 (32.7) | 146 (36.1) |
| Directly from surface water | 7 (6.9) | 5 (5.1) | 9 (8.6) | 6 (6.1) | 27 (6.7) |
| Groundwater | 11 (10.8) | 15 (15.2) | 10 (9.5) | 12 (12.2) | 48 (11.9) |
| Unknown/other | 5 (4.9) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (5.7) | 4 (4.1) | 15 (3.7) |
| Length of time to collect water (minutes), mean (±SD) | 24.6 (±43.2) | 31.2 (±57.9) | 26.9 (±43.3) | 24.4 (±34.8) | 26.7 (±45.4) |
| Typical point-of-use drinking water treatment, n (%) | |||||
| Let stand and settle | 2 (2.0) | 3 (3.0) | 2 (1.9) | 4 (4.1) | 11 (2.7) |
| Add bleach/chlorine | 2 (2.0) | 6 (6.1) | 2 (1.9) | 5 (5.1) | 15 (3.7) |
| Boil | 6 (5.9) | 5 (5.1) | 14 (13.3) | 8 (8.2) | 33 (8.2) |
| Other | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.0) | 3 (0.7) |
| None | 91 (89.2) | 84 (84.8) | 87 (82.9) | 80 (81.6) | 342 (84.7) |
| Covered water storage vessels, n (%) | 82 (80.4) | 84 (84.8) | 86 (81.9) | 76 (77.6) | 328 (81.2) |
| Main water supply, n (%) | |||||
| Continuous | 30 (29.4) | 19 (19.2) | 33 (31.4) | 21 (21.4) | 103 (25.5) |
| Sometimes interrupted | 72 (70.6) | 80 (80.8) | 72 (68.6) | 77 (78.6) | 301 (74.5) |
| Improved toilet facility, n (%) | |||||
| Unimproved | 8 (7.8) | 6 (6.1) | 8 (7.6) | 3 (3.1) | 25 (6.2) |
| Improved | 94 (92.2) | 93 (93.9) | 97 (92.4) | 95 (96.9) | 379 (93.8) |
| Frequency of handwashing after using toilet, n (%) | |||||
| Never | 5 (4.9) | 2 (2.0) | 2 (1.9) | 5 (5.1) | 14 (3.5) |
| Rarely | 12 (11.8) | 16 (16.2) | 11 (10.5) | 17 (17.3) | 56 (13.9) |
| Often | 7 (6.9) | 13 (13.1) | 10 (9.5) | 8 (8.2) | 38 (9.4) |
| Always | 78 (76.5) | 68 (68.7) | 82 (78.1) | 68 (69.4) | 296 (73.3) |
| Child characteristics, n (%) | |||||
| Diarrhea in primary study child in the last 7 days | 20 (19.6) | 23 (23.2) | 22 (21.0) | 20 (20.4) | 85 (21.0) |
| Age of primary study child at baseline (years), n (%) | |||||
| < 1 | 42 (41.2) | 38 (38.4) | 40 (38.1) | 35 (35.7) | 155 (38.4) |
| 1–2 | 37 (36.3) | 34 (34.3) | 41 (39.0) | 36 (36.7) | 148 (36.6) |
| 2–3 | 23 (22.5) | 27 (27.3) | 24 (22.9) | 27 (27.6) | 101 (25.0) |
| Length/height-for-age z-score at baseline, mean (±SD)* | −1.25 (±1.23) | −1.19 (±1.38) | −1.44 (±1.12) | −1.63 (±1.35) | −1.38 (±1.28) |
| Weight-for-age z-score at baseline, mean (±SD)* | −0.21 (±1.11) | −0.25 (±1.19) | −0.42 (±1.19) | −0.48 (±1.38) | −0.34 (±1.22) |
| Height-for-weight z-score at baseline, mean (±SD)* | 0.69 (±1.25) | 0.54 (±1.40) | 0.55 (±1.48) | 0.49 (±1.50) | 0.56 (±1.41) |
| Stunted at baseline, n (%)* | 25 (24.5) | 29 (29.3) | 31 (29.5) | 40 (40.8) | 125 (30.9) |
| Underweight at baseline, n (%)* | 7 (6.9) | 7 (7.1) | 9 (8.6) | 11 (11.2) | 34 (8.4) |
| Wasted at baseline, n (%)* | 2 (2.0) | 5 (5.1) | 4 (3.8) | 4 (4.1) | 15 (3.7) |
*
Baseline length/height unavailable for 10 (2.5%) children; baseline weight unavailable for 1 (0.2%) child.