Clear Waters, Bright Futures: Do Low‐Cost Information Interventions Increase Health Preventive Behaviors

B-Tier
Journal: Health Economics
Year: 2025
Volume: 34
Issue: 9
Pages: 1578-1594

Authors (4)

Rafi Amir‐ud‐Din (not in RePEc) Muhammad Khan (not in RePEc) Zahra Murad (University of Portsmouth) Irene Mussio (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Contaminated drinking water poses a significant, long‐term health challenge in developing countries. With the aim of shedding light on the most effective presentation of this information in awareness campaigns, we run a randomized control trial involving 1388 households in Punjab, Pakistan. We provide information about fecal matter (E.Coli) presence in drinking water and on ways to treat water to make it potable. This intervention increases the likelihood of adopting in‐home water purification for those households who were provided with information about water contamination results. Those informed of both water contamination and potential water treatment methods exhibit an even higher likelihood of behavior change. This study is evidence of the potential efficacy of low‐cost information‐based interventions, offering valuable insights for health policy in resource‐constrained settings.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:wly:hlthec:v:34:y:2025:i:9:p:1578-1594
Journal Field
Health
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-26