Work

Water insecurity, water borrowing and psychosocial stress among Daasanach pastoralists in northern Kenya

Year: 2022

Type: article

Study design: Observational Study

Abstract: This article quantifies Daasanach water insecurity experiences in Northern Kenya, examines how water insecurity is associated with water borrowing and psychosocial stress, and evaluates if water borrowing mitigates the stress from water insecurity. Of 133 households interviewed in 7 communities, 94% were water insecure and 74.4% borrowed water three or more times in the prior month. Regression analyses demonstrate water borrowing frequency moderates the relationship between water insecurity and psychosocial stress. Only those who rarely or never borrowed water reported greater stress with higher water insecurity. The coping mechanism of water borrowing may help blunt water insecurity-related stress.

Source: Water International

DOI: 10.1080/02508060.2022.2138050

Authors: Leslie B. Ford, Hilary J. Bethancourt, Zane S. Swanson, Rosemary Nzunza, Amber Wutich, Alexandra Brewis, Sera Young, David M. Almeida, Matthew Douglass, Emmanuel K. Ndiema, David R. Braun, Herman Pontzer, Asher Y. Rosinger

Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, Northwestern University, Duke University, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Arizona State University, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, National Museums of Kenya, George Washington University, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Language: English

Topic: Water Resource Management and Quality

Subfield: Water Science and Technology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, No poverty

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: CNH2-S: Long Term Perspectives on Water Security, Food Security, and Land Management Among Pastoralists Experiencing Change, G1413443488, G28523178, Collaborative Research: REU Site: Past and Present Human-Environment Dynamics, Technological Origins: Environmental and Behavioral Context of the Earliest Tool Users, Training Program in Social Environments and Population Health

OpenAlex ID: W4309759309

FWCI: 1.385

Cites: 59

Cited by: 28

Related to: 10