Motivational interviewing enhances the adoption of water disinfection practices in Zambia

Examined the effectiveness of the standard practice of health education compared to motivational interviewing (MI) in initiating and sustaining safe water treatment and storage behavior in Zambia. Focus groups and community surveys were conducted prior to community health worker training. The main outcome variables were detectable disinfectant levels in stored household water (Field Trial 1) and disinfectant sales (Field Trial 2). Results from Field Trial 1 involving participants (aged 14–89 yrs) from 185 households show that a very high adherence rate was achieved, with no statistical differences between the groups. Results from field Trial 2 show that 427 households incorporated lessons learned from the previous trial and had higher purchase rates of the disinfectant in the MI group. It is concluded that MI intervention is promising for public health initiatives in the developing world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)