Browsing by Author "Smith, Jennifer A."
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Item Open Access Better safe than sorry: towards appropriate water safety plans for urban self supply systems(Cranfield University, 2009-11) Kilanko-Oluwasanya, Grace Olutope; Carter, Richard C.; Smith, Jennifer A.Self Supply Systems (SSS) can be defined as privately owned household level water sources. The research focus is on urban self supply hand dug wells in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Self supply wells serve an estimated 45% of Abeokuta’s population. SSS can be gradually upgraded to improve water quality, but water quality can also be improved through effective risk management. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a risk management tool known as Water Safety Plans (WSP), but the tool has not been tried for SSS. This research focuses on the relevance of the generic WHO water safety plans tool to SSS, with the aim to develop an appropriate water safety framework for self supply sources to ensure acceptable household water. Water from self supply wells is used for both ingestion and non-ingestion household activities. The water quality of the sources is poor and not safe for consumption with faecal coliform counts in excess of 100 cfu/100 ml of water. Self supply wells in Abeokuta are plagued by four main water safety threats; style of source operation – primarily through bucket and rope -, construction problems, proximity to sources of contamination, and user’s hygiene practices. Users are in denial of the health consequences of unsafe water. There is a predominantly reactive attitude to water safety management. The main source management approaches include access and hygiene management. To appropriate existing WSP to SSS, source and water safety control measures require user acceptability to be sustainable in terms of adoption and compliance. Incentives are needed for the adoption of SSS water safety plans. A two- phase supporting program is necessary: awareness and enlightenment campaigns and relevant training activities. Water safety development for self supply wells need to be initiated and coordinated by an established institution other than the source owners. This research suggests the Department of Public Health as the institution to facilitate the development of water safety plans for SSS in Abeokuta, Nigeria.Item Open Access Improved water safety planning: insights into the role of organisational culture(Cranfield University, 2010-08) Summerill, Corinna; Smith, Jennifer A.; Pollard, Simon J. T.Unsafe water, as many recent outbreaks have shown, has the potential to cause widespread illness and even death. Water Safety Plans (WSPs) are advocated as the best way of ensuring good safe drinking water using a risk management approach. Using a case study approach to generate qualitative data, organisational culture and WSP development in water suppliers of varying size, development and structure was studied to look for examples of best practice or barriers to effective implementation. Despite WSPs being promoted since 2004, suppliers are still experiencing challenges in implementation, with deeper organisational culture barriers prevalent such as: lack of awareness and recognition; uncertainty; complacency; poor internal relationships; competing priorities; and contrasting internal cultures, in addition to the commonly espoused reasons of a lack of time or resources. Concern was raised that the public health motivator of WSPs was becoming lost, as a wide range of additional ‘added value’ drivers and benefits were identified such as cost savings or commercial drivers. This was echoed in broader organisational missions and drivers identified; whilst may employees still identified quality and public health as important, more formal declarations often prioritised other areas. In response to identified organisational culture barriers, a ‘taxonomy’ of positive cultural attributes and a number of practical tools were developed that may assist suppliers in developing a supportive organisational culture for sustainable WSP implementation. These positive elements included: managerial commitment; learning culture; effective internal and external relationships; accountability; open reporting culture; continual improvement culture; empowerment of staff; organisational commitment; proactivity; leadership and advocacy; mindfulness of public health; image and competitiveness. A number of recommendations can be made to those wishing to implement WSPs. Primarily, it is urged that organisational culture and how it can impact on effective WSP implementation should be considered. Perceived lack of time and resources may actually be representative of deeper cultural barriers, and recognise that WSP implementation is more than just following a set of instructions, it will require instilling a water safety ‘culture’ within the organisation.Item Open Access An international review of the challenges associated with securing 'buy-in' for water safety plans within providers of drinking water supplies(Iwa Publishing, 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z) Summerill, Corinna; Smith, Jennifer A.; Webster, James; Pollard, Simon J. T.Since publication of the 3rd Edition of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Drinking Water Quality guidelines, global uptake of water safety plans (WSPs) has been gathering momentum. Most guidance lists managerial commitment and ‘buy- in' as critical to the success of WSP implementation; yet the detail on how to generate it is lacking. This review discusses aspects of managerial commitment to WSPs. We argue that the public health motivator should be clearer and a paramount objective, not lost among other, albeit legitimate, drivers such as political or regulatory pressures and financial efficiencItem Open Access Menstrual management: a neglected aspect of hygiene interventions(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2014-12-31T00:00:00Z) Parker, Alison H.; Smith, Jennifer A.; Verdemato, Tania; Cooke, Jeanette; Webster, James; Carter, Richard C.Purpose - Effective menstrual management is essential for the mental and physical well being of women. However, many women in low-income countries lack access to the materials and facilities required. They are thus restricted in their activities whilst menstruating thus compromising their education, income and domestic responsibilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - This study describes the menstrual management challenges faced by women in an emergency situation in Uganda. Totally, 50 interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with women from villages, internally displaced person (IDP) camps and schools so that the menstrual management of the host population could be compared with the IDPs. Findings - This study showed that in IDP camps there was a significant lack of materials including soap, underpants and absorbing cloth, and facilities like latrines and bathing shelters. As a consequence women in IDP camps suffer with poor health and diminished dignity. There is also a lack of education about menstruation and reproductive health and practices are strongly influenced by cultural taboos. Originality/value - This is the first time that the menstrual management of women in IDP or refugee camps has been studied.Item Open Access Risk management for drinking water safety in low and middle income countries - cultural influences on water safety plan (WSP) implementation in urban water utilities(Elsevier, 2016-11-12) Omar, Y.Y; Parker, Alison; Smith, Jennifer A.; Pollard, Simon J. T.We investigated cultural influences on the implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) using case studies from WSP pilots in India, Uganda and Jamaica. A comprehensive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (n = 150 utility customers, n = 32 WSP ‘implementers’ and n = 9 WSP ‘promoters’), field observations and related documents revealed 12 cultural themes, offered as ‘enabling’, ‘limiting’, or ‘neutral’, that influence WSP implementation in urban water utilities to varying extents. Aspects such as a ‘deliver first, safety later’ mind set; supply system knowledge management and storage practices; and non-compliance are deemed influential. Emergent themes of cultural influence (ET1 to ET12) are discussed by reference to the risk management, development studies and institutional culture literatures; by reference to their positive, negative or neutral influence on WSP implementation. The results have implications for the utility endorsement of WSPs, for the impact of organisational cultures on WSP implementation; for the scale-up of pilot studies; and they support repeated calls from practitioner communities for cultural attentiveness during WSP design. Findings on organisational cultures mirror those from utilities in higher income nations implementing WSPs – leadership, advocacy among promoters and customers (not just implementers) and purposeful knowledge management are critical to WSP success.Item Open Access Risk management for drinking water supplies in developing countries :the influence of culture on water safety plans(Cranfield University, 2013-12) Omar, Yahya Yussuf; Pollard, Simon J. T.; Parker, Alison H.; Webster, James; Smith, Jennifer A.Consumption of unsafe water in developing countries results in considerable number of illnesses and deaths annually. The World Health Organization and the International Water Association are promoting the use of water safety plans (WSPs), a risk management approach aimed at attaining water safety. This study investigated how culture impacts on the implementation of WSPs in these countries. Combining interpretive and critical paradigms resulted in the choice of qualitative methodologies utilizing multiple-case studies. Cases from India, Uganda, and Jamaica are each embedded with three units of analysis: promoters of WSPs, water utilities and their customers. Thematic analysis of data generated from semi-structured interviews, field observations and documents revealed eleven cultural factors impacting on the implementation of WSPs. Analyses of these factors led to various groupings and the subsequent development of a taxonomy categorizing these factors as being either enabling, limiting, or neutral in relation to WSPs. Findings show all the limiting factors to be deviations from the values and principles on which they are built. The findings have also led to the development of a culturally adapted risk management framework. This four-step cyclical & iterative framework is designed to address the impact of culture on the implementation of WSPs. The implementation of WSPs will take time and will require continuous improvement to the process. The successful management of drinking water risks in developing countries will require a broad institutional approach and a concerted effort that involves institutions beyond the water utilities. As such, targeted recommendations are first made towards achievement of good governance. Activities that will lead to the embracement of WSP by stakeholders along with suggestions to attain its institutionalization are also put forward. Recommendations towards addressing negative cultural factors include suggestions on dealing with: pollution causing rituals, bettering storage related practices, addressing excessive water use in rituals, counteracting belief that water should be free, fighting corruption and improving compliance, changing deliver-first safety-later attitude, and improving knowledge management practices.Item Open Access Securing executive buy-in for preventative risk management - lessons from water safety plans(Iwa Publishing, 2011-12-31T00:00:00Z) Summerill, Corinna; Pollard, Simon J. T.; Smith, Jennifer A.; Breach, B.; Williams, T.Appropriate implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) offers an important opportunity to engage in and promote preventative risk management within water utilities. To ensure success, the whole organization, especially executive management, need to be advocates. Illustrated by four case studies, we discuss the influence of organisational culture on buy-in and commitment to WSPs. Despite an internal desire to undertake risk management, aspects of organisational culture prevented these from reaching full potential. Enabling cultural features included: enthusiastic management; past incidents; accountability; insufficient regulations; image; learning and continual improvement cultures; stakeholder relationships; and empowerment of staff. Blocking features included: lack of awareness and recognition; complacency; poor internal relationships; competing priorities; lack of resources and skills; contrasting internal cultures and a lack of near miss reporting. Benefits of WSP implementation and how management are committed are also discussed. We offer some suggestions to those wishing to generate executive buy-in such as: understanding reasons for hesitance; demonstrate benefits; avoiding complacency; highlight building blocks of WSPs and recognising the value of using the WSP approach to inform sound investment planning. We urge water utilities to consider the influence of organisational culture on the success and sustainability of WSP adoption, and to better understand how effective leadership can mould culture to support implementation.