Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Urban Ecology of Potable Water Behavior and Human Health: San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

在发展中世界，缺乏饮用水和适当的卫生设施每年造成数百万人死亡。本论文研究项目将评估墨西哥南部一个小城市的家庭特征和空间因素如何影响人们消费的水质，以及水质差异如何影响疾病模式。这项研究与当地专家合作，将创建一个城市的电子地图；将对一些家庭样本进行水质测试，将对一些城市居民样本进行深入访谈，了解他们的用水情况和对水媒疾病的了解，并将调查疾病的发病率以及有关的家庭特征。这项研究将使人们更好地了解发展中国家城市水问题和疾病的社会和空间原因。更广泛的影响包括对当地学生进行公共卫生和社会科学研究方面的培训，以及为当地规划人员和决策者提供水资源和问题的电子地图。除了有助于培养一名年轻的社会科学家外，该项目还将创造在广泛的类似情况下有用的知识。这项研究得到了文化人类学项目和美国国家科学基金会国际办公室美洲项目的支持。

Lack of potable water and proper sanitation causes millions of deaths annually in the developing world. This dissertation research project will assess how household characteristics and spatial factors affect the quality of water people consume, and how water quality differences affect illness patterns in a small city of southern Mexico. The research, in collaboration with local specialists, will create an electronic map of the city; will test a sample of homes for water quality, will conduct in-depth interviews with a sample of urban residents on their use of water and understanding of water-borne illness, and will survey the incidence of illness as well as relevant household characteristics. The study will provide an improved understanding the social and spatial causes of water problems and disease in developing world cities.The broader impacts include training local students in public health and social science research, and the provision of an electronic map of water resources and problems for local planners and decision makers. Aside from contributing to the training of a young social scientist, this project will create knowledge that will be useful in a broad range of similar situations. This research is supported by the Cultural Anthropology Program and also by the Americas Program of NSF's Internaitonal Office.