A tool for the assessment of the risk drivers and public perception of WASH in South Africa

Abstract

Temporal trend analysis of the Google-search volumes and terms related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in South Africa was performed using a computer plugin between January 2004 and June 2022. This study was conducted as WASH has played an important role in the containment of the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and it is also one of the most effective and easiest-to-deploy tools in decreasing risk from infectious diseases. For the WASH-related terms, the monthly search volumes ranged from the minimum average of 480 for pit latrines to the maximum of 30236 for diarrhea or diarrhoea for the studied period. The Spearman correlation coefficients ranged from -0.29462 to 0.96647, with the p-values ranging from 0.00001 to 0.28789. On a yearly basis, there was a direct correlation between the WASH-related search volumes extracted and the access of the South African population to basic water and sanitation. There was an inverse relationship between the WASH-related search volumes extracted on an annual basis and the death rates from diarrhoeal diseases among children under 5 years of age in South Africa between 2004 and 2020. Results of the current study indicate that a Google-derived search volume can be useful in the assessment of the public's interest in WASH-related topics in South Africa.

Contribution: Therefore, the study findings could be used to optimise the design and targeting of public awareness campaigns on WASH during the coronavirus pandemic or similar infectious disease burdens and related disaster risks.

Keywords: WASH; disaster risk; online search volumes; plugin; public interest; rapid assessment.