Improving communication on Cryptosporidium and 'Boil Water' notices: Lessons from Pitsford

SPONSORS:

Drinking Water Inspectorate

PARTNERS/COLLABORATORS:

King's College London
University of East Anglia

RESEARCHERS:

Gabriella Rundblad
Paul Hunter
Olivia Knapton
Jo Van Herwegen

PROJECT DATES:

January 2009 - September 2010

PROJECT SUMMARY:

In June 2008, some 258,000 consumers in the Northampton and Daventry area were issued with a 'Boil Water' notice when the water supply from Pitsford water treatment works became contaminated with the cryptosporidium parasite after a rabbit entered the works. We are investigating how consumers affected by the Pitsford incident understood the risks posed by their tap water and if/when/how they chose to protect themselves from the parasite and the disease it can cause in animals and humans.

This project is carried out in parallel with the Leverhulme funded project The impact of language and cognition on compliance during a natural disaster. By carrying out two parallel studies of two water incidents, we are able to directly compare and contrast language, understanding of risk and degree of compliance. In particular, this amalgamation of results and conclusions will enable us to determine and explain the efficiency of different information channels, differences/ similarities in interpretation of the message depending on information source and consumer background, and how these impacted on consumer behaviour.

If you would like some more information about our project, please contact Olivia Knapton, olivia.knapton@kcl.ac.uk, 020 78483176. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.

PROJECT PHASES:

PHASE 1
February/March 2009, we sent out postal questionnaires to randomly selected households in Northamptonshire. The aim of the questionniare is to find out what consumers remember about the advice they received and what actions they chose or chose not to take. We have finished data collection and data analysis now.

PHASE 2
We will do a detailed language analysis of written information available to consumers during the Pitsford incident.

PROJECT PRESENTATIONS, REPORTS AND ARTICLES:

PRESENTATIONS
We have presented the first results from this study at the Health Protection Agency Conference, 14-16 September 2009, Warwick, UK, and at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Exposition, 7-11 November 2009, Philadelphia, US. Copies of presentations are available here.

REPORTS
Copies of reports will be made available here in due course.

ARTICLES
We have submitted two articles so far based on our questionnaire results. Copies of accepted/published articles will be made available here in due course.

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