Household water treatment practice and associated factors in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The provision of potable water is crucial to ensuring the health and dignity of individuals. In many developing countries, including Ethiopia, waterborne disease has become a major public health problem. There is a significant gap in accessing comprehensive national-wide evidence on Household Water Treatment (HWT) practices and associated factors in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aims to assess the pooled HWT practice and associated factors in Ethiopia. A comprehensive search of published studies before October 15, 2022, was identified using databases and other sources. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel, and analysis was performed using STATA 14/SE software. A random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled proportion of HWT practices and the odds ratio of associated factors. The funnel plot and Egger’s regression test were used to assess publication bias, and I(2) test statistics was used to assess heterogeneity. Duval and Tweedie’s "trim and fill" method was performed to adjust the pooled estimate. A subgroup analysis was also conducted to identify the sources of heterogeneity. In this study, a total of 708 articles were retrieved, and 16 eligible studies were included. The pooled proportion of HWT practice in Ethiopia was found to be 21% (95% CI: 17–24). Having a formal education (OR: 2.42, 95% CI (2.11–2.74)), being male (OR: 1.32, 95% CI (1.13–1.51)), owning radio (OR: 1.33, 95% CI (1.18–1.47)), having a higher income (OR: 1.73, 95% CI (1.41–2.04)), unimproved water source (OR: 1.71, 95% CI (1.41–2.01)), fetching water at more frequently (OR: 3.31, 95% CI (1.99–4.64)), dipping methods of water drawing (OR: 2.08, 95% CI (1.66–2.51)), and taken training of water treatment (OR: 2.15, 95% CI (1.55–2.75)) were all found to be associated with HWT practice. Based on the findings of this study, the pooled proportion of HWT practice in Ethiopia was found to be one-fifth, which indicated that it was significantly low. Therefore, the authors recommend that households could better receive adequate information about HWT practices through strengthened health education and intensive training on HWT.