Measurement invariance of a household water insecurity metric in Greater Accra, Ghana: Implications for test-retest reliability

Melissa N Sidote; Zachary T Goodman; Christina L Paraggio; Raymond A Tutu; Justin Stoler

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.113922

Measurement invariance of a household water insecurity metric in Greater Accra, Ghana: Implications for test-retest reliability

Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2022 Mar:240:113922. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.113922. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

Authors

Melissa N Sidote¹, Zachary T Goodman², Christina L Paraggio³, Raymond A Tutu⁴, Justin Stoler⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
² Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
³ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
⁴ Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, USA.
⁵ Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA; Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA. Electronic address: stoler@miami.edu.

PMID: 35026673
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.113922

Abstract

The mitigation of household water insecurity is recognized as an important component of global poverty alleviation, but until recently was difficult to measure. Several new metrics of household water insecurity have been proposed and validated, but few have been field-tested for reliability in diverse contexts. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test the psychometric equivalence of one such metric-the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) scale-across two survey waves administered 18 months apart in similar climatic conditions among households in a peri-urban community outside of Accra, Ghana. The HWISE metric was not equivalent across survey waves, which may be attributable to the metric itself, sample size, subtle instrumentation changes, or other unobserved factors. Test-retest reliability may also be difficult to achieve given the dynamic nature of household water use, and we discuss the implications of using household water insecurity metrics as longitudinal measures of well-being in global anti-poverty programs.

Keywords: Global health; Measurement; Reliability; Water insecurity; West Africa.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Ghana
Poverty*
Reproducibility of Results
Water
Water Insecurity*

Substances

Water