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Can information alone both improve awareness and change behavior? Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh

Malgosia Madajewicz, Alexander Pfaff, Alexander van Geen, Joseph Graziano, Iftikhar Hussein, Hasina Momotaj, Roksana Sylvi

Madajewicz, Malgosia, Alexander Pfaff, Alexander van Geen, Joseph Graziano, Iftikhar Hussein, Hasina Momotaj, and Roksana Sylvi. "Can Information Alone Both Improve Awareness and Change Behavior? Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh." 2005.

Abstract: We compare the effect of two very different approaches to disseminating information. We deliver to homes general information about arsenic in drinking water and a test of the water in a household’s well. The government provides general information about arsenic through the media. We conclude that information alone can lead people to seek safe water if the information is sufficiently specific. Unlike the media campaign, our more expensive intervention tells people whether their well is safe, and the response is striking. Sixty percent of households with unsafe wells change to safe wells, though at a cost reflected in reduced household income.