Global Health Institute Field Scholars

Pro-Poor Sanitation Demand Creation in Bolivia

Bethany Caruso, Rollins School of Public Health
Holly Dentz, Rollins School of Public Health
Alexandra Huttinger, Rollins School of Public Health

These three students worked with the Rollins School of Public Health's Center for Global Safe Water at its Bolivian field site. During their nine-week field experience, they contributed to an area of sanitation and disease ecology research that is currently being conducted by the Center.

Bethany Caruso studied the ecology of geohelminth infections and examined whether ecological sanitation poses the same level of risk of geohelminth infection in the highlands of Bolivia as in the valley and tropical lowland regions.

Holly Dentz explored appropriate microcredit and social marketing approaches for household sanitation. Specifically, she worked with Center staff to examine the availability and acceptance of credit in the project's two study sites by documenting the types of lending institutions that operate in the community, the extent and type of loans offered, what the loans are used for, and the repayment rate. The project she worked on is supported by a World Bank Development Marketplace award.

Alexandra Huttinger focused her research on the health impact of various sanitation interventions by helping the Center design and implement a baseline health and sanitation assessment for a UNICEF-supported project. This research examined the health outcomes in communities where UNICEF has implemented ecological latrines or pit latrines and compared them to nearby control communities with no sanitation.

To learn about Ms. Caruso's and Ms. Dentz's experiences from their perspectives, click here and here.

Bethany Caruso working with colleagues in Bolivia during her field experience.

Back to 2008 Global Health Institute Scholars List