Using mixed methods to visualize the water-health nexus: identifying problems, searching for solutions

It is now clear to both scientists and policy makers that we will not meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals established in 2000. As a result, there are still 1.2 billion individuals lacking access to safe water and 2.6 billion individuals lacking access to improved sanitation facilities (with 1.1 billion left with open defecation as the sole option). Using a Participatory-Based Research Design, this article employs community mapping and Photovoice methodologies to explore their use and usefulness for understanding community disparities relating to water, sanitation and health, and potential avenues for creating community-led solutions, in rural Kenya. The use of community mapping allowed researchers to get a better sense of the priorities attached to community amenities, and the importance attached to the places of water and sanitation. The use of Photovoice allowed researchers to gain a glimpse of behaviours affecting the health of the community, which participants may not have otherwise divulged using an alternative methodology (e.g. in-depth interviews, focus groups).