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Abstract: Globally, 1.8
billion people use contaminated water, leading to childhood diarrhea. Ceramic water
filters can reduce diarrhea when used consistently and correctly, although adherence can
decline over time. These declines have previously been investigated using agent-based
models (ABMs) in Limpopo, South Africa. In this thesis, the previous ABM was re-built
with minimal field data, a... read morend adherence and flow rate preference were incorporated as
variables of interest. Additionally, a linear regression model was developed as a
traditional comparison. Normalized water contamination matched the previous ABM within
200 days. Altering adherence produced statistically significant (p<0.0001) but
non-field-relevant declines in diarrhea, while changing flow rate preference produced
larger declines (p<0.0001). The linear regression model had R2 = 0.535, but contained
bias in residuals. I found adherence was less influential than other studies suggest.
Nonetheless, ABMs can reproduce water contamination accurately without full access to
original data, thus deserving consideration alongside traditional modeling
techniques.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University,
2016.
Submitted to the Dept. of Civil
Engineering.
Advisor: Mark
Woodin.
Committee: David Gute, and Daniele
Lantagne.
Keywords: Environmental health,
Environmental engineering, and Systems science.read less
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