Table 3

Strength of evidence from quantitative data

Health domainQuality*Quantity†Consistency‡Strength of evidence§
Pain and injuryOne fair, eight poor9Consistent:
100% associate WC and pain		Moderate
Fatigue and energy expenditureOne fair, six poor7Consistent:
100% associate WC and increased fatigue		Moderate
Stress, mental well-being or life satisfactionOne good, one fair, three poor5Inconsistent:
3 (60%) associate WC and increased stress; 2 (40%) found no significant effect of reduced water collection time on mental health or life satisfaction		Inconclusive
Perinatal healthThree fair3Consistent:
100% associate WC and reduced perinatal health or care access		Moderate
Social vulnerabilityOne good, one fair, five poor7Consistent:
100% associate WC and social vulnerability or risks		Moderate
General healthOne fair, three poor4Inconsistent:
3 (75%) associate WC and poorer health		Inconclusive

  • *Quality score based on National Institutes of Health tool, qualitative and quantitative data of mixed methods studies rated separately, such that total number of rating scores can be greater than number of studies.

  • †Number of studies.

  • ‡Inconsistent: if ≤75% of the available studies reported the same conclusion.

  • §Evidence based on quality, number and the outcome of studies: strong=provided by generally consistent findings in multiple high-quality quantitative studies; moderate=generally consistent findings in one high-quality quantitative study and one low-quality study, or in multiple low-quality studies; inconclusive evidence=only one study available or inconsistent findings in multiple studies.20

  • WC, water carriage.