Household Drinking Water

MODULE INFORMATION

PURPOSE OF THE MODULE:

To assess the usual source of household drinking water fluoridation, use of filters or purifiers and awareness of fluoridation of municipal water supply.

The information collected in this module will be used to:

  • Inform public service campaigns related to current status of fluoridation in the community and/or benefits of fluoridation in the prevention of tooth decay.
  • Advocate for change in municipalities that are not currently fluoridating their water.
  • Reduce health inequalities.

The drinking water questions (tap water vs. bottled water) may also be useful for safe water programs and other environmental health programs.

MODULE HISTORY:

Module Added to CATI: January 2009, Cycle 1.

Module Revised:

This module was originally named Fluoridation Module.

  1. May 2011 (Cycle 8): The last question of the Fluoridation Module,fluor_4,was moved to a new Water Fluoridation Support module.
  1. Sept 2011 (Cycle 9): Question fluor_2b was revised to add more interviewer notes and changes to response options.
  1. May 2013 (Cycle 14): The module was renamed Household Drinking Water.

DATA DICTIONARY HISTORY:

Created: June9, 2009

Revised: July 28, 2014

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: fluor_1

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Cycle 1 (January 2009) to Cycle 7 (April 2011) – in Fluoridation Module

Cycle 14 (May 2013) – Fluoridation Module renamed Household Drinking Water

QUESTION:

What kind of water do the people in your household drink most often, would that be water coming from your tap, bottled water that you can purchase from a store, or both?

Interviewer: If respondent says water that comes from their fridge or is dispensed by their fridge, please code as tap water. Filtered water that comes from jugs should be coded as tap water. If respondent asks, bottled water also includes water that comes from large water cooler jugs.

1tap water

2bottled water

3both

7specify

8don’t know

9refused

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

  • This module should be asked in conjunction with the safe water module. The question safe_w1 is required for skip pattern before fluor_3 and fluor_4.
  • Those that report bottled water (fluor_1=2) as usual source of drinking water for the household or those that didn’t respond (fluor_1 = 8 or 9) are skipped ahead to fluor_3 (if they use municipal water safe_w1=1) or fluor_4 (everyone else).
  • Text file for response option 7 requires separate analysis
  • Do not apply household weight.

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS:

Similar questions can be found in the Statistics Canada - Household and the Environment Survey (

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS: N/A

EVALUATION QUESTIONS: Cycle 1

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: fluor_2a

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Cycle 1 (January 2009) to Cycle 7 (April 2011) – in Fluoridation Module

Cycle 14 (May 2013) – Fluoridation Module renamed Household Drinking Water

QUESTION:

Does your household use any type of drinking water filter or purifier?

Interviewer: If respondent asks, this includes both filters and purifiers that are attached directly to the water supply pipes and/or taps OR separate filters and purifiers used in jugs or water bottles.

1yes

5no

8don’t know

9refused

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

  • This question was only asked of those that responded as using tap water as their usual source of drinking water (fluor_1 = 1 or 3).
  • Those that do not report using a filter for their drinking water (fluor_2a=5) or those that didn’t respond (fluor_2a = 8 or 9) are skipped ahead to fluor_3 (if they use municipal water safe_w1=1) or fluor_4 (everyone else).
  • Do not apply household weight.

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS:

Similar questions can be found in the Statistics Canada - Household and the Environment Survey (

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS: N/A

EVALUATION QUESTIONS: Cycle 1

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: fluor_2b

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Cycle 1 (January 2009) to Cycle 7 (April 2011) – in Fluoridation Module

Cycle 14 (May 2013) – Fluoridation Module renamed Household Drinking Water

QUESTION:

What type of filter or purifier does your household currently use?

Interviewer: If respondent asks, this includes both filters and purifiers that are attached directly to the water supply pipes and/or taps OR separate filters and purifiers used in jugs or water bottles.

Interviewer:

Response option 3 includes Glacier filters.

Response option 4 includes Brita filters, PUR filters, filters built into the fridge, filters placed on the tap, any carbon or charcoal filters.

Response option 6 includes Nikken filters

1reverse osmosis filtration

2activated alumina de-fluoridation filter

3distillation filtration

4activated charcoal system(like Brita/Pur filters that you screw on tap or in water jugs, filters built into fridge)

5ultra violet (UV) light

6ceramic filters

7 green sand

97specify

98don’t know

99refused

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

  • This question was only asked of those that report using a filter on their water supply (fluor_2a=1).
  • Second interviewer note was added September 2011 (Cycle 9)
  • Response option 4 - “filters built into fridge” was added to this option September 2011 (Cycle 9)
  • New response option 7, “green sand”, was added September 2011 (Cycle 9)
  • Text file for response option 97 requires separate analysis
  • Do not apply household weight.

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS:

Similar questions can be found in the Statistics Canada - Household and the Environment Survey (

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS: N/A

EVALUATION QUESTIONS: Cycle 1

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: fluor_3

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Cycle 1 (January 2009) to Cycle 7 (April 2011) – in Fluoridation Module

Cycle 14 (May 2013) – Fluoridation Module renamed Household Drinking Water

QUESTION:

Has fluoride been added to your municipal water supply?

1yes

5no

8don’t know

9refused

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

  • This question was only asked of those that report municipal water as their household tap water source (safe_w1=1).
  • Apply household weight.

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS:

Similar questions can be found in the Australian Dental Association: Household Fluoridation Survey

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS: N/A

EVALUATION QUESTIONS: Cycle 1

MODULE INDICATORS

usual source of drinking water in the household

INDICATOR DESCRIPTION:

% of households that use tap or bottled water as their usual source of drinking water.

INDICATOR OBJECTIVES:

  • To inform public service campaigns related to current status of fluoridation in the community and/or benefits of fluoridation in the prevention of tooth decay.
  • For use in advocacy work in municipalities that are not currently fluoridating their water as a way of reducing dental health inequalities.

ANALYSIS CHECK LIST:

  • Asked of all respondents.
  • Reported at the household level so do not apply household weight.

METHOD OF CALCULATION:

# households use tap water (fluor_1=1) as their usual source of drinking water
all households
# households use bottled water (fluor_1=2) as their usual source of drinking water
all households
# households use both tap and bottled water (fluor_1=3) as their usual source of drinking water
all households

MODULE INDICATORS

useof filtration that REMOVES FLUORIDE FROM THE household driking water

INDICATOR DESCRIPTION:

Among households that use tap water: % of households that use a filter or purifier that removes fluoride from drinking water.

INDICATOR OBJECTIVES:

  • To inform public service campaigns related to current status of fluoridation in the community and/or benefits of fluoridation in the prevention of tooth decay.
  • For use in advocacy work in municipalities that are not currently fluoridating their water as a way of reducing dental health inequalities.

ANALYSIS CHECK LIST:

  • Only asked of households that report using tap water as a usual source of drinking water (fluor_1 = 1 or 3).
  • Need to combined responses from questions fluor_2a and fluor_2b.
  • Reported at the household level so do not apply household weight.

METHOD OF CALCULATION:

# households that use filtrationfor their tap water (fluor_2a=1) AND use a filtration method that removes fluoride from the water (fluor_2b = 1 (reverse osmosis filtration) OR fluor_2b = 2 (activated alumina de-fluoridation filter) OR fluor_2b = 3 (distillation filtration)
all households that use tap water as a usual source of drinking water (fluor_1 = 1 or 3)

MODULE INDICATORS

awarEness of fluoridation of municipal water supply

INDICATOR DESCRIPTION:

% of adults (18+) that are connected to a municipal drinking water source that correctly identify if the water supply is fluoridated or not.

INDICATOR OBJECTIVES:

  • To inform public service campaigns related to current status of fluoridation in the community and/or benefits of fluoridation in the prevention of tooth decay.
  • For use in advocacy work in municipalities that are not currently fluoridating their water as a way of reducing dental health inequalities.

ANALYSIS CHECK LIST:

  • Only asked of households that are connected to a municipal water supply (safe_w1 =1).
  • Please note that for correct interpretation this question needs to be used in conjunction with information of municipal fluoridation records. This is probably best achieved by stratifying the analysis at the municipal level and comparing the responses with the actual fluoridation status of the municipal water supply.
  • Reported at the individual level so apply household weight.

METHOD OF CALCULATION:

# adults (18+) that say fluoride has been added to their water supply (fluor_3=1)
Total # of adults (18+) that reside in households connected to a municipal water supply (safe_w1 = 1)
# adults (18+) that say fluoride has NOT been added to their water supply (fluor_3=5)
Total # of adults (18+) that reside in households connected to a municipal water supply (safe_w1 = 1)

Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS)