Phone tools to improve sanitation in crowded city neighborhoods
Official title: Environmental and Sanitation Improvements with mHealth
Funded at Georgia State University · NIH-11387160 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A phone-based program that helps people in crowded urban neighborhoods report sanitation problems and connect with service providers to improve water and sanitation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Georgia State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project start | August 17, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $109,801 |
| NIH project number | 3R33TW012610-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11387160 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are residents of densely populated or informal urban neighborhoods who use mobile phones and want to report or improve local water and sanitation services.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not live in the targeted urban communities, who lack phone access, or whose health concerns are unrelated to water and sanitation are unlikely to benefit directly from this program.
What this research studies
If you live in a crowded or informal city neighborhood, this program gives your community simple phone tools (apps or text messages) to report water and sanitation problems, share needs, and get updates from service providers. The team will work with residents and local authorities to collect reports at scale and use that data to guide sanitation improvements. The program emphasizes community participation and two-way communication so services become more responsive and inclusive. You may be asked to use the app or texts, join local meetings, or give feedback on changes to neighborhood sanitation services.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This could help sanitation services respond faster and more fairly, reducing exposure to unsafe water and waste for people in marginalized urban communities.
How similar studies have gone: Similar mobile-reporting and community-engagement approaches have shown promise for improving service response in other settings, though large-scale sanitation health impacts are still being tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Georgia State University
Atlanta, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Stauber, Christine Elizabeth — Georgia State University
- Study coordinator: Stauber, Christine Elizabeth
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.