Reusable nappies: research

Provides commentary on a range of motivations and barriers associated with reusable nappies and makes a number of recommendations to encourage increased uptake among families in Scotland.


3 Findings: Overview of the evidence base on reusable nappies

In total, 48 documents were included in the review, of which 33 were academic publications and 15 grey literature documents (see Figure 1 for more detail). Of the 48 documents included, the majority (69%) were academic publications. Table 3 shows key characteristics of the literature reviewed.

Figure 1: Overview of sources included in review
Flow diagram showing the various sources used to collect evidence for this research project. Notes the number of sources used for academic and grey literature. The diagram indicates 48 texts were reviewed in total.
Table 3: Characterisation of literature reviewed

Characteristic

Category

Number of sources

%

Literature type

Academic

33

69

Grey

15

31

Method

Quantitative

11

23

Qualitative

11

23

Mixed

12

25

Review

13

27

Other

1

2

Geography

Scotland

8

17

Rest of UK

13

27

W Europe/whole EU

7

15

North America

7

15

Australasia

3

6

International (reviews/multi-region studies)

8

17

Unclear

2

4

Study theme

Nappy attitude/behaviour study only

11

23

Nappy scheme evaluation

13

27

Nappy scheme case study description

6

13

General impact assessment

10

21

Other

8

17

The original research drew on qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. Thirteen review studies were also included. Review articles tended to focus on the environmental impacts of different types of nappies and on household waste prevention schemes more broadly. No reviews focused specifically on attitudes and behaviours towards reusable nappies. Studies were classified according to the main theme of relevance to the review. Eleven sources primarily offered insights in relation to attitudes and behaviours and 13 featured some level of evaluation of nappy schemes (with or without additional information on attitudes and behaviours). Six sources described examples of reusable nappy schemes but did not assess impacts. Sources classed within the ‘other’ theme focused on a broad range of topics including potty training, environmental justice, poverty and nappy/diaper need, and general waste prevention.

Contact

Email: socialresearch@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

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