OBJECTIVES: To evaluate how an intervention, which combined hand washing promotion aimed at 5-year-olds with provision of free soap, affected illnesses among the children and their families and children's school absenteeism. METHODS: We monitored illnesses, including diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections (ARIs), school absences and soap consumption for 41 weeks in 70 low-income communities in Mumbai, India (35 communities per arm). RESULTS: Outcomes from 847 intervention households (containing 847 5-year-olds and 4863 subjects in total) and 833 control households (containing 833 5-year-olds and 4812 subjects) were modelled using negative binomial regression. Intervention group 5-year-olds had fewer episodes of diarrhoea (-25%, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = -37%, -2%), ARIs (-15%, 95% CI = -30%, -8%), school absences due to illnesses (-27%, 95% CI = -41%, -18%) and eye infections (-46%, 95% CI = -58%, -31%). Further, there were fewer episodes of diarrhoea and ARIs in the intervention group for 'whole families' (-31%, 95% CI = -37%, -5%; and -14%, 95% CI = -23%, -6%, respectively), 6- to 15-year-olds (-30%, 95% CI = -39%, -7%; and -15%, 95% CI = -24%, -6%) and under 5 s (-32%, 95% CI = -41%, -4%; and -20%, 95% CI = -29%, -8%). CONCLUSIONS:Direct-contact hand washing interventions aimed at younger school-aged children can affect the health of the whole family. These may be scalable through public-private partnerships and classroom-based campaigns. Further work is required to understand the conditions under which health benefits are transferred and the mechanisms for transference.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate how an intervention, which combined hand washing promotion aimed at 5-year-olds with provision of free soap, affected illnesses among the children and their families and children's school absenteeism. METHODS: We monitored illnesses, including diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections (ARIs), school absences and soap consumption for 41 weeks in 70 low-income communities in Mumbai, India (35 communities per arm). RESULTS: Outcomes from 847 intervention households (containing 847 5-year-olds and 4863 subjects in total) and 833 control households (containing 833 5-year-olds and 4812 subjects) were modelled using negative binomial regression. Intervention group 5-year-olds had fewer episodes of diarrhoea (-25%, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = -37%, -2%), ARIs (-15%, 95% CI = -30%, -8%), school absences due to illnesses (-27%, 95% CI = -41%, -18%) and eye infections (-46%, 95% CI = -58%, -31%). Further, there were fewer episodes of diarrhoea and ARIs in the intervention group for 'whole families' (-31%, 95% CI = -37%, -5%; and -14%, 95% CI = -23%, -6%, respectively), 6- to 15-year-olds (-30%, 95% CI = -39%, -7%; and -15%, 95% CI = -24%, -6%) and under 5 s (-32%, 95% CI = -41%, -4%; and -20%, 95% CI = -29%, -8%). CONCLUSIONS: Direct-contact hand washing interventions aimed at younger school-aged children can affect the health of the whole family. These may be scalable through public-private partnerships and classroom-based campaigns. Further work is required to understand the conditions under which health benefits are transferred and the mechanisms for transference.
Authors: Farhana Sultana; Fosiul A Nizame; Dorothy L Southern; Leanne Unicomb; Peter J Winch; Stephen P Luby Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2017-10-12 Impact factor: 2.345
Authors: Regina I Ejemot-Nwadiaro; John E Ehiri; Dachi Arikpo; Martin M Meremikwu; Julia A Critchley Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2021-01-06
Authors: Jennyfer Wolf; Sydney Hubbard; Michael Brauer; Argaw Ambelu; Benjamin F Arnold; Robert Bain; Valerie Bauza; Joe Brown; Bethany A Caruso; Thomas Clasen; John M Colford; Matthew C Freeman; Bruce Gordon; Richard B Johnston; Andrew Mertens; Annette Prüss-Ustün; Ian Ross; Jeffrey Stanaway; Jeff T Zhao; Oliver Cumming; Sophie Boisson Journal: Lancet Date: 2022-07-02 Impact factor: 202.731
Authors: Kelly Endres; Presence Sanvura; Camille Williams; Elizabeth D Thomas; Jennifer Kuhl; Nicole Coglianese; Sarah Bauler; Ruthly François; Jean Claude Bisimwa; Patrick Mirindi; Jamie Perin; Alain Namegabe; Lucien Bisimwa; Daniel Leung; Christine Marie George Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2022-03-21 Impact factor: 3.707
Authors: Regina I Ejemot-Nwadiaro; John E Ehiri; Dachi Arikpo; Martin M Meremikwu; Julia A Critchley Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2015-09-03
Authors: Tom Jefferson; Chris B Del Mar; Liz Dooley; Eliana Ferroni; Lubna A Al-Ansary; Ghada A Bawazeer; Mieke L van Driel; Mark A Jones; Sarah Thorning; Elaine M Beller; Justin Clark; Tammy C Hoffmann; Paul P Glasziou; John M Conly Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2020-11-20