CGPH FACULTY: John Colford
DATE OF PUBLICATION: November 2014
REGION: Africa
REFERENCE: Christensen G, Dentz HN, Pickering AJ, Bourdier T, Arnold BF, Colford JM Jr, Null C. Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trials to Evaluate Adoption of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Interventions and Their Combination in Rural Western Kenya. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014 Nov 24. pii: 14-0138.
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: In preparation for a larger trial, the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Benefits pilot study enrolled 72 villages and 499 subjects in two closely related randomized trials of WASH interventions in rural western Kenya. Intervention households received hardware and promotion for one of the following: water treatment, sanitation and latrine improvements, handwashing with soap, or the combination of all three. Interventions were clustered by village. A follow-up survey was conducted 4 months after intervention delivery to assess uptake. Intervention households were significantly more likely than controls to have chlorinated stored water (36-60% point increases), covers over latrine drop holes (55-75% point increases), less stool visible on latrine floors (16-47% point reductions), and a place for handwashing (71-85% point increases) with soap available (49-66% point increases). The high uptake in all arms shows that combined interventions can achieve high short-term adoption rates if well-designed.
ACCESS: Link to Pubmed