Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (31)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by HAGGERTY, P. A
Right arrow Articles by MANUNEBO, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by HAGGERTY, P. A
Right arrow Articles by MANUNEBO, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1994 Oxford University Press

research-article

Community-based Hygiene Education to Reduce Diarrhoeal Disease in Rural Zaire: Impact of the Intervention on Diarrhoeal Morbidity

PATRICIA A HAGGERTY*, KALENGAIE MULADI**, BETTY R KIRKWOOD{dagger}, ANN ASHWORTH* and MANWELA MANUNEBO**,{dagger}

* Centre for Human Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 2 Taviton St., London WC1H OBT, UK
** Centre National de Planification de Nutrition Humaine RP 2429, Kinshasa, Zaire
{dagger} Maternal and Child Epidemiology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Keppel St., London WC1H 7HT, UK

BACKGROUND: Diarrhoeal disease is a leading cause of morbidity in young children in rural Zaire. Few diarrhoea prevention programmes have been implemented in Bandundu Province, where available data suggest an annual prevalence rate of 10%. The urgent need to reduce diarrhoeal morbidity in Zaire. together with the potential effectiveness and feasibility of hygiene education as a diarrhoea prevention strategy, led to the development of the present research project.

METHODS: A randomized, controlled trial of an education intervention to reduce diarrhoea through improved personal and domestic hygiene behaviours was conducted in 18 geographically separate village clusters (sites) in rural Zaire. For 12 weeks baseline information on the diarrhoeal morbidity of 2082 children aged 3–35 months was collected at weekly home visits, and structured observations of hygiene practices related to diarrhoea were made on a subset of 300 families. Intervention messages addressed disposal of animal faeces from the yard, handwashing after defecation and before meal preparation and eating, and disposal of children's faeces. Three months after the start of the intervention and exactly 1 year after the baseline studies, a second diarrhoeal morbidity study and a second observational study were conducted in order to evaluate the intervention.

RESULTS: Children in intervention communities experienced an 11% reduction in the risk of reporting diarrhoea during the peak diarrhoeal seaon, compared to controls (P < 0.025). The largest differences were seen among children aged 24–35 months, with those from intervention communities reporting significantly fewer episodes, shorter mean durations and hence fewer days of diarrhoea. There was some evidence that greater reductions in diarrhoea occurred in sites where the quality of the intervention, a scored measure of volunteer efficacy and community participation, was highest.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that hygiene education may be an effective approach to reduce the incidence and duration of diarrhoeal episodes in rural Zaire. Children aged 2 years appear to benefit the most. A Hawthorne effect of the education may contribute to diarrhoeal reductions.

Received 1 January 1994


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Public HealthHome page
A. E. Aiello, R. M. Coulborn, V. Perez, and E. L. Larson
Effect of Hand Hygiene on Infectious Disease Risk in the Community Setting: A Meta-Analysis
Am J Public Health, August 1, 2008; 98(8): 1372 - 1381.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am J Trop Med HygHome page
A. BOWEN, H. MA, J. OU, W. BILLHIMER, T. LONG, E. MINTZ, R. M. HOEKSTRA, and S. LUBY
A CLUSTER-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF A HANDWASHING-PROMOTION PROGRAM IN CHINESE PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Am J Trop Med Hyg, June 1, 2007; 76(6): 1166 - 1173.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Med MicrobiolHome page
D. B. Huang and J. Zhou
Effect of intensive handwashing in the prevention of diarrhoeal illness among patients with AIDS: a randomized controlled study
J. Med. Microbiol., May 1, 2007; 56(5): 659 - 663.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Clin TrialsHome page
L. Rosen, O. Manor, D. Engelhard, and D. Zucker
Design of the Jerusalem Handwashing Study: meeting the challenges of a preschool-based public health intervention trial
Clinical Trials, August 1, 2006; 3(4): 376 - 384.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Stat Methods Med ResHome page
R J Hayes, N D. Alexander, S Bennett, and S N Cousens
Design and analysis issues in cluster-randomized trials of interventions against infectious diseases
Statistical Methods in Medical Research, April 1, 2000; 9(2): 95 - 116.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.