A Randomized Controlled Trial to Measure Spillover Effects of a Combined Water, Sanitation, and Handwashing Intervention in Rural Bangladesh.

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Measure Spillover Effects of a Combined Water, Sanitation, and Handwashing Intervention in Rural Bangladesh. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 Mar 27;: Authors: Benjamin-Chung J, Amin N, Ercumen A, Arnold BF, Hubbard AE, Unicomb L, Rahman M, Luby SP, Colford JM Abstract Water, sanitation, and handwashing interventions may confer spillover effects on neighbors of intervention recipients by interrupting pathogen transmission. We measured geographically local spillovers in WASH Benefits, a cluster-randomized trial in rural Bangladesh, by comparing outcomes among neighbors of intervention vs. control participants. WASH Benefits randomly allocated geographically-defined clusters to a compound-level intervention (chlorinated drinking water, upgraded sanitation, and handwashing promotion) or control. From January to August 2015, in 180 clusters, we enrolled 1,799 neighboring children age-matched to trial participants that would have been eligible for WASH Benefits had they been conceived slightly earlier or later. After 28 months of intervention, we quantified fecal indicator bacteria in toy rinse and drinking water samples, measured soil-transmitted helminth infections, and recorded caregiver-reported diarrhea and respiratory illness. Neighbors' characteristics were balanced across arms. The prevalence of detectable E. coli in tubewell samples was lower for neighbors of intervention vs. control trial participants (preva...
Source: Am J Epidemiol - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: Am J Epidemiol Source Type: research