Association of Mother ’s Handwashing Practices and Pediatric Diarrhea: Evidence from a Multi-Country Study on Community Oriented Interventions

ConclusionAccess to safe drinking water was reportedly higher for communities in Guatemala and Zambia (>80%), than those in Cambodia and Kenya (<63%), with significantly higher levels in intervention sites for Guatemala and Kenya. Improved sanitation was low (<10%), for Kenya and Zambia, compared to Cambodia and Guatemala (>40%); intervention sites reporting significantly higher levels, except for Zambia. Hand washing index; hand washing before food preparation, after defecation, attending to a child after defecation, and before feeding children was significantly higher for intervention sites in Cambodia, Guatemala and Kenya (Cambodia, 2.4 vs 2.2, p<0.001, Guatemala, 3.0 vs 2.5, p<0.001, Kenya, 2.6 vs 2.3, p<0.001). Factors significantly associated with lower odds of diarrhea were; mother ’s marital status, higher educational status, one or more handwashing practices, wealthier quintiles, older (>24m), and female children. The findings suggest that caretaker handwashing with soap or ash has a protective effect on prevalence of diarrhea in children.
Source: Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research