The Impact of Improved WASH in Schools on Absence, Diarrhea and Helminth Infection in Lao PDR

NCT02342860 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB00076404
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 8,873
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The investigators will conduct a cluster-randomized trial to assess the impact of a school-based water, sanitation and hygiene program on health and educational outcomes of school children in Saravane Province, Laos. The intervention will include an improved water supply (borehole), a sanitation block that includes three pour-flush latrines with rainwater harvesting to be used for flushing and a urinal, and sinks for handwashing with soap. The school will also receive a facility for group handwashing (large pipe where many children can wash hands at once. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) will additionally provide behavior change education. Our key outcome of interest is pupil absence, which will be measured longitudinally using roll-call on days of schools visits. Secondary outcomes include self-reported absence, diarrhea and respiratory infection of a random selection of students. The investigators will also monitor the fidelity of the intervention and assess school conditions and pupil sanitation and handwashing behaviors using structured observation.

Conditions

Hygiene

Keywords

Water; sanitation; hygiene access in school

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Pupil absenteeism

  Rates of pupil absenteeism from school, measured through roll call, review of teacher records, and pupil self-report

  20 months

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Pupil educational attainment ( measured through review of school/teacher records)

  20 months

• Pupil health attainment (measured through pupil self-report)

  20 months

• Behavior change (Handwashing behavior and proxy indicators of WASH facility usage will be measured using structured observation)

  20 months

Study Arms (2)

WASH in Schools (WinS) programme

EXPERIMENTAL

Schools in the intervention group will receive the UNICEF/Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)-supported WinS programme that includes a new water supply, 3 latrines (boys, girls, handicapped), and handwashing facilities. It will also include behavior change education.

Other: WASH in Schools (WinS) programme

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Schools in the control group will receive no additional WinS programming.

Interventions

WASH in Schools (WinS) programme OTHER

The intervention group will receive the UNICEF/DFAT-supported WinS programme, which consists of the following intervention package: * Hardware: water supply system, handwashing station for group handwashing, and gender-segregated toilets with one facility accessible to students with physical disabilities; * Software: operations and maintenance (O\&M) training for teachers, hygiene training, and basic hygiene package.

WASH in Schools (WinS) programme

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

Schools must meet the following criteria to be eligible for inclusion in the study: * Located in the Saravane, Ta Oy, Toumlane, Lakhonepheng, Vapy, Khongsedone, Lao Ngam, and Samoui Districts * Non-Community-Based Construction (CBC) school * Primary school * Lacking functional WASH facilities * If part of a complex, no other schools in the complex have already been selected to participate in the study. Pupils must meet the following criteria to be eligible for inclusion in the study: * Grades 3-5 in study selected schools * Understand and respond to study assent process

Contact the study team to discuss eligibility requirements. They can help determine if this study is right for you.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Emory University: lead
• UNICEF: collaborator

Related Publications (2)

• Chard AN, Freeman MC. Design, Intervention Fidelity, and Behavioral Outcomes of a School-Based Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Cluster-Randomized Trial in Laos. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Mar 22;15(4):570. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040570.

  PMID: 29565302 RESULT

• Chard AN, Levy K, Baker KK, Tsai K, Chang HH, Thongpaseuth V, Sistrunk JR, Freeman MC. Environmental and spatial determinants of enteric pathogen infection in rural Lao People's Democratic Republic: A cross-sectional study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Apr 8;14(4):e0008180. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008180. eCollection 2020 Apr.

  PMID: 32267881 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Therapeutic Irrigation; Schools

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hydrotherapy; Physical Therapy Modalities; Therapeutics; Rehabilitation; Investigative Techniques; Non-Medical Public and Private Facilities

Study Officials

• Matthew C Freeman, PhD, MPH

  Emory University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 9, 2015
• First Posted: January 21, 2015
• Study Start: September 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: March 31, 2017
• Study Completion: March 31, 2017
• Last Updated: May 6, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-05