Alliance Model for Increasing Access to Sanitation and Improving Hygienic Practices in Rural Community of Thankre VDC, Dhading District, Nepal

Abstract

Background: Hand washing with soap (HWWS) has been shown to reduce risk of diseases that are known to be significant but preventable causes of death of young children. Methods: PPPHW partners purposively selected three intervention and three comparison districts. Within each district, systematic random sampling was used to select 10 wards. Data was collected from three groups: (1) households, (2) schools, and (3) health facilities. The primary respondent for each household was the primary female caregiver of a child < 5 years old. In households, a survey was administered to the primary caregiver of the youngest child under 5 years of age, a 3-hour structured observation, and a survey to all school going children present in the household whose parents consented for their participation. Results: Alliance model worked in the socio-political context of the VDC to bring about the expected outcomes in terms of improved capacity of the stakeholders, improved access to sanitation and hygienic practices, and to reduce prevalence of diarrhea. Conclusions: Such model needs to be introduced on other settings as well. Keywords: alliance model; hand washing with soap; hygienic practices; sanitation.