Evaluation of a Handwashing Promotion Program in Chinese Elementary Schools

March 8, 2010 updated by: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of a commercial hand washing promotion program on hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and on health outcomes such as reported infectious illnesses and school absences.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Diarrheal and respiratory diseases cause 3.8 million deaths annually among children in the developing world. Reduced rates of these diseases have been measured during intensive, home-based handwashing interventions. We evaluated a school-based handwashing program for 1st grade students to determine whether a more scalable intervention could also reduce illness rates, and impact hygiene knowledge and attitudes.

Thirty schools from each of 3 counties in Fujian Province, China, were randomized to one of the following groups: a) control; b) standard intervention, which included a handwashing program (1 hour of hygiene instruction and 1 soap sample kit per pupil); or c) expanded intervention, which included the handwashing program, soap for school sinks and 1 peer hygiene monitor per class. Teachers collected illness symptom information from students weekly and recorded student absences daily between January and April, 2005. Mean illness and absence rates were calculated for each school. Students were given a knowledge, attitudes, and practices questionnaire before the intervention and again 5 months later.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

5000

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Fujian
      • Fuzhou, Fujian, China, 350001
        • Fujian Province CDC

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

4 years to 12 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • school has running water

Exclusion Criteria:

  • school has not previously received commercial handwashing promotion program

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
student illness rates
student absence rates

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
teacher illness rate
changes in student hygiene knowledge
changes in student hygiene attitudes
changes in school water use

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Collaborators

Procter and Gamble
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China
Fujian Province CDC

Investigators

  • Study Director: Anna B Bowen, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

December 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2005

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 30, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 30, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 1, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 9, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 8, 2010

Last Verified

March 1, 2010

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CDC-NCID-4427

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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