scholarly journals A pilot study of the effect of improved hygiene kits on handwashing with soap among internally displaced persons in Ethiopia.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Hasund Thorseth ◽  
Tom Heath ◽  
Andualem Sisay ◽  
Mare Hamo ◽  
Sian White

Abstract Background Internally displaced persons (IDPs) forced to flee from their homes due to conflict and drought are at particular risk of morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoeal diseases. Regular handwashing with soap could substantially reduce the risk of these infections, but the behaviour is challenging to practice routinely while living in resource-poor, informal settlements. To mitigate these challenges, humanitarian aid organisations distribute hygiene kits including soap and handwashing infrastructure. Our study aimed to assess the effect of improved kits on handwashing behaviours among IDPs in Moyale, Ethiopia. Methods The pilot study evaluated three interventions separately; liquid soap, a good quality scented bar soap and a mirror as additions to a regular hygiene kit. The kit was distributed to all study groups, with 3 of the study groups receiving one of the interventions each. Three to six weeks after distribution, behaviour change was assessed through structured observations, surveys and focus group discussions. Results Handwashing with soap was rare at key times both in all study groups. In the group that received liquid soap, handwashing with soap was seen at 20% of key times. In the control arm this was 17%, while in the two other intervention arms prevalence was <11%. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection indicated that liquid soap encourages handwashing with soap at key times. The good quality scented bar soap and mirror were not found to have an observed effect on behaviour but were viewed as desirable by participants who also reported that the standard bar soap distributed in hygiene kits was not nice to use. Conclusion This study was to our knowledge the first randomised intervention study on handwashing among IDPs living in a non-camp setting. The study shows that improved kits have potential to make handwashing more desirable and easier to practice, and further research including formative assessments prior to the design of hygiene kits should be conducted to ensure maximal uptake. The challenges of doing research in conflict-affected regions had considerable implications on the design and implementation of this study.Trial registration The trial was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov 6 September 2019 (reg no: NCT04078633)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Hasund Thorseth ◽  
Tom Heath ◽  
Andualem Sisay ◽  
Mare Hamo ◽  
Sian White

Abstract Background Internally displaced persons (IDPs) forced to flee from their homes due to conflict and drought are at particular risk of morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoeal diseases. Regular handwashing with soap could substantially reduce the risk of these infections, but the behaviour is challenging to practice while living in resource-poor, informal settlements. To mitigate these challenges, humanitarian aid organisations distribute hygiene kits including soap and handwashing infrastructure. Our study aimed to assess the effect of modified hygiene kits on handwashing behaviours among IDPs in Moyale, Ethiopia. Methods The pilot study evaluated three interventions separately; liquid soap, a ‘good quality’ scented bar soap and a mirror as modifications to a standard hygiene kit. The hygiene kit was distributed to four study arms, with three of the arms receiving one of the interventions in addition. Three to six weeks after distribution, behaviour change and perceptions of the interventions was assessed through structured observations, surveys and focus group discussions. Results At follow-up, handwashing with soap was rare at key times in all study arms. In the arm that received liquid soap, handwashing with soap was seen at 20% of key times but this was not indicated significantly different to the control arm were a prevalence of 17% (p-value=0.348). In the two other intervention arms prevalence was <11%. Participants in FGDs indicated that the liquid soap, scented bar soap and the mirror made handwashing more desirable. In contrast the standard bar soap distributed in hygiene kits was not viewed as being nice to use. Conclusion This study did not identify any effect of the modified kits on handwashing behaviour. However, it did indicate that there is value in better understanding hygiene product preferences as this may contribute to increased acceptability and use among crisis-affected populations. The challenges of doing research in conflict-affected regions had considerable implications on the design and implementation of this study.Trial registration The trial was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov 6 September 2019 (reg no: NCT04078633)


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-05
Author(s):  
Emenike Umesi

The study investigated the extent to which psychosocial services intervention programmes is being implemented for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the camps and to also find out how these programmes have been able to meet the needs of the affected persons. To achieve this objective, three research questions are generated. Subjects are 200 respondents that are selected from a target population of 1005 displaced persons in two (2) camps in Borno state, through simple random sampling. A questionnaire titled “Psychosocial Services Intervention Programmes Questionnaire” (PSSIPQ) was used for data collection while interview and focus group discussions were used for additional information gathering. The study concludes that psychological support services are available in the various camps but require deepening and some improvement.


Balcanica ◽  
2008 ◽  
pp. 199-220
Author(s):  
Svetlana Cirkovic

The oral corpus of recorded conversations with displaced persons from Kosovo and Metohija was formed in 2003. The transcript of a three-hour conversation with a female interlocutor originally from the environs of Suva Reka (Metohija) has been subjected to discourse analysis, an oft-used technique within linguistic anthropology. The focus of the contribution is on the interlocutor?s ways of expressing time. Her autobiographical discourse, as well as that of displaced persons from Kosovo and Metohija in general, shows that the war/bombing/displacement functions as a temporal divide, as a time marker in relation to which the past, present and future are expressed. The results of this pilot study into time expressions may be used as the starting point in studying the entire oral corpus.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren S. Blum ◽  
Anicet Yemweni ◽  
Victoria Trinies ◽  
Mimi Kambere ◽  
Foyeke Tolani ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARI) account for 30% of deaths among children displaced due to humanitarian emergencies. A wealth of evidence demonstrates that handwashing with soap prevents both diarrhea and ARI. While socially- and emotionally-driven factors are proven motivators to handwashing in non-emergency situations, little is known about determinants of handwashing behavior in emergency settings. Methods We conducted a qualitative investigation from June to August 2015 in a camp for internally displaced persons with a population of 6360 in the war-torn eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We held key informant interviews with 9 non-governmental organizations and camp officials, in-depth interviews and rating exercises with 18 mothers of children < 5 years, and discussions with 4 groups of camp residents and hygiene promoters to identify motivators and barriers to handwashing. Results At the time of the study, hygiene promotion activities lacked adequate resources, cultural acceptability, innovation, and adaptation for sustained behavioral change. Lack of ongoing provision of hygiene materials was a major barrier to handwashing behavior. When hygiene materials were available, camp residents reported that the primary motivator to handwashing was to prevent illness, particularly diarrheal disease, with many mentioning an increased need to wash hands during diarrhea outbreaks. Emotionally- and socially-related motivators such as “maintaining a good image” and social pressure to follow recommended camp hygiene practices were also reported to motivate handwashing with soap. Residents who engaged in day labor outside the camp had limited exposure to hygiene messages and handwashing facilities. Interviewees indicated that the harsh living conditions forced residents to prioritize obtaining basic survival needs over good hygiene. Conclusions Hygiene promotion in camp settings must involve preparedness of adequate resources and supplies and ongoing provision of hygiene materials so that vulnerable populations affected by emergencies can apply good hygiene behaviors for the duration of the camp’s existence. Compared to non-emergency contexts, illness-based messages may be more effective in emergency settings where disease poses a current and ongoing threat. However, failure to use emotive and social drivers that motivate handwashing may present missed opportunities to improve handwashing in camps.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farman Ullah Khan ◽  
Zahid Asghar ◽  
Muhammad Khalid Tipu ◽  
Asim .ur. Rehman ◽  
Asif Khan ◽  
...  

Objective: This study was aimed to investigate adherence to TB treatment and outcomes among internally displaced patients in comparison with adjacent settled areas. Methods: The study was designed as an observational cross-sectional study among the TB patients of internally displaced populations (IDPs) of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) and adjacent settled areas of Bannu and Lakki Marwat (NIDPs). Based on the study inclusion and exclusion criteria 330 patients full filled the inclusion criteria and were assigned equally to both IDPs and NIDPs study groups. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval was calculated and p-values, 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The treatment outcomes with the status of “cured” and “completed treatment” were better among NIDPs as compared to IDPs. Patients with treatment outcome status of “defaulted treatment”, “without documentary evidence, and “failure” were high in IDPs as compared to NIDPs. Adherence to TB treatment was better among NIDPs (50.9%) as compared to IDPs (39.4%). The patients showing non-adherence to TB treatment were more among IDPS (27.3%) then NIDPs (10.9%). Conclusion: Overall the results of this study revealed a poor adherence to the TB treatment medications with an odds ratio of 0.286, (p<0.05) among IDPs as compared to NIDPs. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.3.2992 How to cite this:Khan FU, Asghar Z, Tipu MK, Asim-ur-Rehman, Khan A, Tofeeq-ur-Rehman. Effect of displacement on Adherence to TB Treatment: An observational study in TB patients from Internally Displaced Persons of Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(3):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.3.2992 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-158
Author(s):  
Ali Johnson Onoja ◽  
Chris Ogedengbe ◽  
Sheila Onoja ◽  
Felix Olaniyi Sanni ◽  
Paul Olaiya Abiodun ◽  
...  

Introduction: The North-Eastern part of Nigeria is currently struggling with a complex humanitarian emergency. This study aimed to identify the challenges facing the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and evaluate the effect of the humanitarian response projects in alleviating these challenges. Methodology: The study was carried out in sixteen local governments of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states using mixed methods. The quantitative data were obtained by the administration of a structured questionnaire to men of 25 years and above and women aged 15-49 years. The data obtained were analysed and complemented with the qualitative data from Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Data were analysed using SPSS version 20. Results: The majority of the IDPs were between age 25 – 29 (26.0%), women (56.7%), 40.8% had Qur’anic education, and 76.6% were married. The major challenges facing the IPDs were hunger (26.2%), lack of clothing (19.9%), regular sickness (18.5%) and lack of drugs (9.8%). Rape cases constituted (4.3%) of the total responses. The major sicknesses were Malaria (53.1%) and skin infections (34.4%). The items received from the NGOs include foodstuff (27.9%), soap and detergents (19.0%), clothing (14.0%), and drugs (9.4%). The majority (46.5%) rated their situation since they arrived in the camp very good, 52.1% affirmed great improvement in their situations, and 9 (1.4%) stated that their situations were deteriorating. The majority (33.3%) were trained on tailoring, 21.4% on cream-making, 17.0% knitting and bead making (15.2%). Conclusion: Humanitarian services positively impacted the IDPs, yet there is need for government and the humanitarian services providers put more efforts the alleviate the suffering of the IDPs in Nigeria.   Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 7, Issue-3: 152-158


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zelde Espinel ◽  
James Shultz ◽  
Anna Ordonez ◽  
Yuval Neria

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