Improved sanitation has been associated with a reduced prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection and has been hypothesized to prevent fecal contamination from spreading throughout the household environment. We evaluated the effect of providing households with a pit latrine with a plastic slab and drophole cover, child feces management tools, and associated behavioral messaging on reducing STH eggs in household soil. We collected soil samples from 2107 households (898 control and 1209 improved sanitation intervention households) that were enrolled in the WASH Benefits cluster randomized controlled trial in rural Kenya and performed a post-intervention analysis after two years of intervention exposure. Following a pre-specified analysis plan, we combined all households that received the sanitation intervention into one group for comparison to control households. The prevalence of STH eggs in soil was 18.9% in control households and 17.0% in intervention households. The unadjusted prevalence ratio of total STH eggs in the intervention groups compared to the control group was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.78–1.13). The geometric mean concentration was 0.05 eggs/g dry soil in control households and intervention households. Unadjusted and adjusted models gave similar results. We found use of a shared latrine, presence of a roof over the sampling area, and the number of dogs owned at baseline was associated with an increased prevalence of STH eggs in soil; the presence of a latrine that was at least 2 years old and a latrine with a covered drophole was associated with a reduction in the prevalence of STH eggs in soil. Soil moisture content was also associated with an increased prevalence of STH eggs in soil. Our results indicate that an intervention designed to increase access to improved latrines and child feces management tools may not be enough to impact environmental occurrence of STH in endemic areas where latrine coverage is already high.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the effects of COVID-19 on antenatal care (ANC) utilisation in Kenya, including women’s reports of COVID-related barriers to ANC and correlates at the individual and household levels.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingSix public and private health facilities and associated catchment areas in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties in Kenya.ParticipantsData were collected from 1729 women, including 1189 women who delivered in healthcare facilities before the COVID-19 pandemic (from September 2019–January 2020) and 540 women who delivered during the pandemic (from July through November 2020). Women who delivered during COVID-19 were sampled from the same catchment areas as the original sample of women who delivered before to compare ANC utilisation.Primary and secondary outcome measuresTiming of ANC initiation, number of ANC visits and adequate ANC utilisation were primary outcome measures. Among only women who delivered during COVID-19 only, we explored women’s reports of the pandemic having affected their ability to access or attend ANC as a secondary outcome of interest.ResultsWomen who delivered during COVID-19 had significantly higher odds of delayed ANC initiation (ie, beginning ANC during the second vs first trimester) than women who delivered before (aOR 1.72, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.37), although no significant differences were detected in the odds of attending 4–7 or ≥8 ANC visits versus <4 ANC visits, respectively (aOR 1.12, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.44 and aOR 1.46, 95% CI 0.74 to 2.86). Nearly half (n=255/540; 47%) of women who delivered during COVID-19 reported that the pandemic affected their ability to access ANC.ConclusionsStrategies are needed to mitigate disruptions to ANC among pregnant women during pandemics and other public health, environmental, or political emergencies.

Combined water, sanitation, and handwashing (WSH) interventions have the potential to reduce fecal pathogens along more transmission pathways than single interventions alone. We measured Escherichia coli levels in 3909 drinking water samples, 2691 child hand rinses, and 2422 toy ball rinses collected from households enrolled in a two-year cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating single and combined WSH interventions. Water treatment alone reduced E. coli in drinking water, while a combined WSH intervention improved water quality by the same magnitude but did not affect levels of fecal indicator bacteria on child hands or toy balls. The failure of the WSH interventions to reduce E. coli along important child exposure pathways is consistent with the lack of a protective effect from the interventions on child diarrhea or child growth during the trial. Our results have important implications for WSH program design; the sanitation and handwashing interventions implemented in this trial should not be expected to reduce child exposure to fecal contamination in other similar settings.

Monitoring and evaluating policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries are often difficult because of the lack of routine data. High mobile phone ownership in these countries presents an opportunity for efficient data collection through telephone interviews. This study examined the feasibility of collecting data on medicines through telephone interviews in Kenya. Data on the availability and prices of medicines at 137 health facilities and 639 patients were collected in September 2016 via in-person interviews. Between December 2016 and December 2017, monthly telephone interviews were conducted with health facilities and patients. An unannounced in-person interview was conducted with respondents to validate the telephone interview within 24 h. A bottom-up itemization costing approach was used to estimate the costs of telephone and in-person data collection. In-depth interviews were conducted with data collectors and respondents to explore their perceptions on both modes of data collection. The level of agreement between data on medicines availability collected through phone and in-person interviews was strong at the health facility level [kappa = 0.90; confidence interval (CI) 0.88–0.92] and moderate at the household level (kappa = 0.50, CI 0.39–0.60). Price data from telephone and in-person interviews showed strong intra-class correlation at health facilities [intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.96] and moderate intra-class correlation at households (ICC = 0.47). The cost per phone interview at health facilities and households were $19.73 and $16.86, respectively, compared to $186.20 for a baseline in-person interview. Participants considered telephone interviews to be more convenient. In countries with high cell phone penetration, telephone data collection should be considered in monitoring and evaluating public health programs especially at health facilities. Additional strategies may be needed to optimize this mode of data collection at the household level. Variations in cell phone ownership, telecommunication network and data collection costs across different settings may limit the generalizability of the findings from this study.

Objective The aim of the study is to examine the risk of postpartum depression (PPD) among women who delivered during the COVID‐19 pandemic compared to women who delivered before the COVID‐19 pandemic and how economic challenges are associated with PPD. Methods Data were collected from 2332 women. This includes 1197 women from healthcare facilities in 2019 who were followed up at 2–4 and 10 weeks postpartum. Additionally, we recruited 1135 women who delivered from March 16, 2020 onward when COVID‐19 restrictions were mandated in Kenya in the same catchment areas as the original sample to compare PPD rates. Results Adjusting for covariates, women who delivered during COVID‐19 had 2.5 times higher odds of screening positive for PPD than women who delivered before COVID‐19 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.92–3.15). Women who reported household food insecurity, required to pay a fee to cover the cost of PPE during labor and delivery and/or postnatal visit(s), and those who reported COVID‐19 employment‐related impacts had a higher likelihood of screening for PPD compared to those who did not report these experiences. Conclusion The COVID‐19 pandemic has greatly increased the economic vulnerability of women, resulting in increases in PPD.