The role of chicken management practices in children’s exposure to environmental contamination: a mixed-methods analysis

Abstract

Background Household chicken production presents an opportunity to promote child nutrition, but the benefits might be offset by increased environmental contamination. Using household surveys, direct observations, and in-depth interviews with woman caregivers, we sought to describe the relationship between chicken management practices and household exposure to environmental contamination, and assess barriers to adopting improved husbandry practices. Methods First, we analyzed baseline data from 973 households raising chickens in the two interventions arms from the Agriculture-to-Nutrition (ATONU) study in Ethiopia to assess the relationship between animal management practices and environmental exposures. Second, we conducted six-hour direct observations of children’s environmental exposures in 18 households. Among these households, we analyzed in-depth interviews with child caregivers. Results Quantitative analyses showed that households raised approximately 11 chickens, had animal feces visible on the property 67% of the time, and children’s hands were visibly dirty 38% of the time. Households with more chickens had lower exposure to animal feces. Having a chicken coop increased the risk of observing animal feces on the property by 30%, but among those with a coop, having an enclosed coop reduced that risk by 83%. Coops that were enclosed, had fencing, and were located further from homes were associated with a reduced risk of observing animal feces and an increased likelihood of children having clean hands. Direct observations showed that chicken coops were often poorly designed or not used. On average, 3 to 5 chickens were inside homes at a time, and livestock and domestic animals were frequently inside of houses and interacting with young children. In-depth interviews revealed that protection of animals, maintenance of household cleanliness and health, type of chicken (local versus improved) and resource constraints influenced management decisions. Conclusions Improvements in chicken management practices could mitigate the exposure of household members to environmental contamination. Our findings highlight the need for training and resources to promote safe animal husbandry practices and optimal child health in nutrition-sensitive livestock projects. Trial registration Clinical trials number: NCT03152227; Retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov on May 12, 2012.

Effect of a Child-Owned Poultry Intervention Providing Eggs on Nutrition Status and Motor Skills of Young Children in Southern Ethiopia: A Cluster Randomized and Controlled Community Trial

“…Chickens are important reservoirs of Campylobacter bacteria that cause enteric infection in children. Studies reported an association between poultry keeping with stunting highlighting the importance of keeping chickens in separate shelters or cages [ 23 , 26 ].…”

“…In EED, nutrients are poorly absorbed due to atrophied villi and lost due to increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) [ 25 ]. Thus, poultry interventions that aim increased egg intake and improved health and nutrition status should consider strategies to reduce disease transmission from chickens to children [ 26 ].…”

Prevention of human exposure to livestock faecal waste in the household: a scoping study of interventions conducted in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Four interventions focused on the use of child-safe spaces [ 22 , 30 , 33 , 36 ], two interventions focused on managing cohabitation between humans and animals by encouraging building of animal hutches/coops [ 31 , 35 ] and two educational interventions encouraged appropriate removal of faeces from the household environment [ 23 , 27 ].…”

“…Two studies focussed on managing the cohabitation of livestock with humans. Passarelli et al [ 35 ] conducted a study in Ethiopia using a cluster randomised trial, dubbed “Agriculture-to-Nutrition” (ATONU). The objective of the larger study was to evaluate the impact of integrating nutrition-sensitive behavioural change communication in the context of increased household production of chickens and eggs on the diets of women and children.…”

Effects of an integrated poultry value chain, nutrition, gender and WASH intervention (SELEVER) on hygiene and child morbidity and anthropometry in Burkina Faso: A secondary outcome analysis of a cluster randomised trial

“…However, achieving improvements in practices is also not a given without additional support, particularly in a context where financial constraints are binding and improving practices requires financial investment. To some degree, this was the case with corralling poultry in Burkina Faso, where poultry corralling was associated with increased costs of production related to the coop itself but also with regard to feed necessary to compensate for lack of scavenging opportunities for free‐roaming poultry (Leight, Awonon, Pedehombga, Ganaba, Gelli, 2022 ; Passarelli et al, 2021 ). Providing some form of transfer to encourage households to invest in improved poultry housing could be considered by programme implementers as a way to enhance potential effectiveness and avoid unintended effects (Alderman et al, 2022 ; Gelli et al, 2018 ; Olney et al, 2016 ).…”