Intervention to Improve Hygienic Environments, Hand Washing and Food Hygiene Behaviours in Early Childhood Development Centres and Households in Malawi
Principal Investigator: Dr. Kondwani Chidziwisano – RGHI Senior Fellow
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Diarrhoea resulting from poor Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices has been linked to child under-nutrition globally, including in Malawi.
Food, handwashing, and faecal contamination of households and public playgrounds have been associated with the potential transmission of diarrhoeal illness. In Malawi, Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDCs) play a vital role in a child’s social, mental, and psychological growth and are run by volunteers. As environments that accommodate young children prone to numerous communicable diseases, the availability of better WASH facilities and good hygiene practices in ECDCs is essential. However, WASH issues in ECDCs remain neglected within the education system in Malawi. Additionally, there is limited application of behaviour-change theories in addressing inadequate hygiene behaviours in these settings, where young children spend a significant portion of their day. Previous research interventions have mainly focused on primary schools and households.
This research aims to explore simple, scalable interventions to improve hygiene behaviours among pupils, child caretakers, and kitchen staff in ECDCs. Using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour (COM–B) model of behaviour change, this research is designing and testing an ECDC-based intervention to improve hygiene behaviours—including maintaining a hygienic environment, handwashing, and food hygiene—with an extension to the home environment. Community settings provide effective touchpoints for engagement, ensuring sustainability.
It is anticipated that these novel, simple, scalable, and sustainable interventions will improve hygiene behaviours and subsequently inform revisions of existing policies and guidelines on ECDC implementation in Malawi and beyond.
