MedPath

Sanitation Demand Creation in Peri-Urban Slums of Lusaka, Zambia

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Diarrhea
Interventions
Behavioral: Bauleni Secret
Registration Number
NCT03174015
Lead Sponsor
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Brief Summary

This intervention will experimentally test the hypothesis that sanitation can be improved in a peri-urban setting using state-of-the-art behaviour change communications.

Formative research indicated that landlords are the effective decision-makers about investments in sanitation on their plots (which can include a number of tenant households as well). Landlords will therefore be the primary targets of the intervention. The study will take the form of a randomized controlled trial of the intervention evaluated at the plot level. The intervention will invite enrolled landlords to a series of meetings in which various mechanisms will be used, each designed to increase their likelihood of improving the toilet(s) on their plot. These meetings will be the main vehicle for a status-building campaign associated with increasing wealth by improving plot sanitation, understanding tenants' implicit demand, understanding the processes by which toilets can be improved, and a competition rewarding landlords that make the greatest improvements to the improvement of their toilet(s). The desired improvements will be measured via multiple primary outcomes that measure aspects of changes to hardware and software components, including indicators of hygienic quality, psychological desirability, accessibility, and ecological sustainability. This is because the investigators argue that, to have a significant impact on population-level diarrheal disease indicators, any sanitation solution must be:

* effective at reducing exposure to pathogens (i.e., hygienic),

* desirable (i.e., seen as valuable or humane), and

* accessible (i.e., no one excluded), so that it can be used by all

* for a reasonably long time (i.e., sustainable)

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
1085
Inclusion Criteria
  • Plot located in Bauleni compound
  • Adult landlord (age 18 or higher) resides on plot

Intervention

Exclusion Criteria

* None

Data will be collected from the landlord and one randomly selected tenant from all eligible adult tenants on each plot.

Data Collection Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult landlord or tenant (age 18 or higher) resides on selected plot most of the time

Data Collection Exclusion Criteria:

* None

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
InterventionBauleni SecretLandlords on selected plots will receive the "Bauleni Secret" intervention. Landlords and selected tenants will be surveyed in baseline/end-line data collection.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Having a hole-cover or water-sealed pan5 months after intervention begins

Reduces spread of pathogens by creating barrier between containment and above-ground environment

Having a latrine door that locks from the inside5 months after intervention begins

Provide safety and privacy for toilet users

Having a latrine door that locks from the outside5 months after intervention begins

Exclude those not living on the plot from the toilet

Having a rotational cleaning system in place5 months after intervention begins

To maintain hygienic condition of the toilet interface

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Willingness to pay5 months after intervention begins

Change in landlord stated willingness to pay for toilet improvements

Attitudes towards sanitation5 months after intervention begins

Scales measuring landlord attitudes towards the importance of sanitation

Financial preparation for toilet improvement5 months after intervention begins

Landlords report saving money, either individually or by participating in a rotating savings scheme, for toilet improvement

Partial construction progress towards toilet improvement5 months after intervention begins

Landlords have either amassed raw materials on the plot (concrete blocks, wood, etc.) for toilet improvement or new construction/upgrading of toilet began (hole dug for new toilet, new slab poured for flushing toilet, etc.)

Peri-urban Healthy Toilet Index5 months after intervention begins

A theory-based comprehensive index of on-site peri-urban sanitation status including hygienicity, accessibility, desirability, and sustainability of sanitation systems

Cleaning rota initiated5 months after intervention begins

Landlord reports taking any action directed at establishing a rotational cleaning system (e.g., holding a plot meeting explicitly for this purpose, posting a written rota, or otherwise tangibly indicating rota responsibilities)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Bauleni Compound

πŸ‡ΏπŸ‡²

Lusaka, Zambia

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