Poultry Management and Child Diarrhea in Uganda

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Diarrhea
• Interventions: Behavioral: Poultry hygiene intervention

• Registration Number: NCT04580212
• Lead Sponsor: North Carolina State University

Brief Summary

Fecal contamination from animal sources, specifically chickens, is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for enteric infections in low-income countries where domestic animals are often kept in close proximity to living quarters. Community members typically allow chickens to move freely around their compound and in their homes. Unlike other animals, such as cows or goats, poultry are typically not confined and their feces, which are relatively small, are considered relatively innocuous and therefore largely ignored by adults and children. In this study, the investigators have implemented an intervention to help rural poultry owners with children to hygienically separate chickens from children by focusing on a small set of key factors, including increased risk perception, increased perception of potential livelihood benefits, increased skills, and increased supportive social norms. The investigators hypothesized that the poultry hygiene intervention will lead to improved poultry management practices, which will in turn lead to reduced fecal contamination in the domestic environment and subsequently reduced diarrheal illness in young children. To measure these parameters along the causal chain, the investigators used a combination of household surveys, spot check observations and testing of environmental samples for fecal contamination.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2019-09-01
• Study First Submitted: 2020-10-02
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-10-02
• Study First Posted: 2020-10-08
• Primary Completion: 2021-08-25
• Study Completion: 2021-08-25
• Status Verified: 2022-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-03-08
• Last Update Posted: 2022-03-23

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1307

Inclusion Criteria

• At least one person in the household is a member of Self-Help Groups formed by The Water Trust, Uganda
• There is at least one child under the age of 5 years living in the household
• There is an adult (>18 years) primary caregiver of a child <5 years available for participation in study

Exclusion Criteria

• None

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention arm	Poultry hygiene intervention	This arm received the poultry hygiene intervention.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Prevalence of children <5 years with caregiver-reported diarrhea in past 7 days	Caregiver reported 7-day prevalence of diarrhea in children <5 years, measured approximately 1 year after initiation of intervention	Diarrhea defined as 3 or more soft or watery stools in 24-hour period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Proportion of households with E.coli in household environmental samples	Ascertained with analysis of samples from households, collected approximately 1 year after initiation of intervention	Detection of E. coli (general fecal indicator)
Proportion of households with observed poultry feces in compound	Ascertained by spot check observation approximately 1 year after initiation of intervention	Poultry feces occurrences observed in household compounds

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Water Trust; 🇺🇬 Kampala, Uganda