Effects of Promoting Handwashing With Soap to Improve Maternal Handwashing Behavior During the Neonatal Period

Infectious diseases, such as umbilical cord infection, pneumonia, and sepsis, are responsible for about a quarter of neonatal deaths. Contaminated hands likely play a role in transmitting pathogens to a neonate, therefore handwashing with soap has the potential to interrupt transmission and improve neonatal health. The primary objective of this study is to develop and evaluate a scalable, cost-effective handwashing promotion program to improve handwashing behavior among mothers and caregivers of neonates. The investigators will first conduct a qualitative study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a set of interventions. The investigators propose to evaluate the impact of the intervention components, designed as three progressively intense interventions, using a randomized controlled trial with elements of a stepped wedge design. The study will be conducted in Meru County, Kenya, enrolling a total of 800 pregnant women who seek non-emergency antenatal care at a government health facility during a 1 year period. Clinic based health care workers and community health volunteers will disseminate the intervention using an interactive storytelling approach. The focus of the interactions between the health care workers and volunteers and the participant will be on addressing barriers to handwashing through interactive question and answer sessions, rather than a didactic, educational session. The investigators will assess the impact of interventions on observed maternal and caregiver handwashing behavior and estimate the cost effectiveness for each intervention.