Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Hand Hygiene Promotion Activities: Effect on Intestinal Parasitic Infections and Anaemia Among School-aged Children in Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia: a Factorial Randomised Controlled Trial
Brief Summary: Impact exerted by intestinal parasitic infections is much higher in developing countries. School-aged children are at higher risk from the burden of disease, because they specially have many parasitic infections. The poor health results in deficits in physical and cognitive development and educational achievements. Nowadays, there is huge commitment among the global community to control intestinal parasitic infections and to improve nutritional status of young children in developing countries.

Large-scale anthelminthic drug administration through vertical control programmes is still required for the foreseeable future and is, therefore, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, due to the inevitability of re-infection in endemic areas, children need to be treated regularly, and once morbidity control is consolidated, the strategy must shift to transmission control emphasising access to clean water and adequate sanitation. To lower dependency on 'drug only' approach and to enhance sustainability, from the onset of control activities, complementary measures should be implemented, that depend on available resources.

Therefore, the investigators are proposing to undertake a randomised controlled trial to assess the impact of simple and easy-to-do hand hygiene intervention packages (hand washing with soap and hand finger nail clipping) on intestinal parasitic infection prevalence, intensity and re-infection rates and on haemoglobin concentration and anaemia prevalence rates among 6-15 years old schoolchildren. Our results will provide solid evidence on if and how hand hygiene practice affects infection prevalence and re-infection rates, as well as, anaemia prevalence among the highly vulnerable age group.


Options:
A: Study Population Description:

The subject population will be young children and their mothers/guardians living in several contiguous districts of Western Province, in the rural areas outside the towns of Bungoma and Kakamega. Communities must meet the following criteria:

* Located in a rural area (defined as villages with \<25% residents living in rental houses, \<2 gas/petrol stations and \<10 shops)
* Not enrolled in ongoing WASH or nutrition programs
* No chlorine dispensers at water sources installed by programs separate from the present study
* Majority (\>80%) of households do not have access to piped water into the home
* At least six eligible pregnant women in the cluster at baseline.

From enrolled communities, household compounds will be enrolled if they meet the following criteria.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. One or more women who self-identify as pregnant at the time of the baseline survey
2. The woman plans to stay in the community for the next 12 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

(1) The study excludes households who do not own their home to help mitigate attrition during follow-up.
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* school-aged children attending one of the 12 schools identified for the study

Exclusion Criteria:

* lack of consent from family
* allergy to Albendazole
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* households and children who will give a written consent to participate in the study
* households and children who are going to stay in the area throughout the study period
* children aged 6 to 15

Exclusion Criteria:

* households and children who able to produce a written consent
* children who are under treatment
* children with age less than 6 and greater than 15 years
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* at least one child 0-24 months (at baseline) lives in the household
* adult family member (mother of primary caregiver of the selected children for the study) consents to participate in the study and provides consent for the child's participation

Exclusion Criteria:

* none

Answer: C