Community responses to a novel house design: A qualitative study of "Star Homes" in Mtwara, southeastern Tanzania.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

To evaluate the impact of a novel design "Star Home" on the incidence of malaria, respiratory tract infections and diarrheal diseases among children, randomly selected households in Mtwara, Tanzania were offered a free, new Star Home. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative research that accompanied the Star Homes study, this article describes the experiences of residents and the wider community of living with these buildings.

Methods

A total of four rounds of face-to-face interviews were undertaken with residents of Star Homes (n = 37), control (wattle/daub) homes (n = 21), neighboring households n = 6), community members (n = 17) and community leaders (n = 6). The use of Star Homes was also observed over these four time periods between 2021 and 2023. Interviews we

SUBMITTER: Mshamu S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11753654 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature