Differential Effectiveness of Water, Sanitation, and Handwashing Interventions to Reduce Child Diarrhea in Dry and Rainy Seasons: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Trials.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Studies evaluating how water, sanitation, and/or handwashing (WASH) interventions in low- and middle-income countries impact diarrheal diseases have shown inconsistent results. The prevalence of enteric pathogen infections and diarrhea are highly seasonal and climate-sensitive, which could explain heterogeneous findings. Understanding how season influences the effectiveness of WASH interventions is critical for informing intervention approaches that will be resistant under the varying weather conditions that climate change will bring.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis to test whether and to what extent the impact of WASH interventions on diarrhea differs by season. We searched the literature for randomized and nonrandomiz

SUBMITTER: Hubbard S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11793162 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature