title: Promoting Handwashing Behavior: The Effects of Large-scale Community and School-level Interventions.
abstract: This paper analyzes a randomized experiment that uses novel strategies to promote handwashing with soap at critical points in time in Peru. It evaluates a large-scale comprehensive initiative that involved both community and school activities in addition to communication campaigns. The analysis indicates that the initiative was successful in reaching the target audience and in increasing the treated population's knowledge about appropriate handwashing behavior. These improvements translated into higher self-reported and observed handwashing with soap at critical junctures. However, no significant improvements in the health of children under the age of 5 years were observed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, Economics Tydings Hall University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galiani
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gertler
authors.affiliation: Sciences Po, Department of Economics, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ajzenman
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley - Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orsola-Vidal
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008402:Mass Media; D010568:Peru; D012574:Schools; D012915:Soaps
chemical_list: D012915:Soaps
keywords: I18; behavior change; handwashing; hygiene; randomized evaluation