A Quasi-Experimental Pre-Post Assessment of Hand Hygiene Practices and Hand Dirtiness Following a School-Based Educational Campaign.

Hand hygiene (HH) is essential for preventing disease transmission, particularly in schools where children are in close contact with other children. This study evaluated a school-based intervention on observed HH practices and hand cleanliness in six primary schools in Guatemala. Hand cleanliness was measured using the Quantitative Personal Hygiene Assessment Tool.

Hand Hygiene Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Hand Dirtiness of Primary School Students Before and After a Behavioral Change Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Belize 2022-2023.

Hand hygiene (HH) can prevent the spread of infectious diseases and school absenteeism. However, limited data exist on HH practices at schools. Our study assesses the impact of a pilot HH intervention in 12 schools in Belize during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Changes in Hand Hygiene Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Primary School Students: Insights from a Promotion Program in Guatemala.

School-aged children are vulnerable to infectious diseases due to their developing immune systems and frequent social interactions. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of non-pharmaceutical interventions, like hand hygiene (HH). This study evaluated the changes achieved through a school-based intervention to Guatemalan primary school students' HH knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices while collecting teacher feedback to inform future efforts.

Cleaning and Disinfection Practices of Reused Alcohol-Based Hand Rub Containers in Health Care Settings: Evidence from Five Rural Districts in Uganda.

Local alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) production systems in low-resource settings, such as in health care facilities (HCFs) in low- and middle-income countries, frequently reuse containers for storing and dispensing ABHR. Cleaning/disinfection (C/D) of ABHR containers is necessary to safely reuse them and is an integral part of the WHO's guidelines on local ABHR production. However, HCFs may not be aware of the need for C/D; combined with suboptimal implementation, this poses a risk of contamination of ABHR.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Infrastructure and Resources in Schools in Belize during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021-2023.

Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) resources in schools is critical for disease prevention and control, especially during public health emergencies. In Belize, systematic, national data on WASH in schools are needed to inform public health decisions and interventions. From December 2021 to January 2022, a national survey was sent electronically to government and government-aided primary and secondary schools in Belize (N = 308) to gather information on WASH services.

Increasing colorectal cancer screening orders using unlicensed assistive personnel.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the leading cancer diagnoses affecting both men and women worldwide. Prevention and early detection of CRC is possible by increasing access to and utilisation of screening tests. Although CRC screening is highly recommended, screening rates remain suboptimal in the USA, particularly among underserved populations.

Child maltreatment in Puerto Rico: findings from the 2010 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System.

Objective: Child maltreatment can have long-term adverse effects. Quantifying the scope and characteristics of child maltreatment is necessary for effective prevention in Puerto Rico.

Methods: The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Child File contains all the reports of child maltreatment from the United States (US) and Puerto Rico.

Exploring the connections between HIV serostatus and individual, household, and community socioeconomic resources: evidence from two population-based surveys in Kenya.

The positive association between health and socioeconomic status (SES) is well documented. However, available empirical evidence on the SES gradients of HIV serostatus is mixed, and few studies have explored the effects of community SES indicators on individual's HIV risk. Using nationally representative data of women and men from the 2003 Demographic and Health Survey and the 2007 AIDS Indicator Survey from Kenya, we assessed the associations between HIV serostatus and SES as measured by educational attainment and household wealth at the individual/household and community levels.

Intolerance of uncertainty and decisions about delayed, probabilistic rewards.

Worry is the inflated concern about potential future threats and is a hallmark feature of generalized anxiety disorder. Previous theoretical work has suggested that worry may be a consequence of intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The current study seeks to explore the behavioral consequences of IU.

Prevalence and correlates of sexual risk behaviors among Jamaican adolescents.

Context: Despite high levels of sexual activity and risk behaviors among Jamaican youth, few population-based studies have examined their prevalence or correlates.

Methods: The prevalence of three sexual risk behaviors was assessed using data from the 2008-2009 Jamaican ?Reproductive Health Survey on a subsample of adolescents aged 15-19 who neither were in a union nor had a child. Factors associated with the risk behaviors were examined separately for females and males, using bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression.

The problems of eligibility and endogenous confounders when assessing the mortality impact of a nationwide disease-prevention programme: the case of insecticide-treated nets in Togo.

Evaluation of the mortality impact of nationwide disease-prevention efforts is complicated by potential endogeneity: programme recipients may have unobserved characteristics that simultaneously make them both more likely to become recipients and more likely to survive as a result of other health practices. This population-based study assesses the mortality impact of a nationwide programme that distributed insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to mothers of children aged 9-59 months in Togo. By comparing mortality rates before and after the programme according to households' eligibility status, we demonstrate that a one-time programme that restricts eligibility to households with a surviving child excludes some households with a high risk of child mortality.

The Role of Ethnicity in Father Absence and Children's School Enrollment in Guatemala.

Despite the historical prevalence of single motherhood in Latin America and its rise in recent years, there is limited knowledge on the magnitude and consequences of father absence as experienced by children. Using a nationally representative sample from the 2002 Guatemalan Reproductive Health Survey, this study provides unprecedented documentation on the national prevalence of children's separate living arrangements from their biological fathers and nonresident fathers' paternity establishment and child support payments. Using random-intercept models, this study further demonstrates that father absence has a negative effect on the school enrollment of indigenous children of both sexes and Ladino male children.

Fertility decline in Paraguay.

Recent reproductive health surveys show that the fertility rate in Paraguay decreased precipitously from 4.3 lifetime births per woman in 1995-98 to 2.9 births in 2001-04.