Efficacy of Conventional School-Based WASH Sensitisation on common NTDs among Schoolchildren in Bunyala Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Conventional school-based Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sensitisation traditionally relies on a linear, cognitive-driven model which assumes that passive, didactic information delivery through lectures and pamphlets will translate into sustained behavioural modifications. The study was conducted in Bunyala sub-county among pupils in public, day primary schools. A one group pretest-post-test quasi-experimental study design was adopted. A sample size of 125 pupils was arrived at using power formula. Purposive sampling, proportionate sampling and quota sampling techniques were used to select the sub-county and schools, number of pupils in schools and number of pupils by grade and gender respectively. Following the conventional WASH sensitisation, pupils achieved varying knowledge scores. Awareness regarding the causes of Schistosomiasis (SCH) increased by a mean of 0.568 (t(124) = -4.676, p < .001) and Soil-Transmitted Helminthes (STH) by 0.384 (t(124) = -3.038, p =.003), yielding a combined causal knowledge gain of 0.952 (p < .001). For transmission, understanding of SCH improved by a mean of 0.616 (t(124) = -4.416, p < .001), while STH remained stagnant (p =1.000). Nonetheless, combined transmission knowledge increased significantly (mean of 0.616 (t(124) = -3.137, p = .002). Finally, individual prevention scores and overall knowledge on prevention remained static (p = 1.000); this suggests that conventional WASH sensitisation is not effective in disease prevention as it did not result in measurable changes in knowledge on disease prevention. Therefore, public health strategies should move beyond passive information dissemination and invest in active campaigns that are supported by WASH infrastructure.