Associations among handwashing indicators, wealth, and symptoms of childhood respiratory illness in urban Bangladesh.

Of 6970 household studies in Dhaka, 92% had a bar of soap, 41% had a place with water to wash hands in the house, and 40% had soap present at the most convenient place to wash hands. Handwashing indicators were more common among households with higher socioeconomic status. A place to wash hands was strongly associated with the presence of soap at the handwashing location. The presence of a place with water to wash hands was the only handwashing indicator significantly associated with a child in the household who reported cough or difficulty breathing in the preceding 7 days. The authors conclude that handwashing promotion in urban Dhaka that includes specific efforts to provide handwashing facilities inside the house are more likely to improve handwashing behaviour than interventions that ignore this component. Trop Med Int Health. 2008;13(6):835-44. Epub 2008 Mar.