Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jun;127(6):586-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2012.10.020. Epub 2012 Dec 23.

Promoting clean hands among children in Uganda: a school-based intervention using 'tippy-taps'

C Zhang  1 , A J Mosa, A S Hayward, S A Matthews
Affiliations

Promoting clean hands among children in Uganda: a school-based intervention using 'tippy-taps'

C Zhang et al. Public Health. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To measure the efficacy of a tippy-tap-based handwashing programme in promoting handwashing rates in elementary schools in rural Uganda.

Methods: Pre-/postintervention surveys were fielded in eight schools (398 students, ages 7–13 years). Four intervention schools were given tippy-taps, soap and educational materials, while four control schools initially received only educational materials.

Results: After 1 month, the intervention schools reported a large increase in daily handwashing rates and absence of stomach pain episodes compared with the control schools. After receiving the intervention, the control schools attained similar handwashing and stomach pain rates.

Conclusions: A school-based tippy-tap handwashing programme improved handwashing rates, and has the potential to reduce the incidence of infectious diarrhoeal disease in children.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. World Health Organization. Uganda mortality fact sheet. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2006. [last accessed 21.03.2012]. Available at: http://www.who.int/whosis/mort/profiles/mort_afro_uga_uganda.pdf.
    1. Black R, Cousens S, Johnson H, Lawn J, Rudan I, Bassani D, et al. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2010;375:1969–87. - PubMed
    1. Curtis V, Cairncross S. Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhoea risk in the community, a systemic review. Lancet Infect Dis. 2003;3:275–81. - PubMed
    1. Live Earth. How to make a tippy-tap handwashing device. Live Earth; 2009. [last accessed 24.02.2012]. Available at: http://liveearth.org/en/liveearthblog/how-to-make-a-tippy-tap-hand-washi....
    1. Hurtado E. Tippy taps save water. Incap Publication; 1993. [last accessed 11.03.2012]. Available at: http://bvssan.incap.org.gt/local/file/PCI098.pdf.

Publication types