Sheillah Simiyu
Biographic Data
| ID | 359474 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sheillah Simiyu |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sheillah |
| FAMILY NAME | Simiyu |
| SIGNATURE | SIMIYU S |
| AFFILIATIONS | African Population and Health Research Center |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3069-8967 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Enablers and barriers of handwashing with soap in low-income settlements of Mombasa, Kenya
Handwashing with soap (HWWS) is an effective public health preventive measure. Review studies indicate that interventions on handwashing with soap reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by approximately 30% and respiratory tract infections by up to 17% (Ross, Bick, Ayieko, et al., 2023; Wolf, Hubbard, Brauer, et al., 2022). Studies have also shown that HWWS, combined with interventions on water and sanitation, results in improved growth outcomes …
Can improved handwashing infrastructure and soap change behavior? findings from a randomized control study in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya
Enhanced handwashing facilities, consistent soap provision, and improved water access substantially increased HWWS in this refugee setting. Soap availability was critical for sustaining behaviors, while the Jengu facility prompted short-term gains. Integrated WASH interventions combining infrastructure, supply continuity, and behavior change strategies are essential for lasting hygiene improvements in humanitarian contexts
Gender equality and quality of life must be central to the design and delivery of sanitation
box Sanitation is critical to improving quality of life and gender equality
Determinants of access to basic handwashing facilities and handwashing with soap in low-income areas of four Kenyan cities
Handwashing with soap is an effective public health measure against infectious disease and is enabled by availability of handwashing facilities, soap and sufficient water. However, access to handwashing facilities in low-income urban areas is often low, which hinders effective handwashing with soap. We assessed access to basic handwashing facilities and handwashing with soap practices in low-income areas across four cities in Kenya. A cross-secti…
Handwashing with soap and influencing factors in crisis-affected refugee populations in Kenya and Uganda
Our study shows that handwashing with soap is lowly practiced, with the availability of soap and water for handwashing needs and presence of handwashing facilities fundamental. For improvements in handwashing with soap by all household members for collective effect on reducing diarrheal infections in crisis-affected populations, interventions could benefit from further research on the influence of fixed handwashing facilities as prompts to behavi…
Effect of safe water delivery plus water and sanitation hygiene behavior change communication on diarrheal disease prevalence among children under 5 years in a slum setting in Nairobi, Kenya
The intervention significantly reduced diarrheal disease prevalence in children under five years of age in the slum setting. Therefore, there is a need to expand the intervention to the remaining areas to reduce diarrheal disease morbidity and mortality
Behavioral and social predictors of Covid-19 vaccine uptake among persons with disabilities in Kenya
Access and uptake of COVID-19 vaccine by persons with disabilities remains largely unknown in low-and middle-income countries, despite the unique barriers they face, their special vulnerabilities and higher risk to severe outcomes. We aimed to identify behavioral and social predictors of COVID-19 uptake among persons with disability in Kenya. A convergent parallel mixed method study design was conducted among 792 persons with disability in four r…
Water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash)
Despite some progress, universal access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) by 2030—a remit of Sustainable Development Goal 6—remains a distant prospect in many countries. Policy-makers and implementers of the WASH sector are challenged to track a new path. This research aimed to identify core orienting themes of the sector, as legacies of past processes, which can provide insights for its future. We reviewed global policy, science and p…
Spatial–Temporal Patterns in the Enteric Pathogen Contamination of Soil in the Public Environments of Low- and Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Nairobi, Kenya
Public spaces in countries with limited societal development can be contaminated with feces containing pathogenic microbes from animals and people. Data on contamination levels, spatial distribution, and the diversity of enteric pathogens in the public settings of low- and middle-income neighborhoods are crucial for devising strategies that minimize the enteric infection burden. The objective of this study was to compare spatial-temporal differen…
Milk Product Safety and Household Food Hygiene Influence Bacterial Contamination of Infant Food in Peri-Urban Kenya
BACKGROUND: Milk is a common infant food in peri-urban Kenya that can transmit diarrhea-causing enteric pathogens. Little is known about how contamination of milk at point of purchase and household handling of milk-based infant foods contribute to infant exposure to enteric pathogens. OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence and concentrations of bacterial indicator organisms and enteric pathogens in unpackaged, fresh pasteurized, and ultra-high temp…
Shared but Clean Household Toilets
Shared sanitation facilities are not considered as basic sanitation owing to cleanliness and accessibility concerns. However, there is mounting evidence that some shared household toilets have a comparable level of service as private toilets. This study examined the factors that contribute to the quality of shared household toilets in low-income urban communities in Ghana and Kenya. The study design comprised household surveys and field inspectio…
A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of a Food Hygiene Intervention in Low-Income Informal Neighbourhoods of Kisumu, Kenya
Future interventions should seek to explicitly target contextual factors such as secondary caregivers and promote food hygiene interventions as independent of each other
Fecal Sludge Management in Low Income Settlements
Introduction: In order to meet the sustainable development goals targets of sanitation, countries aim to increase access to safely managed sanitation services for its citizens. Safely managed sanitation services refers to improved sanitation technologies that are not shared with other households and where excreta is treated and disposed; or stored, transported and treated off-site. In most Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, on-site sanitation fa…
Indicators for Sanitation Quality in Low-Income Urban Settlements
In recent years, shared facilities have contributed substantially to increased access to sanitation in urban areas. While shared sanitation is often the only viable option in densely-populated, low-income urban areas, it is currently considered a “limited" solution by the international community. In this paper, we analyze the conditions under which shared sanitation could be considered of adequate quality and propose a set of indicators associate…
Understanding the Barriers and Opportunities for Effective Management of Shared Sanitation in Low-Income Settlements—The Case of Kumasi, Ghana
Improved sanitation for all is a daunting task for low-income countries, and shared toilets often provide an alternative to private household sanitation for most urban residents. This study sought to provide better understanding of the existing barriers and opportunities for improved management of shared sanitation. The study used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 70 users (landlords and tenants) of shared sanitation in Kumasi,…
Barriers and opportunities for cleanliness of shared sanitation facilities in low-income settlements in Kenya
The results highlight the need to focus on social aspects for improvement of cleanliness in shared sanitation facilities in low-income settlements. Through a social approach, shared sanitation facilities can be managed appropriately to provide the millions of low-income residents in Kenya an opportunity to access sanitation. This study provides further evidence on approaches for improved management of shared sanitation facilities in line with the…
Understanding Living Conditions and Deprivation in Informal Settlements of Kisumu, Kenya
Informal settlements are a common occurrence in developing countries. Each settlement, however, has unique living conditions which require improvement efforts that are specifically tailored to the settlement. This study, carried out in Kisumu’s informal settlements, had two aims: to describe living conditions and to propose areas of improvement within the settlements. The study adopted two approaches: the living conditions framework and the multi…
Enteric Pathogen Diversity in Infant Foods in Low-Income Neighborhoods of Kisumu, Kenya
Pediatric diarrheal disease remains the second most common cause of preventable illness and death among children under the age of five, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is limited information regarding the role of food in pathogen transmission in LMICs. For this study, we examined the frequency of enteric pathogen occurrence and co-occurrence in 127 infant weaning foods in Kisumu, Kenya, using a multi-pathogen…
Estimating the Cost and Payment for Sanitation in the Informal Settlements of Kisumu, Kenya
Lack of sanitation facilities is a common occurrence in informal settlements that are common in most developing countries. One challenge with sanitation provision in these settlements is the cost and financing of sanitation. This study aimed at estimating the cost of sanitation, and investigating the social and economic dynamics within Kisumu's informal settlements that hinder provision and uptake of sanitation facilities. Primary data was collec…
Determinants of quality of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements
Apart from hardware factors, quality of shared sanitation is largely due to group behaviour of users. The CPR principles form a crucial lens through which the dynamics of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements can be understood. Development and policy efforts should incorporate group behaviour as they determine the quality of shared sanitation facilities
Determinants of usage of communal sanitation facilities in informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya
Residents of informal settlements in developing countries are faced with various challenges, including a lack of household sanitation facilities, which leads to use of alternative methods such as open defecation. The lack of household sanitation facilities and consequent use of improper methods necessitated the introduction of communal sanitation facilities in informal settlements as a way of increasing access to and use of sanitation facilities.…
Socio-economic dynamics in slums and implications for sanitation sustainability in Kisumu, Kenya
Lack of sanitation facilities is a major challenge in slum areas, and this has implications on the health and well-being of residents. Sanitation in slums is complex due to slum living conditions, and a detailed understanding of dynamics in slums and how they impact sanitation is required. This study sought to understand the relationship between socio-economic dynamics, and sanitation provision and management in the slums of Kisumu, Kenya. The re…
Determinants of usage of communal sanitation facilities in informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya
Residents of informal settlements in developing countries are faced with various challenges, including a lack of household sanitation facilities, which leads to use of alternative methods such as open defecation. The lack of household sanitation facilities and consequent use of improper methods necessitated the introduction of communal sanitation facilities in informal settlements as a way of increasing access to and use of sanitation facilities.…
Socio-economic dynamics in slums and implications for sanitation sustainability in Kisumu, Kenya
Lack of sanitation facilities is a major challenge in slum areas, and this has implications on the health and well-being of residents. Sanitation in slums is complex due to slum living conditions, and a detailed understanding of dynamics in slums and how they impact sanitation is required. This study sought to understand the relationship between socio-economic dynamics, and sanitation provision and management in the slums of Kisumu, Kenya. The re…
Determinants of usage of communal sanitation facilities in informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya
Residents of informal settlements in developing countries are faced with various challenges, including a lack of household sanitation facilities, which leads to use of alternative methods such as open defecation. The lack of household sanitation facilities and consequent use of improper methods necessitated the introduction of communal sanitation facilities in informal settlements as a way of increasing access to and use of sanitation facilities.…
Socio-economic dynamics in slums and implications for sanitation sustainability in Kisumu, Kenya
Lack of sanitation facilities is a major challenge in slum areas, and this has implications on the health and well-being of residents. Sanitation in slums is complex due to slum living conditions, and a detailed understanding of dynamics in slums and how they impact sanitation is required. This study sought to understand the relationship between socio-economic dynamics, and sanitation provision and management in the slums of Kisumu, Kenya. The re…
Estimating the Cost and Payment for Sanitation in the Informal Settlements of Kisumu, Kenya
Lack of sanitation facilities is a common occurrence in informal settlements that are common in most developing countries. One challenge with sanitation provision in these settlements is the cost and financing of sanitation. This study aimed at estimating the cost of sanitation, and investigating the social and economic dynamics within Kisumu's informal settlements that hinder provision and uptake of sanitation facilities. Primary data was collec…
Determinants of quality of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements
Apart from hardware factors, quality of shared sanitation is largely due to group behaviour of users. The CPR principles form a crucial lens through which the dynamics of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements can be understood. Development and policy efforts should incorporate group behaviour as they determine the quality of shared sanitation facilities
Understanding Living Conditions and Deprivation in Informal Settlements of Kisumu, Kenya
Informal settlements are a common occurrence in developing countries. Each settlement, however, has unique living conditions which require improvement efforts that are specifically tailored to the settlement. This study, carried out in Kisumu’s informal settlements, had two aims: to describe living conditions and to propose areas of improvement within the settlements. The study adopted two approaches: the living conditions framework and the multi…
Enteric Pathogen Diversity in Infant Foods in Low-Income Neighborhoods of Kisumu, Kenya
Pediatric diarrheal disease remains the second most common cause of preventable illness and death among children under the age of five, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is limited information regarding the role of food in pathogen transmission in LMICs. For this study, we examined the frequency of enteric pathogen occurrence and co-occurrence in 127 infant weaning foods in Kisumu, Kenya, using a multi-pathogen…
Understanding the Barriers and Opportunities for Effective Management of Shared Sanitation in Low-Income Settlements—The Case of Kumasi, Ghana
Improved sanitation for all is a daunting task for low-income countries, and shared toilets often provide an alternative to private household sanitation for most urban residents. This study sought to provide better understanding of the existing barriers and opportunities for improved management of shared sanitation. The study used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 70 users (landlords and tenants) of shared sanitation in Kumasi,…
Barriers and opportunities for cleanliness of shared sanitation facilities in low-income settlements in Kenya
The results highlight the need to focus on social aspects for improvement of cleanliness in shared sanitation facilities in low-income settlements. Through a social approach, shared sanitation facilities can be managed appropriately to provide the millions of low-income residents in Kenya an opportunity to access sanitation. This study provides further evidence on approaches for improved management of shared sanitation facilities in line with the…
Fecal Sludge Management in Low Income Settlements
Introduction: In order to meet the sustainable development goals targets of sanitation, countries aim to increase access to safely managed sanitation services for its citizens. Safely managed sanitation services refers to improved sanitation technologies that are not shared with other households and where excreta is treated and disposed; or stored, transported and treated off-site. In most Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, on-site sanitation fa…
Indicators for Sanitation Quality in Low-Income Urban Settlements
In recent years, shared facilities have contributed substantially to increased access to sanitation in urban areas. While shared sanitation is often the only viable option in densely-populated, low-income urban areas, it is currently considered a “limited" solution by the international community. In this paper, we analyze the conditions under which shared sanitation could be considered of adequate quality and propose a set of indicators associate…
Milk Product Safety and Household Food Hygiene Influence Bacterial Contamination of Infant Food in Peri-Urban Kenya
BACKGROUND: Milk is a common infant food in peri-urban Kenya that can transmit diarrhea-causing enteric pathogens. Little is known about how contamination of milk at point of purchase and household handling of milk-based infant foods contribute to infant exposure to enteric pathogens. OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence and concentrations of bacterial indicator organisms and enteric pathogens in unpackaged, fresh pasteurized, and ultra-high temp…
Shared but Clean Household Toilets
Shared sanitation facilities are not considered as basic sanitation owing to cleanliness and accessibility concerns. However, there is mounting evidence that some shared household toilets have a comparable level of service as private toilets. This study examined the factors that contribute to the quality of shared household toilets in low-income urban communities in Ghana and Kenya. The study design comprised household surveys and field inspectio…
A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of a Food Hygiene Intervention in Low-Income Informal Neighbourhoods of Kisumu, Kenya
Future interventions should seek to explicitly target contextual factors such as secondary caregivers and promote food hygiene interventions as independent of each other
Behavioral and social predictors of Covid-19 vaccine uptake among persons with disabilities in Kenya
Access and uptake of COVID-19 vaccine by persons with disabilities remains largely unknown in low-and middle-income countries, despite the unique barriers they face, their special vulnerabilities and higher risk to severe outcomes. We aimed to identify behavioral and social predictors of COVID-19 uptake among persons with disability in Kenya. A convergent parallel mixed method study design was conducted among 792 persons with disability in four r…
Water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash)
Despite some progress, universal access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) by 2030—a remit of Sustainable Development Goal 6—remains a distant prospect in many countries. Policy-makers and implementers of the WASH sector are challenged to track a new path. This research aimed to identify core orienting themes of the sector, as legacies of past processes, which can provide insights for its future. We reviewed global policy, science and p…
Spatial–Temporal Patterns in the Enteric Pathogen Contamination of Soil in the Public Environments of Low- and Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Nairobi, Kenya
Public spaces in countries with limited societal development can be contaminated with feces containing pathogenic microbes from animals and people. Data on contamination levels, spatial distribution, and the diversity of enteric pathogens in the public settings of low- and middle-income neighborhoods are crucial for devising strategies that minimize the enteric infection burden. The objective of this study was to compare spatial-temporal differen…
Gender equality and quality of life must be central to the design and delivery of sanitation
box Sanitation is critical to improving quality of life and gender equality
Determinants of access to basic handwashing facilities and handwashing with soap in low-income areas of four Kenyan cities
Handwashing with soap is an effective public health measure against infectious disease and is enabled by availability of handwashing facilities, soap and sufficient water. However, access to handwashing facilities in low-income urban areas is often low, which hinders effective handwashing with soap. We assessed access to basic handwashing facilities and handwashing with soap practices in low-income areas across four cities in Kenya. A cross-secti…
Handwashing with soap and influencing factors in crisis-affected refugee populations in Kenya and Uganda
Our study shows that handwashing with soap is lowly practiced, with the availability of soap and water for handwashing needs and presence of handwashing facilities fundamental. For improvements in handwashing with soap by all household members for collective effect on reducing diarrheal infections in crisis-affected populations, interventions could benefit from further research on the influence of fixed handwashing facilities as prompts to behavi…
Effect of safe water delivery plus water and sanitation hygiene behavior change communication on diarrheal disease prevalence among children under 5 years in a slum setting in Nairobi, Kenya
The intervention significantly reduced diarrheal disease prevalence in children under five years of age in the slum setting. Therefore, there is a need to expand the intervention to the remaining areas to reduce diarrheal disease morbidity and mortality
Enablers and barriers of handwashing with soap in low-income settlements of Mombasa, Kenya
Handwashing with soap (HWWS) is an effective public health preventive measure. Review studies indicate that interventions on handwashing with soap reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by approximately 30% and respiratory tract infections by up to 17% (Ross, Bick, Ayieko, et al., 2023; Wolf, Hubbard, Brauer, et al., 2022). Studies have also shown that HWWS, combined with interventions on water and sanitation, results in improved growth outcomes …
Can improved handwashing infrastructure and soap change behavior? findings from a randomized control study in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya
Enhanced handwashing facilities, consistent soap provision, and improved water access substantially increased HWWS in this refugee setting. Soap availability was critical for sustaining behaviors, while the Jengu facility prompted short-term gains. Integrated WASH interventions combining infrastructure, supply continuity, and behavior change strategies are essential for lasting hygiene improvements in humanitarian contexts
Child Nutrition and Water Access (20 works) · Medicine (18 works) · Environmental health (17 works) · Sanitation (14 works) · Business (12 works) · Geography (11 works) · Economics (10 works) · Environmental planning (10 works) · Socioeconomics (10 works) · Economic growth (9 works)