Recent contributions of behavioural and biomedical scientists in applied anthropology of hygiene practices and management of diarrhoea in Bangladesh

In the past few years anthropologists, sociologists and biostatisticians have made contributions on hygiene practices and management of diarrhoea in relation to young children in rural Bangladesh. The cultural practices of caregivers with regard to washing hands after cleansing the anus of young children following defectation and disposing of the stool often do not fulfil the biomedical criteria for prevention of the transmission of diarrhoea-causing pathogens. These practices, being important determinants of prevention of transmission, were studied in the rural communities of Matlab, Bangladesh. Data were collected by observing the practices of caregivers of 404 children with diarrhoea chosen from 444 community cases recruited from the neighbourhood of the 218 hospitalized index cases. Observations were made regarding the cleansing of the anus of these children, washing of the hands of the caregivers, and disposal of the stool. It was observed that all the caregivers used bare hands and most used only water in cleaning the anus of the child. Also following the cleaning, most of the caregivers used only water to wash the soiled hand. Most of them used water collected in a pot, and only a small proportion used water from the direct source. The majority of caregivers disposed of the faeces in an unhygienic way. The caregivers classified diarrhoeal illness into 5 types based on stool characteristics and perceived specific causation. Their management approach was determined by the type and cause of the diarrhoea. The oral rehydration approach to management was not considered for diarrhoeas which were believed to be caused by supernatural and certain other cultural factors

Hygiene · Pathology · Sociology · Anthropology · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Medicine · Psychology