SynthesisPloS one2014
Shared sanitation versus individual household latrines: a systematic review of health outcomes.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 163 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in developing countries: exploring the effects on public health.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Urban Poor in Low- and Middle-Income Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic through a Gendered Lens.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Does Basic Sanitation Prevent Diarrhea? Contextualizing Recent Intervention Trials through a Historical Lens.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- Community-level epidemiology of soil-transmitted helminths in the context of school-based deworming: Baseline results of a cluster randomised trial on the coast of Kenya.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2019Trial
- Effect of a sanitation intervention on soil-transmitted helminth prevalence and concentration in household soil: A cluster-randomized controlled trial and risk factor analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2019Trial
- Shared Sanitation Management and the Role of Social Capital: Findings from an Urban Sanitation Intervention in Maputo, Mozambique.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Trial
- Household-level risk factors for secondary influenza-like illness in a rural area of Bangladesh.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2017Trial
- Association of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene-related Factors, Nutritional Status, and Sociodemographic Covariates with Urinary Iodine Concentration Levels among Filipino Women of Reproductive Age (15-49 Years): A Cross-sectional Study.Acta medica Philippina · 2026Article
- A compliance assessment tool for household pit latrines and cesspits against RS ISO 24521: evidence from Kigali City.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Heavy menstrual bleeding and association with menstruation-specific resources: A multinational cross-sectional study in low- and middle-income countries.Health & place · 2025Article
- Shared sanitation facilities and risk of respiratory virus transmission in resource-poor settings: A COVID-19 modeling case study.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2025Article
- Business-as-usual and fantasy planning - an analysis of equity within climate adaptation planning for sanitation in Nairobi.PloS one · 2025Article
- Associations between Shared Sanitation, Stunting and Diarrhoea in Low-Income, High Density Urban Neighbourhoods of Maputo, Mozambique - a Cross-Sectional Study.Maternal and child health journal · 2024Article
- ATP-based assessments of recent cleaning and disinfection for high-touch surfaces in low-resource shared toilets.NPJ clean water · 2024Article
- Risk Factors for Colonization With Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria in Urban and Rural Communities in Kenya: An Antimicrobial Resistance in Communities and Hospitals (ARCH) Study.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Article
- Relationship between the Social Development Index and Self-Reported Periodontal Conditions.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Association between water, sanitation, and hygiene access and the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth and schistosome infections in Wolayita, Ethiopia.Parasites & vectors · 2022Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMore than 761 million people rely on shared sanitation facilities. These have historically been excluded from international sanitation targets, regardless of the service level, due to concerns about acceptability, hygiene and access. In connection with a proposed change in such policy, we undertook this review to identify and summarize existing evidence that compares health outcomes associated with shared sanitation versus individual household latrines. METHODS AND
findingsShared sanitation included any type of facilities intended for the containment of human faeces and used by more than one household, but excluded public facilities. Health outcomes included diarrhoea, helminth infections, enteric fevers, other faecal-oral diseases, trachoma and adverse maternal or birth outcomes. Studies were included regardless of design, location, language or publication status. Studies were assessed for methodological quality using the STROBE guidelines. Twenty-two studies conducted in 21 countries met the inclusion criteria. Studies show a pattern of increased risk of adverse health outcomes associated with shared sanitation compared to individual household latrines. A meta-analysis of 12 studies reporting on diarrhoea found increased odds of disease associated with reliance on shared sanitation (odds ratio (OR) 1.44, 95% CI: 1.18-1.76).
conclusionEvidence to date does not support a change of existing policy of excluding shared sanitation from the definition of improved sanitation used in international monitoring and targets. However, such evidence is limited, does not adequately address likely confounding, and does not identify potentially important distinctions among types of shared facilities. As reliance on shared sanitation is increasing, further research is necessary to determine the circumstances, if any, under which shared sanitation can offer a safe, appropriate and acceptable alternative to individual household latrines.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.