Trial reportPLoS neglected tropical diseases2018
(S)WASH-D for Worms: A pilot study investigating the differential impact of school- versus community-based integrated control programs for soil-transmitted helminths.
Trial report in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 7 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
27 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene for preventing soil-transmitted helminth infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections, schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis before and after preventive chemotherapy initiation in the Philippines: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Pooled it
- How can we better integrate the prevention, treatment, control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases with other health interventions? A systematic review.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Open defecation-free slippage and its associated factors in Ethiopia: a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Zoonotic Ancylostomiasis: An Update of a Continually Neglected Zoonosis.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2020Pooled it
- Interventions to improve disposal of child faeces for preventing diarrhoea and soil-transmitted helminth infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Deworming in non-pregnant adolescent girls and adult women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Comprehensive evaluation of stool-based diagnostic methods and benzimidazole resistance markers to assess drug efficacy and detect the emergence of anthelmintic resistance: A Starworms study protocol.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Trial
- Impact and cost-effectiveness of water, sanitation, hygiene, and health education interventions in the control and elimination of soil-transmitted helminthiasis: A scoping review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Prevalence and determinants of deworming uptake among under-five children in Tanzania: evidence from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2022.Tropical medicine and health · 2026Article
- Geospatial risk prediction of hookworm infection and intensity among school-aged children in Dak Lak province, Vietnam.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Molecular epidemiology of Ascaris lumbricoides following multiple rounds of community-wide treatment.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Cost and budget impact of mass drug administration compared to expanded school-based targeted preventive chemotherapy for soil-transmitted helminth control in Zamboanga Peninsula, the Philippines.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2024Article
- The impact of community based interventions for the prevention and control of soil-transmitted helminths: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Cost and cost-effectiveness analysis of mass drug administration compared to school-based targeted preventive chemotherapy for hookworm control in Dak Lak province, Vietnam.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Why Are We Still a Worm World in the 2020s? An Overview of Risk Factors and Endemicity for Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis.Acta parasitologica · 2023Review
- Soil-transmitted helminths: A critical review of the impact of co-infections and implications for control and elimination.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Review
- Improved latrines minimally impactScience in One Health · 2023Article
- High infection rates for onchocerciasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis in children under five not receiving preventive chemotherapy: a bottleneck to elimination.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2022Article
- Interventions promoting uptake of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) technologies in low- and middle-income countries: An evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies.Campbell systematic reviews · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSoil-transmitted helminths (STH) infect nearly 1.5 billion individuals globally, and contribute to poor physical and cognitive development in children. STH control programs typically consist of regular delivery of anthelminthic drugs, targeting school-aged children. Expanding STH control programs community-wide may improve STH control among school-aged children, and combining deworming with improvements to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) may further reduce transmission. The (S)WASH-D for Worms pilot study aims to compare the differential impact of integrated WASH and deworming programs when implemented at primary schools only versus when additionally implemented community-wide. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsA two-arm, non-randomized cluster intervention study was conducted. Six communities were identified by partner WASH agencies and enrolled in the study. All communities received a school-based WASH and deworming program, while three additionally received a community-based WASH and deworming program. STH infections were measured in school-aged children at baseline and six months after deworming. Over 90% of eligible children were recruited for the study, of whom 92.3% provided stool samples at baseline and 88.9% at follow-up. The school WASH intervention improved school sanitation, while the community WASH intervention reduced open defecation from 50.4% (95% CI 41.8-59.0) to 23.5% (95% CI 16.7-32.0). There was a trend towards reduced odds of N. americanus infection among children who received the community-wide intervention (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.07-2.36, p = 0.32).
conclusionsThis pilot study provides proof of principle for testing the hypothesis that community-wide STH control programs have a greater impact on STH infections among children than school-based programs, and supports the rationale for conducting a full-scale cluster randomized controlled trial. High recruitment and participation rates and successful implementation of school WASH programs demonstrate study feasibility and acceptability. However, eliminating open defecation remains a challenge; ongoing work is required to develop community sanitation programs that achieve high and sustainable latrine coverage.
trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12615001012561.
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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.