Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42454539›Full record

ArticleHealth policy and planning2026

Mapping policy gaps and governance challenges in Kenya's hand hygiene environment: a health policy triangle analysis.

Naomi Njeri, Joash N Moitui, Blessing Mberu, Sheillah N Simiyu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health policy and planning, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Naomi NjeriPopulation Dynamics and Urbanization, African Population and Health Research Center, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya.
Joash N MoituiPopulation Dynamics and Urbanization, African Population and Health Research Center, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya.
Blessing MberuPopulation Dynamics and Urbanization, African Population and Health Research Center, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya.
Sheillah N SimiyuPopulation Dynamics and Urbanization, African Population and Health Research Center, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0003-3069-8967

Funding

Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute RGHI RIN: 2021-003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Hand hygiene is an effective public health measure for preventing infectious diseases. Sustained hand hygiene practice requires an enabling environment that constitutes access to hand hygiene products and services, clear and effective policy provisions, financing, monitoring, and coordination mechanisms. This paper analyses Kenya's national hand hygiene policy landscape and identifies the underlying governance barriers and systemic opportunities for strengthening hand hygiene policy and practice in Kenya. Guided by the Health Policy Triangle (HPT) framework, this study systematically examined the context, content, process, and actors shaping Kenya's hand hygiene policy landscape. Primary data was collected through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with 11 strategic stakeholders involved in policy development, implementation, regulation, and programme delivery. Secondary data was through a comprehensive review of 20 policy instruments, including national policies, strategies, protocols, roadmaps, and binding legal documents. In Kenya, policies are formulated at the national level and devolved to the County level for implementation, with support from state and non-state actors. The analysis showed that Kenya lacks a standalone, hand hygiene policy document. However, hand hygiene provisions are present in policy documents which cover hand hygiene in several settings such as rural areas, schools, and health facilities. This reflects fragmented policy presence rather than complete absence. Barriers hindering effective implementation include weak inter-sectoral coordinating mechanisms, inadequate financing, and a lack of data. These gaps create governance and operational fragmentation, undermining the sustainability of hand hygiene interventions. To transition to an enabling environment, Kenya should establish explicit national hand hygiene standards with clear definitions and minimum requirements, secure dedicated, and sustainable financing mechanisms, ensure national-County coordination, and integrate standardized hand hygiene indicators into the national and sub-national health information systems. These reforms will support more coherent governance, evidence-informed planning, and accountability for hand hygiene implementation.

Indexed as

Hand HygieneHealth PolicyPolicy MakingHumansKenyaPublic Health Infrastructureguidelineshand hygienehealthhealth policy triangleKenyapolicystrategy

Identifiers

PMID42454539
PMCPMC13586612

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Registered trials

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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.