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• An Analysis of House hold sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in rural India: across-sectional analysis of Surveys...
  Greann Lubin
  Published on: 5 December 2020
• Re: Household sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in rural India: a cross-sectional analysis of surveys
  Winniester W Otieno
  Published on: 19 May 2015

• Published on: 5 December 2020

  An Analysis of House hold sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in rural India: across-sectional analysis of Surveys...

  • Greann Lubin, University Student University of The Bahamas

  Dear Editor:
  This is a response to the article Household Sanitation personal Hygiene practices are
  associated with child stunting in rural India: Cross-sectional analysis of surveys, published May
  19, 2015. I must add that the research conducted was quite astonishing. The correlation between
  water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in the study revealed that a lack of basic amenities can be
  detrimental to future generations. The studies that were conducted by previous research focused
  more on nutritional deficits than the environment itself which has proven to be a contributor to
  the increasing numbers of children that experience stunt in growth. When a mother gives birth
  one of the primary concerns that healthcare provides have is the weight of the child. In this
  study, one of the first people to be identified as the blame for the stunt in a child’s impairment is
  the mother. Stating that during the pregnancy the mother did not have a proper dietary intake to
  facilitate a healthy baby. However, there is no considers for mothers that simply cannot avoid
  eating healthy during their pregnancy.
  Furthermore, the study indicated that India is a hotspot when it comes to child stunting,
  but in poor countries, this can be likely because people cannot afford the finer things in life. I
  agree with the author despite mother reporting that they participated in handwashing techniques
  before f...

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  Dear Editor:
  This is a response to the article Household Sanitation personal Hygiene practices are
  associated with child stunting in rural India: Cross-sectional analysis of surveys, published May
  19, 2015. I must add that the research conducted was quite astonishing. The correlation between
  water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in the study revealed that a lack of basic amenities can be
  detrimental to future generations. The studies that were conducted by previous research focused
  more on nutritional deficits than the environment itself which has proven to be a contributor to
  the increasing numbers of children that experience stunt in growth. When a mother gives birth
  one of the primary concerns that healthcare provides have is the weight of the child. In this
  study, one of the first people to be identified as the blame for the stunt in a child’s impairment is
  the mother. Stating that during the pregnancy the mother did not have a proper dietary intake to
  facilitate a healthy baby. However, there is no considers for mothers that simply cannot avoid
  eating healthy during their pregnancy.
  Furthermore, the study indicated that India is a hotspot when it comes to child stunting,
  but in poor countries, this can be likely because people cannot afford the finer things in life. I
  agree with the author despite mother reporting that they participated in handwashing techniques
  before feeding children or after using the bathroom other factors contribute to this problem. The
  study recognizes that when children begin to crawl and walk, they are likely to contract
  infections. Specifically, the study identifies the primary cause of this stunting is children that
  ingest human and animal fecal Bacteria and intestinal worms (Rah et al.,2015). As a result, these
  children that suffer from malnutrition have a decrease in appetite.
  https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/2/e005180
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557526/
  The study reported that the participants were children between the ages of 0-23 months.
  According to Sigmund Feud, during the first stage of development oral desire is the center of
  pleasure for an infant (Lantz & Ray,2020). This means that babies engage in pleasure through
  sucking, eating, and tasting. So, it is no surprise that children in the rural parts of Indian are
  prone to the development of Disease. Despite the advances in infrastructure for some homes
  many people lack the means to have proper standards of living. A suggestion that healthcare
  provides can render to mothers are to ensure that the area where the child is place is cleaned. In
  regard to placing items in the mouth purchase the child a teething ring to prevent foreign objects
  from entering the mouth or sanitize toys frequently. The study utilized three different populations
  which helped to provide more diversity in the responses. The issue that the study detects was
  that 53% of the household which accounted for 624 million people defecated in the open (Rah et.
  al,2015). This showed that the problem is not solely the people but the government system in
  India.
  This infrastructure of outside toiletry places everyone at risk of developing the disease
  because there is no way to limit the spread of bacteria. In the case of an outside toilet persons can
  try to sanitize the facility before using it. In addition, the study observed a correlation between
  mothers and caregivers that have no education. In my opinion, educational status is irrelevant
  because one does not need to go to a fancy school to understand what is good or bad for health.
  Regarding children when a baby is born often healthcare providers instruct the baby with the
  expectations that parents, or guardians may follow. So, in this instance, the same can be done.
  The study reveals that children crawling on the floor and walking is how they make themselves
  suspectable to stunt grown. Hence, we can educate the mothers from poor socio-economic
  backgrounds to ensure that the area where she puts the child down is clean, also ensure that they
  https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/2/e005180
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557526/
  wash the children’s toys and hands frequently not just look after themselves. In this research, the
  environment plays a vital role in the progression of this disease. So, controlling the
  environmental factors is a start.
  In conclusion, the flow of the article was clear and concise. The authors provide a
  detailed justification of Child Stunting that is affecting Indians. The paper was well organized
  and answered a lot of questions that I had regarding the connection between sanitation and
  Hygiene. I took a liking to how the researchers identified the environment as a contributor to the
  problem. At the beginning of the article, researchers attempted to blame the mother for the poor
  nutritional status of the child but in a country that is an economic challenge, there is not much
  that a person can do when their lively hood is limited. The article highlighted that despite
  washing hands frequently the problem was bigger than basic hygiene. Overall, the organization
  of the study help to clarify any misconceptions that the audience may have. In the future, the
  study can be featured by researching the environmental factors that can be controlled to limit the
  effects of Child Stunting.
  Sincerely,
  Greann Lubin
  Bachelor of Science Nursing Student
  University of the Bahamas

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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• Published on: 19 May 2015

  Re: Household sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in rural India: a cross-sectional analysis of surveys

  • Winniester W Otieno, Graduate Assistant

  The association of child stunting and water, sanitation and hygiene is an eye opening study. Concentration has been on what the child is missing from their diet, without really auditing how their surrounding would affect the ultimate absorption of these nutrients in their bodies. The study identifies diarrhoea and other water borne, water washed and other contact diseases as affecting the alimentary canal of the children...

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  The association of child stunting and water, sanitation and hygiene is an eye opening study. Concentration has been on what the child is missing from their diet, without really auditing how their surrounding would affect the ultimate absorption of these nutrients in their bodies. The study identifies diarrhoea and other water borne, water washed and other contact diseases as affecting the alimentary canal of the children and even their appetites. Thus a child who is constantly affected by these diseases has a higher chance of stunting due to malnutrition which the parent may not notice and would simply attribute the child's wasting to the effects of the illness. The association of stunting and water and sanitation and hygiene would definitely explain the many deaths and ill health among the vulnerable communities.

  The study highlights many pertinent issues surrounding water and sanitation in India which also affect Sub Saharan African households. It would be interesting to see if a similar study among sub-Saharan African households would reveal the same outcomes. The study revealed a relationship between stunting of the children and the level of formal education of their care givers in regards to WASH. I would like to know if the following considerations were made; 1. Were the care givers exposed to informal education systems on WASH and stunting through media campaigns? 2. Were the caregivers exposed to informal education systems using the informal health workers in their homes? 3. Were the caregivers exposed to informal education systems at the health facilities when they go to seek medical attention for the conditions related to WASH.?

  Finally the overall presentation of the paper was very concise. The key points were articulated clearly. The organization of the paper was good. I was able to follow the train of thought of the authors and enjoyed reading the paper. It had new knowledge on the relationship between childhood stunting and water sanitation and the personal hygiene of the caregivers. It opens up other follow up researches that may be of interest to many. The reference to previous studies gave a strong background to their case findings and therefore was very compelling.

  Conflict of Interest:

  None declared

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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