An investigation of the effects of a hand washing intervention on health outcomes and school absence using a randomised trial in Indian urban communities.

Objectives: To evaluate how an intervention, which combined hand washing promotion aimed at 5-year-olds with provision of free soap, affected illnesses among the children and their families and children's school absenteeism.

Methods: We monitored illnesses, including diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections (ARIs), school absences and soap consumption for 41 weeks in 70 low-income communities in Mumbai, India (35 communities per arm).

Results: Outcomes from 847 intervention households (containing 847 5-year-olds and 4863 subjects in total) and 833 control households (containing 833 5-year-olds and 4812 subjects) were modelled using negative binomial regression.