982- Bangladesh- Improved backyard poultry management to reduce young children’s exposure to poultry feces

For rural households in low and middle-income countries, backyard poultry production is an important livelihood strategy. However, poultry ownership can increase young children’s exposure to poultry feces, causing diarrhea and poor growth outcomes. In Bangladesh, most rural households raise poultry, and almost half keep birds inside their household dwelling at night, increasing risk of exposure to poultry feces. We developed a hygiene and poultry management intervention to encourage poultry-raisers to build improved poultry sheds, confine poultry outside of the household dwelling at night, and improve poultry feces management in order to reduce young children’s exposure to poultry feces. We tested this intervention among 79 households in rural Bangladesh; 58% of households built an improved shed. This intervention approach may be an effective behavior change strategy for reducing exposure to poultry feces. However, further evaluation on long-term intervention outcomes and potential to improve human health is needed. This project is a follow-up evaluation of a poultry housing and feces management intervention and aims to provide insights on best practices for WASH interventions to incorporate poultry and other animal management as part of their effort to reduce human exposure to animal feces. For this project, we will be conducting a long-term evaluation of intervention households. The evaluation will include qualitative and quantitative methods to capture durability and sustainability of the intervention, fecal contamination of the domestic environment, risk factors for young children’s exposure to poultry feces, and recommendations for intervention approaches to reduce exposure to domestic animal feces while optimizing the positive contributes of domestic animals to household health and livelihood. Additional topics to inform future interventions will also be explored, including broader domestic animal management practices, household hygiene, climate variation, and household health priorities.

In-country, the student will have the opportunity to:
1)    Work with JHSPH and local investigators to prepare field materials, including development of qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments;
2)    Support and participate in qualitative data collection activities, including by providing feedback to the data collection team on data collection methods and by co-leading debriefing sessions; 
3)    Analyze qualitative and quantitative data and summarize findings to document project outcomes and make recommendations;
4)    Perform literature searches on WASH and One Health interventions; and
5)    Assist with preparation of manuscripts for publication

Familiarity with qualitative research methods and survey research methods; Strong interpersonal and writing skills and willingness to work collaboratively with research partners; Knowledge or experience in WASH or One Health interventions preferred but not required. 

Peter Winch, Department of International Health, pwinch@jhu.edu

I would describe my communication and mentorship styles as... proactive and frequent initially and when needed, while providing breathing space for the student, to develop agency and take initiative, as opportunities arise.

A complementary student would have a working style and mentorship expectations that are...Respectful of the local collaborators, able to work independently, often times unsupervised, giving attention to detail, and observant of timelines. I expect the student to contact me proactively when issues arise. Periodic Zoom calls, bi-weekly or similar, work well for both mentor and mentee.

Monthly estimates

Estimated total: USD $850
Housing: USD $500 
Local transportation: USD $50 
Food: USD $250
Other (e.g., internet/phone): USD $50