Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya

Shifting environmental conditions and poor or insufficient hygiene facilitates the transmission of bacteria and viruses between and within species of animals; between humans; and between humans and animals. Taking a One Health perspective, we used interviews to explore with 20 women living on low in...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Robinson, J., Howland, Olivia
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Informa UK Limited 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111692
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author Robinson, J.
Howland, Olivia
author_browse Howland, Olivia
Robinson, J.
author_facet Robinson, J.
Howland, Olivia
author_sort Robinson, J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Shifting environmental conditions and poor or insufficient hygiene facilitates the transmission of bacteria and viruses between and within species of animals; between humans; and between humans and animals. Taking a One Health perspective, we used interviews to explore with 20 women living on low income in Kenya: their gendered hygiene practices and daily contact with animals; how and why they access water and sanitation facilities for themselves, their families, and any livestock; and their understandings of (zoonotic) health risks and disease transmission within their local environments. The women described how they worked every day to keep bodies and homes clean by washing bodies, surfaces and clothes. Women's hygiene practices focussed on removing visible dirt partly because of concerns for health but also to support their families’ social standing in their community. While they were less aware of any ‘invisible’ risks to health through contact with animals or other hazards present in their daily living environments, most exercised care to source and manage water for drinking. Contaminated water was recognised as a risk to health suggesting that in this case, women accepted that there were ‘invisible risks’ to health, even in clear water, and took steps to mitigate them.
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spelling CGSpace1116922023-06-12T15:18:33Z Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya Robinson, J. Howland, Olivia health women zoonoses gender Shifting environmental conditions and poor or insufficient hygiene facilitates the transmission of bacteria and viruses between and within species of animals; between humans; and between humans and animals. Taking a One Health perspective, we used interviews to explore with 20 women living on low income in Kenya: their gendered hygiene practices and daily contact with animals; how and why they access water and sanitation facilities for themselves, their families, and any livestock; and their understandings of (zoonotic) health risks and disease transmission within their local environments. The women described how they worked every day to keep bodies and homes clean by washing bodies, surfaces and clothes. Women's hygiene practices focussed on removing visible dirt partly because of concerns for health but also to support their families’ social standing in their community. While they were less aware of any ‘invisible’ risks to health through contact with animals or other hazards present in their daily living environments, most exercised care to source and manage water for drinking. Contaminated water was recognised as a risk to health suggesting that in this case, women accepted that there were ‘invisible risks’ to health, even in clear water, and took steps to mitigate them. 2022-06-03 2021-03-01T17:20:24Z 2021-03-01T17:20:24Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111692 en Limited Access Informa UK Limited Robinson, J. and Howland, O. 2022. Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya. Global Public Health.
spellingShingle health
women
zoonoses
gender
Robinson, J.
Howland, Olivia
Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya
title Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya
title_full Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya
title_fullStr Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya
title_short Visible and invisible risks: Exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in Kenya
title_sort visible and invisible risks exploring washing and hygiene practices with women living on low income in kenya
topic health
women
zoonoses
gender
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111692
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