Abstract
A systematic review of the literature on the effects of water and sanitation in schools was performed. The goal was to characterize the impacts of water and sanitation inadequacies in the academic environment. Published peer reviewed literature was screened and articles that documented the provision of water and sanitation at schools were considered. Forty-one peer-reviewed papers met the criteria of exploring the effects of the availability of water and/or sanitation facilities in educational establishments. Chosen studies were divided into six fields based on their specific foci: water for drinking, water for handwashing, water for drinking and handwashing, water for sanitation, sanitation for menstruation and combined water and sanitation. The studies provide evidence for an increase in water intake with increased provision of water and increased access to water facilities. Articles also report an increase in absenteeism from schools in developing countries during menses due to inadequate sanitation facilities. Lastly, there is a reported decrease in diarrheal and gastrointestinal diseases with increased access to adequate sanitation facilities in schools. Ensuring ready access to safe drinking water, and hygienic toilets that offer privacy to users has great potential to beneficially impact children’s health. Additional studies that examine the relationship between sanitation provisions in schools are needed to more adequately characterize the impact of water and sanitation on educational achievements.
Highlights
IntroductionInadequate water and sanitation facilities in the school environment have been reported as a major hindrance towards achievement of this goal
The United Nations Millennium Development Goal 2.A is to “ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling” [1].Inadequate water and sanitation facilities in the school environment have been reported as a major hindrance towards achievement of this goal
The review was restricted to studies that explicitly explored the effects of the provision or absence of water, sanitation, and related hygiene materials such as soap, towels, and toilet paper in the school environment; studies that only examined the effects of behavior changes were excluded
Summary
Inadequate water and sanitation facilities in the school environment have been reported as a major hindrance towards achievement of this goal. Many schools in developing and developed countries lack adequate water and sanitation services, with associated potential detrimental effects on health and school attendance [2,3]. The goal of this review is to characterize how inadequacies in water and sanitation in the school environment have the potential to or are impacting the health of children and their attendance in schools. We sought to identify all claimed effects of adequate or inadequate water and sanitation access in the school environment by cataloguing peer-reviewed journal articles on the subject, defining the scope of effects, and highlighting possible future research directions within the field.
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