Associations among handwashing indicators, wealth, and symptoms of childhood respiratory illness in urban Bangladesh

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship of easy to collect handwashing indicators with socioeconomic status and reported respiratory disease among children <5 years of age. METHODS: We added several handwashing indicators to a population-based, cross-sectional study of respiratory illness in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We constructed a wealth index using 12 household characteristics analysed with principal component analysis to assess socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Of 6970 households, 92% had a bar of body soap, 41% had a place with water to wash hands inside the house, and 40% had soap present at the most convenient place to wash hands. Handwashing indicators were more common among households with higher socioeconomic status. Within each wealth quintile a place to wash hands within the household was strongly…