Behavioral study of handwashing with soap in peri-urban and rural areas of Peru

This study of handwashing practices using soap in Peru is part of the first phase of the campaign to reduce childhood diarrhoea prevalence. It represents the preliminary study designed to collect the information necessary to design an appropriate national media campaign in Peru. The study provides preliminary anthropological and communicational data on handwashing with soap in the household and helps researchers to understand values, meanings and socialization associated with handwashing with soap, from the point of view of mothers who care for small children. It is also a business study of the soap market and mass media consumption patterns. The study used quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data for a representative sample of several regions of Peru. These will be used to measure the expected changes in behavior, attitudes and knowledge with regard to handwashing with soap after the national media campaign is implemented over the next two years.