Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Interventions in Schools for Effective Pandemic Response in Low and Middle-Income Countries: Scoping review protocol

BackgroundThe impact of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) access on mitigating illness is well documented. Despite continued national and international efforts, access to improved water and sanitation in schools remains limited in many developing countries. The proposed scoping review is aimed at mapping evidence on the status of WASH interventions in schools for effective pandemic response in low and middle-income countries. The scoping review will guide and improve schools WASH with an ultimate goal of preventing disease and protecting school-going children during infectious disease outbreaks, including the current COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsThe proposed scoping review will be guided by Arksey and OMalleys framework. A comprehensive keyword search for relevant articles presenting evidence on the status of WASH in school interventions will be conducted in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, and the Scopus electronic databases. Articles reporting on the status of WASH in schools published between January 2000 and September 2021 will be included. The review will employ the NVIVO version 12 software package to extract the relevant themes from the included articles using content thematic analysis. DiscussionWe anticipate to find relevant studies reporting on the status of WASH interventions in schools. The results of this review will provide information that is likely to inform the monitoring and evaluation of WASH interventions in schools and assist towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6. It may also help in crafting relevant and up to date guidelines or policies in relation to WASH systems in schools.