Infant Food Hygiene and Childcare Practices in Context: Findings from an Urban Informal Settlement in Kenya

This study was published by Mumma et al. (2019) in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. ​The paper explores the wider contextual issues facing complementary food hygiene interventions in low- and middle-income settings. Such interventions are crucial for reducing infant exposure to diarrhoea-causing enteric pathogens. This study was conducted in an informal settlement in Kenya. Observational and qualitative data on childcare was collected. The findings demonstrate that behaviours associated with food contamination, such as hand feeding and storing food for extended periods, are determined largely by the larger social and economic realities of primary caretakers. Data also show how caregiving within an informal settlement is highly dynamic and involves multiple individuals and locations throughout the day. Findings from this study will help inform the development and implementation of food hygiene interventions in informal urban communities.