This is the latest version of this eprint.
Alam, M.-U., Gupta, S.D. orcid.org/0000-0002-9819-9905, Rosato-Scott, C. et al. (8 more authors) (2024) Experiences of children’s self-wetting (including urinary incontinence) in Cox’s Bazar’s Rohingya refugee camps, Bangladesh. PLOS Global Public Health, 4 (3). e0002362. ISSN 2767-3375
Abstract
Self-wetting is the leakage of urine, either due to the medical condition of urinary incontinence (UI), or because a person does not want to, or cannot, access a toileting facility in time. This study explored the attitudes towards self-wetting and experiences of children (aged five to 11), their caregivers, community leaders and humanitarian practitioners in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. We particularly focused on how water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and protection interventions might assist in improving these experiences. We purposively selected participants from two camps where our partner organisation works. We conducted Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with community leaders and camp officials, Story Book (SB) sessions with Rohingya children and in-depth Interviews (IDIs) with caregivers of children who participated in the SB sessions, as well as surveying communal toilets. Self-wetting by children was common and resulted in them feeling embarrassed, upset and uncomfortable, and frightened to use the toilet at night; many children also indicated that they would be punished by their caregivers for self-wetting. Key informants indicated that caregivers have difficulty handling children’s self-wetting due to a limited amount of clothing, pillows, and blankets, and difficulty cleaning these items. It was evident that the available toilets are often not appropriate and/or accessible for children. Children in the Rohingya camps appear to self-wet due to both the medical condition of UI and because the sanitation facilities are inappropriate. They are teased by their peers and punished by their caregivers. Although WASH and protection practitioners are unable to drastically alter camp conditions or treat UI, the lives of children who self-wet in these camps could likely be improved by increasing awareness on self-wetting to decrease stigma and ease the concerns of caregivers, increasing the number of child-friendly toilets and increasing the provision of continence management materials.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Editors: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 Alam et al. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ELRHA Application # 45432 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Apr 2024 13:09 |
Last Modified: | 22 Oct 2024 14:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002362 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:211344 |
Available Versions of this Item
-
Experiences of children’s self-wetting (including incontinence) in Cox’s Bazar’s Rohingya refugee camps, Bangladesh. (deposited 22 Oct 2024 14:10)
- Experiences of children’s self-wetting (including urinary incontinence) in Cox’s Bazar’s Rohingya refugee camps, Bangladesh. (deposited 10 Apr 2024 13:09) [Currently Displayed]