Grant: Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

In many communities where families depend on lakes and rivers for daily life, children remain vulnerable to Schistosomiasis, a waterborne parasitic disease that continues to affect millions in endemic regions. While treatment programs are available, household decisions ultimately shape whether children are exposed to risk and whether care is pursued. Using household surveys, this project examines household-level decision-making in child schistosomiasis risk management, specifically how gender roles influence whether children are restricted from freshwater contact activities such swimming in the lake in Western Kenya. At its core, this work strengthens efforts toward global health and well-being by recognizing that protecting children from preventable disease determines whether they attend school consistently, grow up healthy, and avoid long-term complications. By examining how decision-making are negotiated within families, the research advances gender equality, acknowledging that who holds decision-making power directly shapes health outcomes.