{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-post-query-tsx","path":"/research/caste-prejudice-and-infection-why-a-dangerous-lack-of-hygiene-persists-in-government-hospitals/","result":{"pageContext":{"post":{"slug":"/research/caste-prejudice-and-infection-why-a-dangerous-lack-of-hygiene-persists-in-government-hospitals/","title":"Caste prejudice and infection: why a dangerous lack of hygiene persists in government hospitals","date":"May 29, 2020","timeToRead":1,"description":"In light of India’s continuing efforts to reduce maternal mortality and make childbirth safer for women, this article explores why government hospitals continue to be dangerously unhygienic, posing serious risk of infection to patients in maternity wards and labor rooms.","body":"function _extends() { _extends = Object.assign || function (target) { for (var i = 1; i < arguments.length; i++) { var source = arguments[i]; for (var key in source) { if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(source, key)) { target[key] = source[key]; } } } return target; }; return _extends.apply(this, arguments); }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutProperties(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded); var key, i; if (Object.getOwnPropertySymbols) { var sourceSymbolKeys = Object.getOwnPropertySymbols(source); for (i = 0; i < sourceSymbolKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceSymbolKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; if (!Object.prototype.propertyIsEnumerable.call(source, key)) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } } return target; }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = {}; var sourceKeys = Object.keys(source); var key, i; for (i = 0; i < sourceKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } return target; }\n\n/* @jsxRuntime classic */\n\n/* @jsx mdx */\nvar _frontmatter = {\n  \"title\": \"Caste prejudice and infection: why a dangerous lack of hygiene persists in government hospitals\",\n  \"date\": \"2020-05-29\",\n  \"template\": \"post\",\n  \"slug\": \"caste-prejudice-and-infection-why-a-dangerous-lack-of-hygiene-persists-in-government-hospitals\",\n  \"postedLink\": \"https://riceinstitute.org/research/caste-prejudice-and-infection-why-a-dangerous-lack-of-hygiene-persists-in-government-hospitals/\",\n  \"description\": \"In light of India’s continuing efforts to reduce maternal mortality and make childbirth safer for women, this article explores why government hospitals continue to be dangerously unhygienic, posing serious risk of infection to patients in maternity wards and labor rooms.\",\n  \"tags\": \"Research, Sanitation, Maternal Health\",\n  \"banner\": \"\"\n};\nvar layoutProps = {\n  _frontmatter: _frontmatter\n};\nvar MDXLayout = \"wrapper\";\nreturn function MDXContent(_ref) {\n  var components = _ref.components,\n      props = _objectWithoutProperties(_ref, [\"components\"]);\n\n  return mdx(MDXLayout, _extends({}, layoutProps, props, {\n    components: components,\n    mdxType: \"MDXLayout\"\n  }), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Authors: Payal Hathi, Nikhil Srivastav\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Published in: \", mdx(\"em\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"Tenures of Supreme Court Judges\")), mdx(\"p\", null, mdx(\"a\", {\n    parentName: \"p\",\n    \"href\": \"https://github.com/riceinstitute/content/blob/release/research/hathi-et-al-2020-caste-prejudice-and-infection-why-a-dangerous-lack-of-hygiene-persists-in-government-hospitals.pdf\",\n    \"target\": \"_blank\",\n    \"rel\": \"noopener noreferrer\"\n  }, \"Download Paper\")), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Abstract:\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"In light of India\\u2019s continuing efforts to reduce maternal mortality and make childbirth safer for women, this article explores why government hospitals continue to be dangerously unhygienic, posing serious risk of infection to patients in maternity wards and labor rooms.\\xA0 \"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Through interviews with cleaners and other health staff, and observations at district level hospitals and PHC/CHCs in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, we find that unhygienic practices and behaviors by health staff abound, leading to an environment with high potential for infection.\\xA0 Deep caste prejudice against cleaners, who continue to come from marginalized Dalit communities, prevents the professionalization of their work.\\xA0 This, in turn, leads to a lack of hygiene as casteist notions of what is clean and unclean influence the way that infection is understood and infection control is implemented.\\xA0 \"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"The discrimination cleaners face means that they are the least trained and least supported hospital staff, overburdened and underequipped to maintain the high standards of hygiene required to promote patient wellbeing. 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