Trial design, interventions and randomisation
hookworm infection
HOOKWORM, HOOKWORM INFECTION
The study aimed to investigate the efficacy of albendazole against hookworm infection with two interventions simultaneously: 1) dual-dose versus single-dose albendazole, 2) taking albendazole with or without fatty food (avocado). A 2x2 factorial outcome assessors-blinded randomised controlled trial was used, as this design has the advantage of enabling investigation of the effects of two independent interventions concurrently and the effect of receiving both interventions together [Intervention group 1: participants took 400mg of single-dose albendazole with 200 grams of avocado.Intervention group 2: participants took dual-dose albendazole (400mg of single dose albendazole for two consecutive days) without taking avocado.Intervention group 3: participants took dual-dose albendazole (400mg of single dose albendazole for two consecutive days) with 200 grams of avocado on both occasions.Control group: participants took 400mg of single-dose albendazole without taking avocado.When positive hookworm cases were identified through the prevalence survey, field workers notified the students of "positive" results. These students were asked to visit the most accessible health centre IV or hospital-level health facility in Mayuge district among four health facilities: 1) Mayuge health centre IV located in Mayuge town council, 2) Kigandalo health centre IV located in Kigandalo sub-county, 3) Kityerera health centre IV located in Kityerera sub-county, and 4) Buluuba hospital in Baitambogwe sub-county. All participants were instructed to have their usual meal on the morning of the visit, following the protocol for later taking albendazole with a fatty food (i.e. in the trial) as outlined in the study of Nagy 