Implementation and adaptation of WASH FIT in healthcare facilities: A systematic scoping review

Abstract Environmental health services (e.g., water, sanitation, hygiene, energy) are important for patient safety and strong health systems, yet services in many low- and middle-income countries are poor. To address this, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) developed the Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH FIT) to drive improvements. While widely used, there is currently no systematic documentation of how WASH FIT has been adapted in different contexts and the implications of these adaptations. We conducted a systematic scoping review to assess WASH FIT adaptation and implementation, specifically evaluating context and implementing stakeholders, the WASH FIT process and adaptation, and good practices for implementation. Our search yielded 20 studies. Implementation was typically government-led or had a high level of government engagement. Few details on healthcare facility contexts were reported. Adaptation was widespread, with nearly all studies deviating from the five-step WASH FIT cycle as designed in the WHO/UNICEF manual. Notably, many studies conducted only one facility assessment and one or no rounds of improvement. However, reporting quality across studies was poor, and some steps may have been conducted but not reported. Despite substantial deviations, WASH FIT was favorably described by all studies. Good practices for implementation included adequate resourcing, government leadership, and providing WASH FIT teams with sufficient training and autonomy to implement improvements. Low-quality reporting and a high degree of adaptation make it challenging to determine how and why WASH FIT achieves change. We hypothesize that healthcare-facility level action by WASH FIT teams to assess conditions and implement improvements has some effect. However, advocacy that uses WASH FIT indicators to highlight deficiencies and promotion of WASH FIT by WHO and UNICEF to pressure governments to act may be equally or more powerful drivers of change. More rigorous evidence to understand how and why WASH FIT works is essential to improve its performance and inform scale-up. Highlights Adaptation in WASH FIT programs is common but not always evidence-based Some programs initiate WASH FIT assessments but never implement improvements Some programs complete one round of improvements but never iterate the WASH FIT cycle Low-quality evidence impedes research to identify WASH FIT’s theory of change WASH FIT may drive change through national advocacy and peer pressure to unlock funding