The non-government facilities visited were administered by CHAM.
Except for weeks 1 and 2, when patients came twice weekly, all visits were administered on a once/week basis, last one hour, and also include one between-visit 10 minute telephone contact scheduled for weeks 3 12.
For all randomized subjects, the dose dispensed at visit 3 was administered during the active week of the crossover phase.
If completed questionnaires were not received in the mail by the subsequent visit, another questionnaire was administered during a prenatal care visit.
In addition, at each household visit, a questionnaire was administered to enrolled contacts to collect information on previously identified risk factors for Shigella infection.
At the screening visit, a questionnaire was administered to consenting women by trained health providers, asking about their socio-demographics, current contraceptive use, intra-vaginal cleansing practices (products used and reason), past history of STI and sexual behaviours (detail with the Additional file 1).
At the first visit, a baseline questionnaire was administered regarding health status, medication intake, and smoking history.
At the first visit, a baseline questionnaire was administered regarding patient characteristics such as health status, history of coronary heart disease and other comorbidities, smoking history, and socioeconomic status.
At the end of each visit, a structured questionnaire was administered to collect data regarding the individual characteristics of the CORPs, including gender, age, place of residence and recruitment history (Additional file 1).
At the baseline visit, a structured questionnaire was administered; 25 cc blood was obtained for blood lead, serum ferritin, and hormone analysis; tibia lead concentration was determined via Cd-based K shell X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses; and BMD was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
