Abstract
AbstractThis study aims to find out how WASH practices may be responsible for the development of diarrheal disease and poor physical growth of under-five children in rural Noakahli, Bangladesh. A case study was conducted among 110 households who had children aged between 0 and 59 months chosen by simple random method at Noakhali district, Bangladesh. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was employed to find the association. About 40.1% of children had diarrhea within 1 week prior to the study and 38.9% had skin problems of different kinds. A significant association between wasting and hand washing before feeding the baby (p < 0.006) was found; stunting and family income also showed association (p < 0.003). Bathing the baby regularly, cleaning toilets, and cleanliness of the baby was found to be strongly associated; not cleaning toilets was associated with a very high risk of getting diarrhea (AOR: 16.397 (1.075–250.013)). Moreover, the unavailability of soaps in toilets increased the risk of diarrheal diseases (COR: 3.933 (1.258–12.296)) in the study population. Malnutrition is highly prevalent in children living in the study area and needs to be addressed by considering the factors which affect this rate.
Highlights
Infants and young children are affected by the multifaceted problem of nutritional deficiencies globally, even though much attention has been given to tackle the deficiencies in the last few decades (UNICEF )
The study aimed to determine the relationship between the anthropometric status of the under-five children with household sanitation practice (WASH) in the rural areas Noakhali, Bangladesh
The study found out that more than half of the children deviated from good nutritional status
Summary
Infants and young children are affected by the multifaceted problem of nutritional deficiencies globally, even though much attention has been given to tackle the deficiencies in the last few decades (UNICEF ). Children are given special attention, though the highest proportions of infections among children occur due to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) related diarrheal and parasitic diseases. There are nearly 1.7 billion cases of childhood diarrheal disease every year and diarrhea is responsible for killing around 525,000 children every year (WHO ). Parasitic infections, and environmental enteropathy (EE) are key mediating pathways linking poor WASH to developmental deficits (Bhutta et al ; Brown et al ; Gizaw & Worku ). To mitigate morbidity and mortality due to diarrheal diseases, it is necessary to direct global attention to improving access to safe drinking water and enhance the sanitation and hygiene conditions among vulnerable communities (Montgomery & Elimelech ; Prüss-Ustün et al ; Abuzerr et al )
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