Abstract
BackgroundDiarrhoea remains a public health problem and an important cause of morbidity and mortality amongst children, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. In Namibia, the national prevalence of diarrhoea was 17%; it was responsible for 5% of all deaths in children under 5 years old and is the second leading cause of death.AimThe purpose of this study was to assess the epidemiology and factors associated with acute diarrhoea amongst children less than 5 years of age in Engela district in the Ohangwena region, Namibia.SettingThe study was conducted in Ohangwena Region in Namibia which extends east to west along the borders of the southern part of Angola.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted. A structured questionnaire was administered through face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socio-demographic and epidemiological data of diarrhoea and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with the prevalence of diarrhoea.ResultsThe study found a prevalence of 23.8% for diarrhoea in the 2 weeks period preceding the survey amongst children aged under 5 years. The prevalence of diarrhoea was statistically significantly associated with children (p < 0.05). The strongest predictor of the prevalence of diarrhoea was the residential area ‘informal settlement’, with an odds ratio of 36.42. This implies that children living in the informal settlement are 36.42 times at risk of contracting diarrhoea as compared to those living in other residential areas.Conclusionepidemiology; factors; diarrhoea; under-5 years children; Engela district; Ohangwena region; Namibia.
Highlights
Diarrhoea remains a public health problem and an important cause of morbidity and mortality amongst children, mainly in low- and middle-income countries
High prevalence in the current study was observed in the dry season between January and March; similar findings are reported in other countries, with most diarrhoea cases and death cases occurring between February and March because of rotavirus infection.[6]
The prevalence of diarrhoea in children aged under 5 remains a public health problem in the district
Summary
Diarrhoea remains a public health problem and an important cause of morbidity and mortality amongst children, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. In Namibia, the national prevalence of diarrhoea was 17%; it was responsible for 5% of all deaths in children under 5 years old and is the second leading cause of death. Children aged under 5 are the most vulnerable to diarrheal disease, especially during the first 2 years of life.[7] Various studies have indicated that epidemiologic factors that contribute to the occurrence of diarrhoea are complex.[8,9] factors such as residential area, unemployment, household income, mother or caregiver age, number of people per household, access to information, type of toilet facilities, access to safe drinking water, child immunisation status, nutritional status and number of sleeping rooms have been reported to contribute to diarrhoeal prevalence.[7,10,11,12] According to a study conducted by Thiam et al.[6] in Mbour, Senegal, http://www.phcfm.org
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