Addis Moges, Worku Walelegn, Bogale Laekemariam, Shimelash Alebachew, Tegegne Eniyew
Abirha Jira Health Office, West Armachiho District, Abirha Jira, Ethiopia.
Institutes of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Environ Health Insights. 2022 Jul 27;16:11786302221114738. doi: 10.1177/11786302221114738. eCollection 2022.
Children's feces are 5 times more dangerous than that of adults. Unhygienic disposal of child feces has been reported as one of the major sanitation problems in Sub-Saharan African countries. However, there is a scanty of information in the study area and evidences are insufficient in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study intends to assess child feces disposal practices and associated factors among Mothers/Caregivers of Under Five Children in West Armachiho District, Northwest Ethiopia.
A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the West Armachho district from March 10, 2019 to April 10, 2019 by using a multistage cluster sampling method. Binary and multivariable logistic regression models were employed to identify factors associated to child faces disposal practice. The adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and a -value of ⩽.05 were used to declare statistical significance.
The proportion of safe child feces disposal practice was 37.8% (95% CI: 34.6-40.89). Child feces disposal practice was significantly associated with the age of the child (AOR = 5.07, 95% CI: 2.52-10.21), the educational status of fathers (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.05-5.25), getting health education (AOR = 2.77, 95% CI: 1.84-4.16), utilization of basic type of latrine (AOR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.55-5.02), knowledge of feces disposal technology options (AOR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.88-3.96), and media exposure about child feces (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.22-2.99).
The practice of safe CFD was low. Age of the child, fathers' educational status, receiving health education, basic type of latrine, feces disposal technology options used, and media exposure were independent predictors of safe CFD practice. Interventions need to be designed targeting safe CFD practices taking into account different media outlets and advocacy of improved sanitation technology use by policy makers.
儿童粪便比成人粪便危险5倍。据报道，在撒哈拉以南非洲国家，儿童粪便的不卫生处理是主要的卫生问题之一。然而，在研究区域内相关信息匮乏，在埃塞俄比亚证据也不足。因此，本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚西北部西阿尔马奇霍区五岁以下儿童的母亲/照料者对儿童粪便的处理方式及相关因素。
2019年3月10日至2019年4月10日，在西阿尔马奇霍区采用多阶段整群抽样方法进行了一项基于社区的横断面研究。采用二元和多变量逻辑回归模型来确定与儿童粪便处理方式相关的因素。使用调整后的比值比、95%置信区间和p值≤0.05来判定统计学显著性。
安全处理儿童粪便的比例为37.8%（95%置信区间：34.6 - 40.89）。儿童粪便处理方式与儿童年龄（比值比=5.07，95%置信区间：2.52 - 10.21）、父亲的教育程度（比值比=2.34，95%置信区间：1.05 - 5.25）、接受健康教育（比值比=2.77，95%置信区间：1.84 - 4.16）、使用基本类型的厕所（比值比=2.79，95%置信区间：1.55 - 5.02）、对粪便处理技术选项的了解（比值比=2.58，95%置信区间：1.88 - 3.96）以及关于儿童粪便的媒体曝光（比值比=1.88，95%置信区间：1.22 - 2.99）显著相关。
安全儿童粪便处理的实践水平较低。儿童年龄、父亲的教育程度、接受健康教育、基本类型的厕所、所使用的粪便处理技术选项以及媒体曝光是安全儿童粪便处理实践的独立预测因素。需要设计针对安全儿童粪便处理实践的干预措施，同时考虑不同的媒体渠道，并倡导政策制定者推广改进的卫生技术使用。
