Birhan Tsegaye Adane, Bitew Bikes Destaw, Dagne Henok, Amare Dagnachew Eyachew, Azanaw Jember, Genet Mengesha, Engdaw Garedew Tadege, Tesfaye Amensisa Hailu, Yirdaw Getasew, Maru Tadele
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health & Safety, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Department of Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
Front Pediatr. 2023 Jan 23;11:1056129. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1056129. eCollection 2023.
Diarrheal illnesses are a long-standing public health problem in developing countries due to numerous sanitation issues and a lack of safe drinking water. Floods exacerbate public health issues by spreading water-borne infectious diseases such as diarrhea through the destruction of sanitation facilities and contamination of drinking water. There has been a shortage of studies regarding the magnitude of diarrheal disease in flood-prone areas. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate the prevalence of diarrheal disease and its predictors among under-five children living in flood-prone localities in the south Gondar zone of Northwest Ethiopia.
A community-based cross-sectional research was carried out in flood-prone villages of the Fogera and Libokemkem districts from March 17 to March 30, 2021. Purposive and systematic sampling techniques were used to select six kebeles and 717 study units, respectively. Structured and pretested questionnaires were used to collect the data. A multivariable analysis was performed to determine the predictors of diarrheal disease, with -value <0.05 used as the cut-off point to declare the association.
The prevalence of a diarrheal disease among under-five children was 29.0%. The regular cleaning of the compound [AOR: 2.13; 95% CI (1.25, 3.62)], source of drinking water [AOR: 2.36; 95% CI: (1.26, 4.41)], animal access to water storage site [AOR: 3.04; 95% CI: (1.76, 5.24)], vector around food storage sites [AOR: 9.13; 95% CI: (4.06, 20.52)], use of leftover food [AOR: 4.31; 95% CI: (2.64, 7.04)], and fecal contamination of water [AOR: 12.56; 95% CI: (6.83, 23.20)] remained to have a significant association with diarrheal diseases.
The present study found that the prevalence of the diarrheal disease among under-five children was high. Routine compound cleaning, the source of drinking water, animal access to a water storage site, vectors near food storage sites, consumption of leftover food, and fecal contamination of water were significant predictors of diarrheal disease. Therefore, it is advised to provide improved water sources, encourage routine cleaning of the living area, and offer health education about water, hygiene, and sanitation.
由于众多卫生问题以及缺乏安全饮用水，腹泻疾病在发展中国家一直是一个长期存在的公共卫生问题。洪水通过破坏卫生设施和污染饮用水传播诸如腹泻等水传播传染病，从而加剧了公共卫生问题。关于易发生洪水地区腹泻疾病严重程度的研究一直不足。因此，本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚西北部南贡德尔地区易发生洪水地区五岁以下儿童腹泻疾病的患病率及其预测因素。
2021年3月17日至3月30日，在福格拉和利博凯姆凯姆区易发生洪水的村庄开展了一项基于社区的横断面研究。分别采用目的抽样和系统抽样技术选取了6个基层行政区和717个研究单元。使用结构化且经过预测试的问卷收集数据。进行多变量分析以确定腹泻疾病的预测因素，以P值<0.05作为宣布关联的截断点。
五岁以下儿童腹泻疾病的患病率为29.0%。庭院定期清洁[AOR：2.13；95%CI(1.25,3.62)]、饮用水源[AOR：2.36；95%CI：(1.26,4.41)]、动物进入储水点[AOR：3.04；95%CI：(1.76,5.24)]、食物储存点周围的病媒[AOR：9.13；95%CI：(4.06,20.52)]、食用剩饭剩菜[AOR：4.31；95%CI：(2.64,7.04)]以及水的粪便污染[AOR：12.56；95%CI：(6.83,23.20)]与腹泻疾病仍存在显著关联。
本研究发现五岁以下儿童腹泻疾病的患病率很高。庭院常规清洁、饮用水源、动物进入储水点、食物储存点附近的病媒、食用剩饭剩菜以及水的粪便污染是腹泻疾病的重要预测因素。因此，建议提供改善的水源，鼓励对居住区域进行常规清洁，并提供关于水、卫生和环境卫生的健康教育。
