Abstract
Background
Diarrhoea is a major public health concern for children worldwide, putting a tremendous strain on healthcare systems. Continuously monitoring and understanding the changing epidemiology of diarrhoea, including risk factors, is critical for developing effective public health interventions. The public health interventions reduce diarrhoeal illness's incidence, outcomes, and strain on healthcare resources, particularly in Zimbabwe's peri urban areas.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was undertaken at the Epworth local clinic, with 386 participants comprising children under five who have had diarrhoea in the previous two weeks. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The study investigated sociodemographic determinants such as children under five years, mothers' age, and level of education, and environmental factors such as type of toilets, water source and treatment which can all be linked to diarrhoeal diseases in children under five. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were done by using SPSS version 16.0.
Results
There were 386 participants that participated in the study. Most of the children were aged between 12-22 months (32.4%, n=125) in this study. Male children (59.3%, n=229) were more than female children (40.7%, n=157). Majority of the caregivers were female (95.9%, n=370)., and many of them were aged between 16 – 30 years (78.5%, n=303). In this study, 83.9% (n=324) of the caregivers indicated that they are the child's mother, and 1.6% (n=6) indicated that they are the child's father. Looking at the highest level of education of the caregivers, 140 (36.3%) had secondary school education. In this study, most households earn between 50 to 100 USD per month (52.6%, n=203). The findings showed that most households lived in three-room houses (42.3%, n=163), and most indicated that more than four people were in each household (72.8%, n=281). Lastly, most caregivers indicated that there are two or more children under five years (59.3%, n=229) in their household. The prevalence of diarrhoea in this study was 25.1%. The results show that vaccination status (partially vaccinated) of the child [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=2.38, 95% CI: 2.80-8.22, p=0.032], distance to water access (AOR=4.55, 95% CI: 2.10 - 9.85, p<0.001), and using untreated water (AOR 6.22; CI: 95% 2.13–18.20). However, the age of the caregiver (being older than 21) and using a clean water container (AOR 0.05; CI: 95% 0.02–0.13) were protective factors.
Conclusion
Maternal age, vaccination status, unavailability of hand washing facilities with, toilets, distance to water source, cleaning of water containers, water treatment, and method of water treatment were the determinants of diarrhoeal diseases among children aged under five identified in this study. Therefore, encouraging the provision of ongoing and updated health information programs for households on the significance of sanitation, personal hygiene, and rotavirus vaccination is crucial for reducing the burden of diarrhoeal disease among children under the age of five.