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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Diarrhea remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries. Water, sanitation, and hygiene practices (WASH) have demonstrated improved diarrhea-related outcomes but may have limited implementation in certain communities. This study analyzes the adoption and effect of WASH-based practices on diarrhea in children under age five in the rural Busiya chiefdom in northwestern Tanzania. In a cross-sectional analysis spanning July-September 2019, 779 households representing 1338 under-five children were surveyed. Among households, 250 (32.1%) reported at least one child with diarrhea over a two-week interval. Diarrhea prevalence in under-five children was 25.6%. In per-household and per-child analyses, the strongest protective factors against childhood diarrhea included dedicated drinking water storage (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.18–0.36; p < 0.001), improved waste management (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.27–0.51; p < 0.001), and separation of drinking water (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.24–0.59; p < 0.001). Improved water sources were associated with decreased risk of childhood diarrhea in per-household analysis (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52–0.99, p = 0.04), but not per-child analysis (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.65–1.05, p = 0.13). Diarrhea was widely treated (87.5%), mostly with antibiotics (44.0%) and oral rehydration solution (27.3%). Targeting water transportation, storage, and sanitation is key to reducing diarrhea in rural populations with limited water access.

Details

Title
Improved Water and Waste Management Practices Reduce Diarrhea Risk in Children under Age Five in Rural Tanzania: A Community-Based, Cross-Sectional Analysis
Author
McClelland, Paul H 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kenney, Claire T 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Palacardo, Federico 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Roberts, Nicholas L S 2 ; Luhende, Nicholas 3 ; Chua, Jason 2 ; Huang, Jennifer 2 ; Patel, Priyanka 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Leonardo Albertini Sanchez 2 ; Kim, Won J 2 ; Kwon, John 2 ; Christos, Paul J 2 ; Finkel, Madelon L 2 

 Department of Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, New York, NY 11215, USA 
 Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; [email protected] (C.T.K.); [email protected] (F.P.); [email protected] (N.L.S.R.); [email protected] (J.C.); [email protected] (J.H.); [email protected] (P.P.); [email protected] (L.A.S.); [email protected] (W.J.K.); [email protected] (J.K.); [email protected] (P.J.C.); [email protected] (M.L.F.) 
 ASMK Foundation, Shinyanga P.O. Box 350, Tanzania; [email protected] 
First page
4218
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2649024056
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.