This study was designed to determine risk factors associated with diarrhoea among under-five children attending at MNH. The study was a facility-based study that made use of respondents on assessing the environment factors contributing to diarrhoea among under five children attending at MNH.
The study found that age (P-value=0.01) and educational status of the caregiver (P-value=0.00) have shown association with environmental factors contributing to diarrhoea while the other demographic data of carers did not show any association with diarrhoea among under-five children. Having higher level of education to the caregivers increased knowledge on preventing diarrhoea to their children, this may be due to having knowledge on different causes of diarrhoea and how prevent it. This findings is supported by the study done in Ethiopia whereby mothers with higher level of education experienced superior chance of their children to be safe from diarrhoea (6).
Also the study found that neither boiling nor filtering drinking water is among of the risk factors contributing to diarrhoea to under five children. The results is supported by the study done in Ethiopia which revealed that lack of clean and safe water was among of the contributing factors to diarrhoea among under five children, and only 44% of the overall population in Ethiopia had access to clean and safe drinking water supplies (7). Similarly, the study done by (8), found that as accessibility of home based drinking water treatment was the preventive measures of occurrence of diarrhoea in under-five children. Additionally, children whom their families doing home treatment of drinking water such as boiling and application of chemicals such as chlorine and or filtering of water were found to have low chances of acquiring diarrhoea (9).
Likewise, in this study, there was a significant association between the availability of hand washing facilities with childhood diarrhoea. Families that have got access to hand washing facilities at their homes had lower risk of developing diarrhoea. This is well in line with other studies done by (10) which suggested that the availability of water could have an impact on hand washing, basically because when water is nearby, hand washing is extra common and this encourages hygiene improvement.
Also unsafe source of water appears to have association with diarrhoea. This is consistent with study on unimproved water source as the major risk factor for diarrheal diseases transmission. Families with unprotected water sources were expected to have children with diarrhoea three times more and vice versa (8).
Also this study fund that eating of streets food sold by food sellers which is not prepared at clean and safe environment had association with diarrhoea among under-five children. This findings is well in line with the study done by Agustina, Sari (11) which found that the practice of getting cooked food made out of home is associated to the source of food borne transmitted diseases including diarrhoea in children.
Furthermore, initiating complementary food before the age of 6 months seems to be among of the risk factors for transmission of diarrhoea. This study found that children whom started complementary feeding below the age of six months had diarrhoea. This is similar to the study done in India that showed that 55.6% of children who kept in EBF up to six months were at low risk of developing diarrhoea compared to those who started complementary feeding before completing six months of life (12). Also another study recommended that introducing weaning food to the children made in dirty environment are usually infected with pathogens and are the major risk factor for diarrhoea in under-five children (11)
More factors revealed to have association on diarrhoea in this study were place for waste disposal especially latrines at home. As per previous study done by Godana and Mengiste (8) found that children from homes without toilet facilities were at high risk of having diarrhoea compared to children from families having latrine facility. The availability of latrine rises the chance of its use that enables the safe disposal of faeces. This was identified as one of the factors of decreasing interaction between causative agents of diarrhoea and the host. Improper disposal of children faeces was strongly connected with acute diarrhoea in children. Likewise, the study done in Ethiopia by Gbru, Tasha (13) found that that children whose their families perform improper waste disposal were at risk of developing diarrhoea compared to children whose their families were performing proper waste disposal.