Household illness prevalence and its determinants in the under-five children

Abstract

Abstract Objective:  To determine the household illness prevalence and their risk factors in the under-fives. Methods:  A cross-sectional community based house--to-house survey was conducted on randomly selected one urban and nine rural villages in Dabat district, North Western Ethiopia. Results:  Out of the 457 under-five children enrolled in the study 154 (33.7%) had symptoms of illness two weeks prior to the study day.  The most frequently occurring symptoms were fever (n=113), cough (n=57) and diarrhea (n=52).  Increased frequency of symptoms of disease was found in children  below 12 months of age (p =0.005),  with lack of history of vegetable consumption (p=0.0005) and with mid-upper arm circumference of less than 13.5 ems (p =0.004). Only 16.2% (n-26) of those with symptoms sought medical advice. Conclusions:  Household intervention programs targeting the frequently seen illnesses and their risk factors are suggested to reduce burden of disease in the under-fives. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2001;15(3):173-1781