Influence of Environmental Factors and Socioeconomic Status of Parents on the Occurrence of Under-Five Diarrhea Disease Among Selected Households in Abia State, Nigeria

Diarrhea diseases are widely recognized as a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in many developing countries in children under five years of age. This study examined the influences of socioeconomic status of parents and environmental factors on the occurrence of under five diarrhea disease among selected households in Abia State. Six (6) L.G.A were randomly sampled and 3,000 households were selected for the study through multistage sampling technique. A well structured questionnaire was use to collect relevant data regarding respondent socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of diarrhea disease, sign and symptoms, causes of diarrhea, Child’s exposure to diarrhea within the past three months as well as the environmental factors of diarrhea. Data collected were analyzed using percentage and chi-square (x2). Almost all the respondents (99.3%) claimed to have knowledge of diarrhea disease. The main source of information/awareness was the health center (26.7%), while the least was newspaper/magazine, (2.5%). Frequent watery stool was the common sign/symptom while contaminated food (7.7%) and bad water (4.8%) were the common causes of diarrhea. About 74.8% of the respondent attested that they have experienced diarrhea on their children less than five years with the major occurrence within 0-10months (26.8%), more especially among the boys (52.3%). Contaminated water and food (23.3%) and dirty and bushy surroundings (21.0%) were the major environmental factors associated with diarrhea occurrence. Financial status of caregivers/parents, low educational level and inadequate knowledge about diarrhea, as well as some environmental factors like contaminated water and food, dusty and bushy surrounding, poor toilet facility, improper refuse disposal and animals sheltered in household were found to significantly influence the occurrence of diarrhea disease among under-five children. Conclusively, it was recommended that the households including mothers must be well informed about the importance of employing good hygiene practices, the importance of using good hygiene practices regarding water, sanitation and food preparation to reduce/control diarrhea diseases. Furthermore, health intervention programs, to include exclusive breastfeeding and maternal hygiene education should be strengthened in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality of diarrhea disease.