Morbidity pattern amongst under-five children and associated factors in a rural area of Varanasi district in Uttar Pradesh, India

Introduction: Acute respiratory tract infection (ARI), diarrhoea, measles, malaria are regarded as the most important killers of under-five children. Anemia and worm infestation adds to the misery of the growing children. Neonatal deaths accounted for 46% of under-five deaths in 2016. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional observational study was done in the rural area of Todarpur Village of Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh India, which is the field practice area of Rural Health Training Centre under the Department of Community Medicine, Heritage Institute of Medical Sciences. The study period was January-April 2018. The data was collected through pretested schedule using operational definition for morbidities. Data was analysed using SPSS version 16.0 and Fischer’s exact test of significance was used to find statistically significant difference in distribution of risk factors amongst children who developed morbidity and who did not. Results: The most common morbidity reported by the care givers of the children was ARI (33.2%), followed by fever (26.5%), anemia (15.2%), diarrhoea (11.4%), worm infestation (9.5%). Conclusion: Under-five is the most vulnerable group for mortality and this section of the population is the foundation of a healthy developed nation. Having healthy growth and development is not only a health related demand but also an issue of human rights. Thus appropriate cost-effective strategies and intervention are needed to reduce the burden of morbidity in this critical age group. Keywords: Morbidity pattern, Under-five, Risk factors, Rural India, ARI, Diarrhoea.