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Family amenities and health of children under five in Haiti
Authors: Isabelle Roy and Barthelemy Kuate Defo
Source: Canadian Journal of Public Health, DOI: 10.17269/cjph.108.5921
Topic(s): Child feeding
Child health
Children under five
Diarrhea
Residence
Sanitation
Water supply
Water treatment
Wealth Index
Country: Latin American/Caribbean
  Haiti
Published: JAN 2018
Abstract: To assess the role of family amenities in the occurrence of diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age in Haiti, by type (drinking water, toilet and refrigerator) and number. We pooled data from four Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Haiti between 1994-1995 and 2012. We selected a sample of 14,481 children aged 1-59 months. We assessed the role of family amenities in the occurrence of diarrhoea by age group of children at risk (1-5; 6-11; 12-23; 24-59 months), using logistic regression models. The prevalence of diarrhoea among children aged 1-59 months in Haiti is estimated at 29.31%. It reaches 42.14% in children aged 6-11 months. It is lower for children whose families have access to improved drinking water, improved toilets or refrigerators. It is all the weaker as families have at least two amenities simultaneously. We find no significant differences in the occurrence of infant and juvenile diarrhoea by access to drinking water (p > 0.10). Taking into account the period effect, a reduced occurrence of diarrhoea is significantly associated with improved toileting in children 24-59 months of age (OR: 0.62; p < 0.05) and in the refrigerator in 6-11 months of age (OR: 0.11; p < 0.05). For the number of commodities, only 24-59 months with at least two commodities have a statistically lower occurrence of diarrhea than the most disadvantaged (OR: 0.45; p < 0.05). Increasing access to family amenities and the number per household remains essential in the fight against diarrhoea in Haiti. An integrated intervention should therefore be recommended in the Haitian socio-health environment.
Web: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29356668/