Prevalence and management of diarrhoea among children in Nsukka, Nigeria

Abstract

Two months preliminary survey of the prevalence of diarrhoea among children (aged 5 – 10 years) was carried out in Nsukka area of Enugu State, Nigeria. Questionnaires were used to obtain information on the demographic details of the parents and children, prevalence, management and control of diarrhoea among children of this age group. These were distributed to parents of the children used for the study. Using Pearson's correlation coefficient , we found that diarrhoea among children of this age was neither correlated with residential location (r = ­-0.47, p = 0.652), occupation of the parent (r = 0.134, p = 0.194) nor sex of the child (r = 0.092, p = 0.377). However, the educational level of the parents was correlated with childhood diarrhoea (r = 0.346, p = 0.001). These results suggested that the children of less educated people were more prone to diarrhoeal infection when compared to children of the more educated counterparts.