Housing Conditions and the Prevalence of Diarrhoea Among Children Under Five Years in Ghana

Abstract

Diarrhoea is a major disease of public health importance as it is the second leading cause of childhood mortality in the world and the second leading cause of death among children under 5 years. Each year, diarrhoea causes about 525,000 fatalities among children. Globally, there have been several studies that examined factors that affect diarrhoea disease among children under five years. However only a few studies have considered household water source, toilet facility, floor material and wall material as variables that make up housing conditions that have influence on diarrhoea infection among children under five years. There is therefore some limitation in the definition of housing conditions, because most studies do not consider these four variables. This study examined the relationship between housing conditions and diarrhoea disease among children under five years. Using data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, the study employed binary logistic regression analysis to investigate the effect of housing conditions on diarrhoea disease among children under five years in Ghana. Diarrhoea prevalence among children varies by region and mother’s age. The study found that children living under good housing conditions were significantly less likely to experience diarrhoea regardless of the household’s wealth status and mother’s level of education. The study recommends improvements in these key housing conditions in the country to help reduce the prevalence of diarrhoea among children below five years old in Ghana.