The Influence Of Environmental Sanitation Practices And Hygiene On The Incidence Of Diarrhoea – The Case Of Koforidua Municipality, Ghana

A case-control study was done using a convenience sample of 100 pairs of mothers and children (less than five years old) divided into two groups; the first group made of children with diarrhoea and their mothers (case group) and the second group made up of mothers and children who did not have diarrhoea (control). A structured interview schedule and review of routine data were used to collect data. Only 12.5% of children less than six months in the case group were exclusively being breastfed compared with 75% of the control group. 56% of the cases used water from unprotected wells for domestic activity while 70% of the control group used pipe- borne water. Also 24% of the case group did not cover stored water while 76% of the control group covered stored water. This demonstrated poor food and water safety. Only 10% of cases had access to flushing water closets for human excreta disposal while the remaining 90% either used pit latrines or disposal into surrounding bushes. It was recommended that good amenities for the disposal of refuse in the communities be provided by the government and the delivery of pipe-borne water be made more regular to the inhabitants Further, appropriate education in simple language is to be offered by health personnel especially at Ante-Natal Clinic and on radio stations and mothers are to be encouraged to put into practice what they learn about the treatment and prevention of diarrhoea.African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 10 (1) 2009: pp. 56-6

Determinants of Under-Five Mortality in Builsa District, Upper East Region, Ghana

Under-five mortality rate is an important indicator of a community’s social development. The Upper East region, one of the most poverty-stricken regions in Ghana, has however recorded a dramatic decline in its under-five mortality rate since 1993; from 180 per 1000 live births to 79 per 1000 live births in 2003. The aim was to identify the determinants of under-five mortality in Builsa district. A case-control study was used to collect data from mothers of 60 cases and 120 controls matched for age, sex and place of residence. Even though 70% of mothers were illiter-ate, the educational level of mothers did not influence the child’s risk of death (OR 1.1). Chil-dren of mothers who had had previous child deaths were about 8 times more likely to die (OR 7.45,) while those who had not had vitamin A supplementation were about 10 times more likely to die (OR 9.57). Over 90% of mothers had an insecticide-treated bednet and more than 50% of them exclusively breastfed their children for the first 6 months of life. Protective risk factors identified included: exclusive breastfeeding (OR 0.72), use of an insecticide-treated bednet (OR 0.12), the number of live children a mother had (OR 0.54) and immunization (OR 0.53). Even in poverty, it is possible to improve the child health status of communities. Health staff should be equipped to pay special attention to mothers with previous child deaths in order to assist them to prevent further deaths.Keywords: Under-five mortality, determinants, case-control study, Builsa distric