Socio-demographic and environmental determinants of infectious disease morbidity in children under 5 years in Ghana

摘要

BackgroundGlobally, diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections (ARIs) have been identified as major threats to child survival. In Ghana, the two conditions are among the top three causes of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years. An in-depth analysis of the factors associated with these two diseases is warranted, because of their high degree of fatality and also it provides a basis for intervention planning.ObjectivesTo investigate socio-demographic and environmental factors associated with infectious disease morbidity in children under 5 years old in Ghana.DesignPopulation-based cross-sectional survey. The study sample comprised 2,790 children aged 0–59 months, drawn from the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys. The mothers reported whether their children under age 5 had been ill with a cough accompanied by short, rapid breathing (ARI), or diarrhoea with the presence of blood or mucus in the stool, in the 2 weeks preceding the survey.ResultsChildren in the 6–11, 12–23, and 24–59 months age...