Households Socio-Economic Determinants of Childhood Diarrhoea Morbidity in Selected South Asian Countries

Abstract

This study attempts to find out the association between the household socioeconomic factors with childhood diarrhoea in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. To estimate the determinants of diarrhoea, the study uses the data derived from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in three Asian countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal from 2011 to 2013. To find out the diarrhoea morbidity among child under five, the child age, child gender, mother's education and working status, child immunization, source of drinking water, type of toilet facility, washing hands behavior, floor material, and economic status of household has been used as independent variables. Binary logistic model is used to estimate the probability of diarrhoea morbidity among children of selected countries in this study. The results of binary logistic regression indicate that to reduce diarrhoea morbidity, washing hands especially after using toilet and at time of preparing food and eating food can play a major part. Mother's education and work status have significant impact on diarrhoea morbidity. The study concludes that family size has a strong impact on childhood diarrhoea morbidity. In small families, mothers have more time for child care than large families. So the chances of diarrhoea incidence are less in small families.