PREVALENCE OF ACUTE DIARRHEAL DISEASES AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS AMONG UNDER FIVE CHILDREN IN AN URBAN SLUM OF MUMBAI

Introduction: Diarrhoea is one of the single most common causes of death among children under age five worldwide. Diarrheal disorders in childhood account for a large proportion (18%) of childhood deaths, with an estimated 1.5 million deaths per year globally, making it the second most common cause of child deaths worldwide1.So the study was undertaken in order to study the prevalence and associated risk factors causing diarrhoea in urban slum of Metropolitan city. Methods- A cross sectional study was done from January 2012 to December 2012 in Cheetah Camp area. Toal 478 under five children were selected and the parent/guardian of the child was interviewed using pre-designed, semi-structured and pre-tested questionnaires. Results and Conclusion-The prevalence of diarrhoea in children under 5 years during past 2 weeks was 17.8%. Diarrheal episodes in the past 2 weeks was significantly associated with education of mother, socioeconomic status of family, type of family, source of water supply, housefly nuisance in home, child hand-washing before meals, mother hand-washing before meals and immunization status.