An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Household Demographics on Diarrhea Morbidity in Children Aged 0 to 48 Months in Namibia

Abstract

Many of the simple and low-cost child diarrhea morbidities interventions, such as adequate home care, access to health care services, and improved sanitation and hygiene practices, are far beyond the reach of many households in developing countries, and Namibia is not an exception to this. In this study, a quantitative cross-sectional study design using a multivariable log-binomial model was used to examine the effect of household demographic characteristics on diarrhea morbidity in children aged zero to 48 months using data collected from the 2013 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey. Household demographic characteristics such as household's wealth index and main language spoken at home had lower risks on child diarrhea morbidity, while characteristics such as age of household head, toilet facilities shared with other households, current age of child, residency of the child, and child vaccination status had higher risks. The Namibian government, together with nongovernmental organizations, should make necessary vaccines interventions compulsory to prevent diarrheal diseases during the first few years of the child's life and continuously enhance initiatives that invest in good sanitation and hygiene infrastructure within Rukwangali- and Lozi-speaking communities in the country.