BACKGROUND Diarrhoea remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the three East African countries, Uganda has the worst mortality rate in children < 5 years, with 22% of these deaths attributed to diarrhoea. For proper planning and implementation of control, an understanding of the prevalence and determinants of the disease is crucial. This study assessed the prevalence of diarrhoea and related risk factors among children < 5 years in Pajule Subcounty, Pader District in northern Uganda. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted in April 2018, covering 244 randomly selected households having children < 5 years old in the study area. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview the households about diarrhoeal history in their children in the last 2 weeks preceding the survey, and on the risk factors predisposing children to diarrhoeal infections. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with a 95% confidence interval and p < 0.05 was used to identify the risk factors associated with childhood diarrhoeal disease. RESULTS We found a prevalence of diarrhoea of 29.1% [95% CI (23.7-35.0)] among children < 5 years in Pajule Subcounty during the 2 weeks preceding the survey. Use of unprotected water sources, age of child caretaker, child weaning time and family size had significant associations with diarrhoeal morbidity. CONCLUSION The prevalence of childhood diarrhoea among children < 5 years of age in rural settings of Pajule Subcounty was higher than the Ugandan national average. Use of unprotected water sources, age of child caretaker, child weaning time and family size were identified as predictors of diarrhoeal occurrence. These findings underscore the need for improving access to clean water and providing community health education as the best methods for fighting childhood diarrhoea in the study area.

中文翻译：

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乌干达北部帕德区五岁以下儿童的腹泻患病率及相关危险因素。

背景技术腹泻仍然是撒哈拉以南非洲5岁以下儿童发病和死亡的主要原因。在这三个东非国家中，乌干达的5岁以下儿童死亡率最高，其中22％的死亡归因于腹泻。为了正确地计划和实施控制措施，了解疾病的流行程度和决定因素至关重要。这项研究评估了乌干达北部帕德县Pajule亚县5岁以下儿童的腹泻患病率及相关危险因素。方法于2018年4月进行了一项横断面调查，覆盖了研究区域内244个随机选择的儿童年龄小于5岁的家庭。在调查前的最后两周，使用半结构化问卷调查了家庭中孩子的腹泻病史，以及使儿童容易感染腹泻的危险因素。使用具有95％置信区间和p <0.05的双变量和多变量logistic回归分析来确定与儿童腹泻病相关的危险因素。结果在调查前的两周内，Pajule亚县的5岁以下儿童的腹泻患病率为29.1％[95％CI（23.7-35.0）]。使用未加保护的水源，保姆的年龄，儿童的断奶时间和家庭人数与腹泻发病率有显着相关性。结论儿童小儿腹泻的患病率< Pajule Subcounty农村地区的5岁儿童年龄高于乌干达全国平均水平。确定使用无保护的水源，看护人的年龄，孩子的断奶时间和家庭人数是腹泻发生的预测因素。这些发现强调了改善洁净水供应和提供社区健康教育的必要性，这是在研究区域与儿童腹泻作斗争的最佳方法。