Diarrhoea in the under-fives in a Saudi semiurban community
al-Abbad, A.A.; Bella, H.
Tropical and Geographical Medicine 42(3): 233-237
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-3232 PMID: 2293432 Document Number: 347694
A cross-sectional study of diarrhea in the under-fives was carried out in a semiurban community in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The aim was to estimate the point and period prevalence and to examine some factors possibly related to the prevalence of diarrhea. The point and period prevalence of dirrhea were found to be 5.4% and 12.5% respectively. The presence of diarrhea was significantly associated with age of child and the type of feeding in children below one year. Factors such as parental age nad education and the number of children under five in the household were also found to be significantly associated with diarrhoea. For prevention of diarrhea the authors recommend the establishment of 'under-fives' clinics and health education programms to educate mothers on dirrhea.