Risk Factors for Diarrhea Cases in Communities Living Along Deli River, North Sumatera

Susanti, Elvita

Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health
Vol 4, No 1 (2019)

Background: Diarrhea disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five yea­rs old, and is responsible for killing around 525,000 children every year. Interventions to pr­e­vent diarrhea, including safe drinking-water, use of improved sanitation and hand wa­sh­i­ng with soap can reduce disease risk. This study aimed to investigate risk factors of dia­r­r­h­e­a­ among communities living along Deli river, North Sumatera.Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in communities living along Deli river, North Sumatera. A sample of 96 study subjects was selected for this study. Th­e dependent variable was diarrhea. The independent variables were use of toilet, clean water, hand wash, processing of waste, human excreta. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by a multiple logistic regression.Results: The risk of diarrhea increased with lack of toilet use (OR= 1.67; 95% CI= 0.99 to 2.7­9; p= 0.040), poor use of clean water (OR= 1.66; 95% CI= 1.02 to 2.70; p= 0.035), hand wa­shing without soap (OR= 1.74; 95% CI= 1.12 to 2.68; p= 0.002), poor garbage management (OR= 2.50; 95% CI= 1.33 to 4.89; p= 0.001), and improper human excreta disposal (OR= 1.64; 95­%­ CI= 1.04 to 2.60; p= 0.032).Conclusion: The risk of diarrhea increases with lack of toilet use, lack of clean water, hand wa­shing without soap, poor waste management, and improper human excreta disposal.Keywords: diarrhea, personal hygiene, sanitationCorrespondence: Elvita Susanti. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Suma­t­e­ra U­tara, Jl. Universitas No. 21, Medan, North Sumatera. Email: elvitasusantiskm@gmail.­c­o­m. ­Mobile: [phone].Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health (2019), 4(1): 47-54https://doi.org/10.26911/jepublichealth.2019.04.01.06