Comparative study of the prevalence and risk factors associated with diarrhoea among the people of rural areas and urban slums in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Public Health

Diarrhoea is widely recognized as a major cause of morbidity and mortality. It is a serious public health problem in Bangladesh and can occur throughout the year which could lead to an immunological distress and a nationwide financial burden. Therefore, this study aims to determine the prevalence and association of different sociodemographic and behavioural factors of diarrhoea in Chittagong with a comparison of diarrhoea prevalence between urban slums and rural areas. To ascertain the prevalence and associated factors of diarrhoeal infection among 774 people selected from urban slums and rural areas in Bangladesh, a cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire from April 2018 to March 2019. Collected data from the total observation of 18,576 times were analyzed using Chi-square (χ2) test. The overall prevalence of diarrhoea was found at 19.37% (3600/18576 cases) and 36.18% (280/774 individuals). The maximum prevalence was 41.58% (111/190 individuals) which was found in urban slums in contrast with rural areas 34.42% (383/584 individuals). A higher prevalence (16.78%) was found in the summer season (June). The empirical data revealed a higher prevalence of diarrhea in urban slums than in rural areas where sociodemographic factors e.g., gender, education, presence of other diseases except diarrhoea, and behavioral factors e.g., handwashing practice before eating, sharing toilets, income, handwashing practice after defecation were significantly associated with diarrhoea. From the observation of different age groups and comparative analysis, this study recommend community health education to be implemented in slum areas where the significant risk factors could be intensified.

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