Risk reduction of diarrhea and respiratory infections following a community health education program - a facility-based case-control study in rural parts of Kenya

Abstract
Background: Diarrheal and acute respiratory infections remain a major cause of death in developing countries especially among children below 5 years of age. About 80% of all hospital attendances in Kenya can be attributed to preventable diseases and at least 50% of these preventable diseases are linked to poor sanitation. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a community-based health education program, called Familia Nawiri, in reducing the risk of diarrhea and respiratory infections among people living in three rural Kenyan communities. Methods: Cases were defined as patients attending the health facility due to diarrhea or a respiratory infection while controls were patients attending the same health facility for a non-communicable disease defined as an event other than diarrhea, respiratory infection. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a logistic regression model to assess the risk of diarrheal or respiratory infection in association with exposure to the health education program. Results: There were 324 cases and 308 controls recruited for the study with 57% of the cases and 59% of the controls being male. Overall, 13% of cases vs. 20% of control patients were exposed to the education program. Participants exposed to the program had 38% lower odds of diarrhea and respiratory infections compared to those not exposed to the program (adjusted OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.41–0.96). A similar risk reduction was observed for participants in the study who resided in areas with water improvement initiatives (adjusted OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.47– 0.90). Variables in the adjusted model included water improvement projects in the area and toilet facilities. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest participants exposed to the education program and those residing in areas with water improvement initiatives have a reduced risk of having diarrhea or respiratory infection.
Description
CITATION: Karinja, M., et al. 2020. Risk reduction of diarrhea and respiratory infections following a community health education program - a facility-based case-control study in rural parts of Kenya. BMC Public Health, 20:586, doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08728-z.
The original publication is available at https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com
Keywords
Diarrhea -- Risk factors -- Kenya, Respiratory infections -- Risk factors -- Kenya, Public health -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Kenya
Citation
Karinja, M., et al. 2020. Risk reduction of diarrhea and respiratory infections following a community health education program - a facility-based case-control study in rural parts of Kenya. BMC Public Health, 20:586, doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08728-z