Factors associated with rural-urban safe disposal of children stools in Ghana.

The burden of children's disease in many low-and middle-income countries is associated with poor sanitation, including unsafe disposal of children's stool. Infants and toddler stools pose a greater public health risk than adults. Studies on stool disposal in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Ghana have focused on prevalence, patterns, and associated factors. Nevertheless, these studies have not focused on factors that independently influence rural and/or urban child stool disposal. This study, therefore, examines factors associated with safe child stool disposal in rural areas separately from urban areas towards Ghana's readiness for ending open defaecation by 2030. We examined young children's faecal disposal drawing on the sixth round of the nationally-representative Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted in 2017/18. This study was restricted to children under two years, yielding a sub-sample of 3,476. Responses of caregivers or mothers who disposed of children less than two years faecal matter, their characteristics in addition to the child's age in months were analysed. A binary logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with the safe disposal of young children's stools. In the aggregated data, only 22% of households, regardless of their residence, dispose of their young children less than two years stools safely. From the disaggregated data, the rural analysis shows that 26% of young children's stools were safely disposed of, compared to 16% in the urban analysis. The urban analysis shows that the child's age, sex and caregiver's marital status were significantly associated with safe disposal of stools. On the other hand, child's age, caregiver listening to radio and household access to improved toilet facilities were significant in the rural analysis. The safe practice of stool disposal was very low. The results of this study show that urgent and different policies and strategies are needed to address child stool disposal in urban residences compared to rural residences if we are to meet SDG targets of ending open defaecation.

Agyekum MW ，Nyieku FE ，Yeboah SB ，Frempong-Ainguah F ... -  《-》

Are children's stools in Ghana disposed of safely? Evidence from the 2014 Ghana demographic and health survey.

Seidu AA 《BMC PUBLIC HEALTH》

A multilevel analysis of individual and contextual factors associated with the practice of safe disposal of children's faeces in sub-Saharan Africa.

Seidu AA ，Ahinkorah BO ，Kissah-Korsah K ，Agbaglo E ，Dadzie LK ，Ameyaw EK ，Budu E ，Hagan JE Jr ... -  《PLoS One》

Disposal of children's stools and its association with childhood diarrhea in India.

Bawankule R ，Singh A ，Kumar K ，Pedgaonkar S ... -  《BMC PUBLIC HEALTH》

Prevalence and associated factors of safe and improved infant and young children stool disposal in Ethiopia: evidence from demographic and health survey.

Sahiledengle B 《BMC PUBLIC HEALTH》