Household Sanitation Facilities and Prevalence of Childhood Diarrhoea in a Rural Community of Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Childhood diarrhoea disease continues to pose a huge public health burden in most developing nations, including Nigeria. We estimated the prevalence and determinants of childhood diarrhoea and examined its associations with household sanitation services in Oyo State, Nigeria

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in January 2025 among 426 consenting female caregivers of under-five children who were selected using a cluster sampling method. A pretested questionnaire was used for data collection. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted at a 5% level of statistical significance. Ethical approval was obtained to conduct the study.

Results: The respondents had a mean age of 27.2 ± 11.3 years. Childhood diarrhoea was observed in 20.2% of participants, and open defecation was practiced by 20.6% of the population. Approximately 44.6% of households had access to basic sanitation, and 23.0% had access to safely managed sanitation services. Households practicing open defecation reported a significantly higher prevalence (85.8%) of childhood diarrhoea compared to a prevalence of 25.0% in households with safely managed sanitation facilities (p=0.001). The determinants of household basic sanitation services included educational status (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]=33.75; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=12.74 - 41.59), occupation (AOR=14.86; 95% CI=7.24-16.86), and family income (AOR=9.28; 95% CI=3.53- 20.28).

Conclusion: Sanitation services were sub-optimal in the study setting and socioeconomic factors predicted access to basic sanitation among study participants. Stakeholders should collaborate effectively to increase the proportion of households equipped with basic sanitation in rural communities, thereby reducing the incidence of childhood diarrhoea.