Abstract Objectives: Diarrheal disease is a global health challenge that assumes gigantic importance with regard to child health in developing countries like Pakistan. Prompt medical attention and proper use of Oral Re-hydration Therapy (ORT) by mothers helps prevent dehydration and secondary complications among affected children. However, ORT use among mothers in Pakistan is low. This study seeks to examine how various socio-demographic factors impact the use of ORT and dispensary treatment among mothers of children affected with diarrhea. Methods:Data from Pakistan Demographic Health Survey (2012-2013) was used for the study. The study sample consisted of women aged 15-49 years old resident in Punjab region (N= 505) with children under five years old who had diarrhea within two weeks of the survey. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were used to determine relationships between maternal socio-demographic characteristics and use of ORT and dispensary care. P-values Results: After controlling for place of residence, educational level and frequency of watching television, caregivers whose children had fever with diarrheal episodes had nearly two-fold increased odds of using ORT treatment [OR= 1.9, (95% CI: 1.28-2.82)], compared to those whose children did not have fever. Similarly poor and middle class socioeconomic status (SES) participants had 3 times increased odds [OR= 2.76, [95% CI: 1.1 -6.89)] of using dispensary treatment when compared to upper class mothers. Place of residence was not a significant predictor of ORT or dispensary use. Discussion: These findings are consistent with other studies that show that mothers’ socioeconomic status are a good indicator of their knowledge about ORT use, and health care seeking behavior. On the other hand, maternal place of residence was not a significant predictor of ORT use, or consultation at a dispensary, even though other studies have found significant associations. Conclusion: Interventions aimed at improving low-income mothers’ knowledge about diarrhea management can include lay medical personnel, such as dispensers, who are often the easily accessible medical resource to this population. Therefore, dispensers should be provided with further training to increase their knowledge and skills in treating children with diarrhea. Future studies that are more rigorous should be conducted to examine this public health issue.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prescribing practices and availability of antimalarial drugs to children under five years of age in primary health care facilities in Bondo district.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental factors that impact on childhood diarrhoea in children under five years old in Akakikality sub city Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of diarrhoea and to determine the environmental factors that impact on diarrhoea in children under five years old. A survey was done and a non-experimental approach was used in this descriptive and analytical quantitative study using a cross sectional study design. The instrument was a self-designed questionnaire. The target population for this study was all mothers or caretakers of children under five years found in the described study context – the sample size was 299. In this study 12.7% of the children had diarrhoea during the survey. Proper utilization of toilets, hand washing and safe storage of water in the households using narrow mouthed water containers were significant predictors of diarrhoea in the children. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

<p>The aim of this thesis was to explore the impact of physical, sexual and emotional violence against women of reproductive age and the level of controlling behaviour in marriage on child health and survival in two different cultural settings: Bangladesh and Nicaragua. </p><p>Data were acquired from four quantitative community-based studies. In two studies, a cohort including a prospective two year follow-up of 3164 mother-infant pairs in rural Bangladesh was investigated. A third study was a case-referent study in Nicaragua including mothers of 110 cases of under-five deaths and 203 referents, and in a forth study an other cohort of 1048 rural Bangladeshi women and their 2691 children was followed until 5 years of age. </p><p>Maternal exposure to any form of violence, including physical, sexual, emotional, and controlling behaviour was independently associated with lower body size at birth, increased risk of stunting and under-weight at 24 months of age, slower growth velocity during the first two years of life and a higher incidence of diarrhoeal episodes and respiratory tract infections. In the Nicaraguan setting, the children of women who experienced any history of physical violence had a two-fold increase in risk of death before the age of 5 years, and those whose mothers experienced both physical and sexual violence had a six-fold increase in risk of death. In Bangladesh, an association between violence against women and under-five mortality was found among daughters of educated mothers who were exposed to severe physical violence or a high level of controlling behaviour in marriage. In all four studies, lifetime violence experience among participating mothers was high (37-69%), and the timing was less relevant than the exposure to violence <i>per se</i>. </p><p>In conclusion, this investigation revealed that violence against women severely affects child health and survival. The findings are especially relevant in a context of high level of child under-nutrition, morbidity and under-five mortality. Efforts for protecting women from all forms of violence are needed as part of the interventions for improved child health.</p>

The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental factors that impact on childhood diarrhoea in children under five years old in Akakikality sub city Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of diarrhoea and to determine the environmental factors that impact on diarrhoea in children under five years old. A survey was done and a non-experimental approach was used in this descriptive and analytical quantitative study using a cross sectional study design. The instrument was a self-designed questionnaire. The target population for this study was all mothers or caretakers of children under five years found in the described study context – the sample size was 299. In this study 12.7% of the children had diarrhoea during the survey. Proper utilization of toilets, hand washing and safe storage of water in the households using narrow mouthed water containers were significant predictors of diarrhoea in the children. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Introdução - A anemia é considerada um dos maiores problemas de saúde pública da atualidade, afetando as populações de quase todos os países, sobretudo aqueles onde predominam padrões dietéticos deficientes e fatores ambientais adversos. Objetivo - Investigar a prevalência e os fatores associados à anemia em crianças menores de cinco anos e mulheres em idade reprodutiva entre a população atendida pela Estratégia da Saúde da Família (ESF), no estado do Maranhão. Métodos Foi realizado um estudo de corte transversal de base populacional. A amostra se constitui de 978 crianças de seis a 59 meses e 978 mulheres de 15 a 49 anos de idade cadastradas na ESF em 21 municípios escolhidos por sorteio sistemático probabilístico entre as quatro macrorregiões e capital do Estado. A coleta de dados foi realizada em entrevistas domiciliares por meio de questionário aplicado junto às mães ou responsáveis pelas crianças, contendo informações sobre a situação socioeconômica e demográfica e de segurança alimentar da família, e das condições de saúde das mulheres e das crianças. Foram medidos peso e altura, para avaliação do estado nutricional e feita a dosagem da concentração de hemoglobina do sangue capilar com leitura imediata pelo hemoglobinômetro portátil Agabe®. A associação entre a anemia e as variáveis foi verificada primeiramente por análise bivariada e posteriormente por regressão de Poisson, segundo modelo hierarquizado. Resultados A prevalência média de anemia entre as mulheres foi de 36, por cento para o estado do Maranhão e 55,1 por cento para a capital, São Luís. Entre as crianças, a prevalência também foi mais elevada na capital (68,7 por cento ) em relação ao estado como um todo (51,6 por cento ). Tanto as mulheres como as crianças apresentaram prevalências mais elevadas na área urbana. O grupo de 6-23 meses de idade foi mais afetado pelo problema (65 por cento ) do que o de 24-59 meses (42 por cento ), assim como aquele cujas mães também apresentavam anemia (63,6 por cento ). A análise de regressão identificou como fatores de risco para a anemia em crianças ter idade inferior a dois anos, presença de anemia materna, coabitação de três ou mais crianças menores de cinco anos no domicílio e residir na capital do estado. Para as mulheres os fatores de risco associados à anemia foram morar na capital e estar acima do peso. Conclusões As elevadas prevalências de anemia encontradas em crianças e mulheres no Maranhão a configuram como um problema de saúde pública entre a população atendida pela ESF. É necessária a busca de intervenções factíveis de serem aplicadas uma vez que, tanto o Programa Nacional de Suplementação do Ferro, para lactentes, como o de fortificação das farinhas de trigo e de milho vigentes no Brasil não conseguiram fazer com que a prevalência avaliada através dos grupos crianças e mulheres em idade fértil esteja no limite aceitável. Igualmente há que considerar que dos fatores de risco detectados poucos são susceptíveis a modificação e estão relacionados ao consumo de alimentos e seus fatores determinantes / Introduction - Anemia is considered one of the greatest public health problems today, affecting populations of almost all countries, especially those where lacking dietary patterns and adverse environmental factors predominate. Objective - To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with anemia in children under five and women of childbearing age in the state of Maranhão. Methods - A cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample was comprised of 978 children aged six to 59 months and 978 women aged 15 to 49 years old enrolled in Family Health Strategy (FHS) in 21 counties selected by systematic random probability among the four geographical regions of the state and the capital. Data collection was performed on household interviews through questionnaire applied to mothers or childrens caretakers, containing information on demographic and socioeconomic status and household food security, and women and childrens health conditions. Weight and height were measured to assess nutritional status and followed by hemoglobin concentration of the blood capillary with immediate reading by Agabe ® portable hemoglobin. The association between anemia and the variables was checked first by bivariate analysis, followed by Poisson regression with a hierarchical model. Results - The prevalence of anemia among women was 36.0 per cent for the state of Maranhão and 55.1 per cent for capital, São Luís. Among children, the prevalence was also higher in the capital (68.7 per cent ) compared to the state as a whole (51.6 per cent ). Both women and children had a higher prevalence in urban areas. The group of 6-23 months of age was most affected by the problem (65 per cent ) than that of 24-59 months (42 per cent ), as one whose mothers also had anemia (63.6 per cent ). The regression analysis identified as risk factors for anemia in children age less than two years, the presence of maternal anemia, cohabitation of three or more children under five at home and reside in the capital. For women the risk factors associated with anemia were living in the capital and being overweight. Conclusions - The high prevalence of anemia in children and women found in Maranhão configure anemia as a public health among the population served by the FHS. It requires the implementation of feasible intervention measures for the control and prevention of this disease once, both, the National Iron Supplementation for infants, such as the fortification of wheat and corn flour current in Brazil failed to make the prevalence evaluated through children and childbearing age groups is on the acceptable limits. Its also necessary to consider that among the risk factors identified few are susceptible to modification and are related to food consumption and its determinants

As informações de mortalidade são úteis para avaliar a situação de saúde de uma população. Dados de mortalidade confiáveis produzidos por um sistema de informação de saúde nacional constituem uma ferramenta importante para o planejamento de saúde. Em muitos países, sobretudo em desenvolvimento, o sistema de informação de mortalidade continua precário. Apesar dos esforços feitos em Moçambique para melhoria das estatísticas de mortalidade, os desafios ainda prevalecem em termos de tecnologias de informação, capacidade técnica de recursos humanos e em termos de produção estatística. O SIS-ROH é um sistema eletrônico de registro de óbitos hospitalares de nível nacional, implementado em 2008 e tem uma cobertura de apenas 4% de todos os óbitos anuais do país. Apesar de ser um sistema de nível nacional, ele presentemente funciona em algumas Unidades Sanitárias (US), incluindo o Hospital Central da Beira (HCB). Dada a importância deste sistema para monitorar o padrão de mortalidade do HCB e, no geral, da cidade da Beira, este estudo avalia a qualidade do SIS-ROH do HCB. É um estudo descritivo sobre a completitude, cobertura, concordância e consistência dos dados do SIS-ROH. Foram analisados 3.009 óbitos de menores de 5 anos ocorridos entre 2010 e 2013 e regsitrados no SIS-ROH e uma amostra de 822 Certificados de Óbitos (COs) fetais e de menores de 5 anos do HCB. O SIS-ROH apresentou uma cobertura inferior a 50% calculados com os dados de mortalidade estimados pelo Inquérito Nacional de Causas de Morte (INCAM). Verificamos a utilização de dois modelos diferentes de CO (modelo antigo e atual) para o registro de óbitos referentes ao ano de 2013. Observou-se completitude excelente para a maioria das variáveis do SISROH. Das 25 variáveis analisadas dos COs observou-se a seguinte situação: 9 apresentaram completitude muito ruim, sendo elas relativas à identificação do falecido (tipo de óbito e idade), relativas ao bloco V em que dados da mãe devem ser obrigatoriamente preenchidos em caso de óbitos fetais e de menores de 1 ano (escolaridade, ocupação habitual, número de filhos tidos vivos e mortos, duração da gestação) e relativas às condições e às causas de óbito (autópsia e causa intermédiacódigo); 3 variáveis apresentaram completitude ruim relativas à identificação do falecido (NID) e relativas às condições e causas de morte (causa intermédia - descrição e causa básica - código); 9 apresentaram completitude regular relativas à identificação do falecido (data de nascimento e idade), relativas ao bloco V (idade da mãe, tipo de gravidez, tipo de parto, peso do feto/bebé ao nascer, morte do feto/bebé em relação ao parto) e relativas às condições e causa de óbito (causa direta- código, causa básica descrição); 2 apresentaram completitude bom relativas à identificação do falecido (sexo e raça/cor) e, por último, 2 apresentaram completitude excelente relativas ao local de ocorrência de óbito (data de internamento e data de óbito ou desaparecimento do cadáver). Algumas variáveis do SIS-ROH e dos COS apresentaram inconsistências. Observou-se falta de concordância para causa direta entre o SIS-ROH e os COs. Conclusão: Moçambique tem feito esforços para aprimorar as estatísticas de mortalidade, porém há lacunas na qualidade; a análise rotineria dos dados pode identificar essas lacunas e subsidiar seu aprimoramento. / The mortality information is useful to assess the health status of a population. Reliable mortality data produced by a national health information system is an important tool for health planning. In many countries, especially developing countries, the mortality information system is still precarious. Despite efforts in Mozambique to improve mortality statistics, challenges still prevail in terms of information technology, technical capacity and human resources and statistical production. The SIS-ROH is an electronic system of national-level hospital deaths registration, implemented in 2008 and has a coverage of only 4% of all annual deaths in the country. Despite being a national system, it currently works in some health units (US), including Beira Central Hospital (HCB). Given the importance of this system to monitor the mortality pattern of HCB and, in general, the city of Beira, this study evaluates the quality of SIS-ROH HCB. It is a descriptive study on the completeness, coverage, compliance and consistency of the SIS-ROH data and examined a sample of 822 HCB deaths Certificates (COs) of fetal and children under 5 years of age. We find the use of two different models of CO (former and current model) for the registration of deaths related to the year 2013. We observed excellent completeness for most SIS-ROH variables. Of the 25 variables of COs there was the following situation: 9 had very bad completeness, which were relating to the identification of the deceased (type of death and age) on the V block in the mother\'s data, where must be filled in case of stillbirths and children under 1 year of age (education, usual occupation, number of living children taken and killed, gestational age) and on the conditions and causes of death (autopsy and intermediate-code causes); 3 variables had bad completeness concerning the identification of the deceased (NID) and on the conditions and causes of death (intermediate cause - description and basic cause - code); 9 showed regular completeness concerning the identification of the deceased (date of birth and age) on the V block (mother\'s age, type of pregnancy, mode of delivery, weight of the fetus / baby birth, death of the fetus / baby compared to delivery) and on the conditions and causes of death (direct cause code, basic cause description); 2 showed good completeness concerning the identification of the deceased (sex and race / color) and, finally, 2 showed excellent completeness concerning the place of occurrence of death (date of admission and date of death or the disappearance corpse). The SIS-ROH had coverage below 50% calculated on mortality data estimated by the National Survey of Causes of Death (INCAM). Some SIS-ROH variables and COS showed inconsistencies. There was a lack of agreement to direct cause between SIS-ROH and COs.

Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest Under-5 Mortality rates (U5M) estimated at 117 deaths/1000 live births. Despite public health control initiatives, no significant improvement in U5M has been demonstrated. The purpose of the study was to determine whether history of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (APO) and maternal socioeconomic factors could predict the death of children before their fifth birthday, using the life course health development and fetal programming theories. The study population was women in their reproductive age (15- 49 years). The study was a secondary data analysis of the datasets obtained from three Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (2003, 2008, and 2013). Complex samples multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the associations among variables. The results showed that lower education level (p < 0.001), lower income level (p <0.05), rural residential setting (p< 0.01), and lower socioeconomic status index (p < 0.001) of women were statistically significant predictors of U5M. APO was not statistically associated with U5M (p > 0.05). This concludes that children of women with low socioeconomic factors and status index could be at higher risk of death within the first 5 years of their lives, and women with history of APO stand no greater risk of losing their under-5 children. The study would contribute to positive social change among women in Nigeria through early identification of women whose children may be at risk of U5M and provision of evidence-based advocacy to urge increased government and public attention to women and child welfare.

The aim of this thesis was to explore the impact of physical, sexual and emotional violence against women of reproductive age and the level of controlling behaviour in marriage on child health and survival in two different cultural settings: Bangladesh and Nicaragua. Data were acquired from four quantitative community-based studies. In two studies, a cohort including a prospective two year follow-up of 3164 mother-infant pairs in rural Bangladesh was investigated. A third study was a case-referent study in Nicaragua including mothers of 110 cases of under-five deaths and 203 referents, and in a forth study an other cohort of 1048 rural Bangladeshi women and their 2691 children was followed until 5 years of age. Maternal exposure to any form of violence, including physical, sexual, emotional, and controlling behaviour was independently associated with lower body size at birth, increased risk of stunting and under-weight at 24 months of age, slower growth velocity during the first two years of life and a higher incidence of diarrhoeal episodes and respiratory tract infections. In the Nicaraguan setting, the children of women who experienced any history of physical violence had a two-fold increase in risk of death before the age of 5 years, and those whose mothers experienced both physical and sexual violence had a six-fold increase in risk of death. In Bangladesh, an association between violence against women and under-five mortality was found among daughters of educated mothers who were exposed to severe physical violence or a high level of controlling behaviour in marriage. In all four studies, lifetime violence experience among participating mothers was high (37-69%), and the timing was less relevant than the exposure to violence per se. In conclusion, this investigation revealed that violence against women severely affects child health and survival. The findings are especially relevant in a context of high level of child under-nutrition, morbidity and under-five mortality. Efforts for protecting women from all forms of violence are needed as part of the interventions for improved child health.

Background: Stunting is impaired linear growth that occurs within the first 1000 days of life and continues later in life. It is associated with short and long term morbidity. This study aims to examine the association between stunting and maternal biodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics in children 0-59 months in Ghana.  Methodology: The study is an analysis of a nationally representative sample of households, based on the socio-ecological framework. Data was sourced from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 2014. Logistic regression was used to analyze 2759 children aged 0-59 months.  Results: The prevalence of stunting was 17.6%. Children 24-35 months had higher odds of stunting (OR=10.6 95% CI 5.18-21.8). Boys had higher odds than girls to be stunted (OR=1.62, 95% CI 1.21-2.17). There was an association between early initiation of breastfeeding, access to proper toilet facility, mothers’ level of education and ethnicity with stunting. Difficult access to healthcare was associated with high risk of stunting (OR=10.3, 95% CI, 1.38-76.8). Households with more than two U-5 children had higher odds of stunting (OR=1.61, 95% CI, 1.10-2.34). Conclusions: Stunting is a public health concern in Ghana. To address stunting, multisectorial interventions needs to be targeted at extending nutrition programmes to above 24 months. Nutrition interventions should prioritize early initiation of breastfeeding. Easy access to quality healthcare by strengthening the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should be promoted. Results also suggested that it is critical to invest in free education and scale up family planning programs.