article · Journal of Environmental and Public Health
Pneumonia accounts for nearly one in five child deaths worldwide, making the identification of local risk factors crucial for designing targeted prevention programmes. An unmatched case-control study conducted at Gondar University Hospital in northwest Ethiopia investigated determinant factors among 435 children, comprising 145 cases and 290 controls selected through systematic random sampling. Multivariable logistic regression revealed three primary factors linked to higher odds of under-five pneumonia. Children who had experienced diarrhoea in the preceding fifteen days faced over six times greater odds of contracting pneumonia. Furthermore, children whose mothers lacked guidance on managing domestic smoking had nearly sixfold higher odds of the illness. Finally, children whose mothers did not follow proper handwashing practices had over three times greater odds of infection. Integrated interventions targeting indoor air quality, hand hygiene, and diarrhoea prevention are recommended.
Pneumonia remains one of the largest contributors to child mortality worldwide. Identifying specific, modifiable household and hygiene factors, such as maternal handwashing and domestic smoke exposure, allows public health authorities to design targeted preventive interventions. Reducing these everyday environmental and behavioural risks alongside diarrhoeal illness offers a practical route to lowering severe respiratory infections and child hospital admissions.
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Background . Pneumonia causes about two million under-five deaths each year, accounting for nearly one in five child deaths globally. Knowing the determinants of under-five pneumonia is useful for prevention and intervention programs that are aimed to control the disease. Thus, the main aim of this study was to assess the determinants of under-five pneumonia at Gondar University Hospital, Ethiopia. Methods . An institution-based unmatched case-control study was carried out from April 1 to April 30, 2015, taking a sample size of 435 study participants (145 cases and 290 controls). The researchers used a systematic random sampling technique for selecting cases and controls. Data were entered and cleaned using Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariable analysis was performed, and variables with a <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math> value less than 0.2 were entered into multivariable logistic regression. Determinant factors were identified based on <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math> value less than 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (AOR with 95% CI). Results . An increased odds of pneumonia was associated with children who had diarrhea in the past fifteen days of data collection (AOR = 6.183; 95% CI: 3.482, 10.977), children’s mothers who did not hear about how to handle domestic smoking (AOR = 5.814; 95% CI: 2.757, 12.261), and children of mothers who did not follow proper handwashing practice (AOR = 3.469; 95% CI: 1.753, 6.863). Conclusions . Being infected with diarrhea, not knowing how to handle domestic smoking, and poor compliance with proper handwashing practice were identified as determinants of pneumonia. Dedicated, coordinated, and integrated intervention needs to be taken to enhance proper handwashing practice by mothers/caregivers, improve the indoor air quality, and prevent diarrheal diseases at the community level.
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DOI: 10.1155/2019/9790216
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