The Determinants of Safe Disposal of Children Faecal Matter among Internally Displaced Caregivers having children Aged 5 Years and Below in Wadajir District of Somalia

Abstract

Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of mortality in children, particularly among internally displaced persons (IDP) living in settings where access to care is often limited. To reduce child mortality from diarrhea, it is essential to address careless toilet practices by caregivers and ensure proper disposal of child fecal matter. The objectives of this study were to identify the methods caregivers’ use to dispose faecal matter of children aged 5 years and below living in Internally Displaced Camps in in Wadajir District; to establish the socio-demographic factors influencing safe disposal of children (aged 5 years and below) faecal matter among caregivers of children living in the Internally Displaced Camps; to establish the socio-cultural factors influencing safe disposal of faecal matter among caregivers of children aged 5 years and below living in Internally Displaced Camps and to identify the best practices for safely disposing of fecal matter from children with diarrhea in Internally Displaced Camps in Wadajir District. This was a mixed method study with both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Quantitative approach adopted a cross sectional survey method. Data was collected from a sample size of 462 households with a child or children aged below five years. In the qualitative approach, key Informants were used to collect data until data saturation. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data was analyzed using framework analysis. SPSS and the Nvivo software were used for quantitative and qualitative data management and analysis respectively. Confidence interval of 95% was used and P was set at 0.05. Data was presented using appropriate graphical presentations. The results of this study showed that most of the caregivers (60.4%) disposed fecal matter by using diapers and throwing it in compost pit while a minority left the fecal matter in the open to decompose. Socio-demographic factors found to significantly influence safe disposal of children faecal matter were respondents age (OR: 1.757; 95% CI of OR=1.071-2.884, P<0.05), parity (OR: 0.42; 95% CI of OR=0.254-0.698, P<0.05) and employment status (OR: 0.263; 95% CI of OR=0.074-0.934, P<0.05). Socio cultural factors were reported to influence disposal of children faecal matter included perception that child fecal matter is not harmful, lack of gender sensitive latrines, culture of open defecation, low literacy levels among care givers, internal displacement, and Islamic religion. Additionally, the study revealed significant association between children faecal matter disposal in Wadajir and occurrence of Diarrheal diseases among children aged under five years. (Chi square test =29.37, P<0.05). The study therefore recommended that health workers engage in health education, gender sensitive latrines be constructed, women get better education among others.