Determinants of co-occurrences of diarrhea and fever among children under five years of age in South Sudan

ABSTRACT

Children in developing countries continue to suffer a disproportionate burden of morbidities, including diarrhea and fever, which are major causes of mortality. These morbidities tend to co-occur due to shared or overlapping risk factors. This study examines the determinants of co-occurrences of diarrhea and fever among children under five years of age (n = 8,338) in South Sudan using the national representative sample drawn from the 2010 South Sudan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS4). The results show more than 50% of children under five are affected either by diarrhea (19%) or fever (16%), or both ailments (16%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis shows that variables related to the individual (child’s age, breastfeeding status, uptake of vitamin A supplements), family (mother’s pregnancy status, family wealth index), hygiene (water treatment status, waste disposal practices), and environment (national state of residency) significantly influence comorbidities among children under five years relative to children with neither diarrhea nor fever in South Sudan.The study suggests the need for parents and caregivers to be well advised and equipped with customized sanitation and hygiene skills to combat infectious diseases, so that they can play a key role in reducing comorbidities and mortalities among children under five years of age in their communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Co-occurrences
• South Sudan
• children under five
• diarrhea
• fever
• IMCI

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/19376812.2022.2092161

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Nipissing University [Internal Research Award,Research Excellence Award].

Notes on contributors

Dominic Odwa Atari

Dr. Atari is an Associate Professor of Health Geography at Nipissing University. Ontario, Canada. His current research interests focus on the social and geographic determinants of health and the use of geospatial techniques in the study of population health.

Paul Mkandawire

Dr. Mkandawire is an Associate Professor of Medical Geography at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Carleton University, Ontario, Canada. His current research interests combine disciplinary perspectives from epidemiology, economics, and medical geography, and uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches, to answer/ask questions about: (i) global/public health and human rights; (ii) political ecology and geographic spread of infectious diseases; (iii) current and historical responses to pandemic outbreaks; and (iv) science, politics, and global health policy.

Yatta S. Lukou

Dr. Lukou is an Associate Professor of Parasites and Vectors at the University of Juba, South Sudan. He is currently a South Sudan’s Focal Point for Global Taxonomic Initiative to the United Nation Convention of Biological Diversity and a member of South Sudan Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) and Onchocerciasis Elimination Committee. His current research interests focus on the Spatial Epidemiology of communicable diseases including Neglected Tropical Diseases such as Human African Trypanosomiases (HAT), Lymphatic Filariasis, Onchocerciasis, and Leishmaniasis.