Addressing diarrhea prevalence in the West African Middle Belt: social and geographic dimensions in a case study for Benin
2008

Diarrhea Prevalence in Benin: Social and Geographic Factors

Sample size: 2626 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Pande Saket, Keyzer Michiel A, Arouna Aminou, Sonneveld Ben GJ

Primary Institution: Centre for World Food Studies (SOW-VU), VU University, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hypothesis

Can social and geographic factors in the Oueme River Basin of Benin help reduce diarrhea prevalence?

Conclusion

Improving access to safe water alone will not significantly reduce diarrhea prevalence without addressing social factors like hygiene and education.

Supporting Evidence

  • Households with access to clean water and good hygiene practices suffer less from diarrhea.
  • Richer and better-educated households can secure safe water more easily.
  • Diarrhea prevalence varies with groundwater availability and quality across Benin.
  • Improving access to safe water is not expensive but requires complementary social measures.

Takeaway

This study shows that just getting clean water isn't enough to stop kids from getting sick; we also need to teach families how to stay clean and healthy.

Methodology

The study used mixed effect logit regression on data from the Demographic Health Survey and various spatial datasets.

Potential Biases

Potential biases may arise from self-reported data on diarrhea prevalence.

Limitations

The study may not account for all geographic and social variables affecting diarrhea prevalence.

Participant Demographics

The study included 6219 women aged 15-49 from 247 clusters in Benin.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.004

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1476-072X-7-17

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