Lifestyles and Practices that Enhance Malaria and Typhoid Fever in Njoro District, Kenya
Loading...
Date
2011-07
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Community Health
Abstract
Unhygienic practices have been associated with the spread of parasitic and bacterial infections in rural areas. This study was designed to verify the link between the frequencies of malaria and typhoid fever with selected rural practices in Njoro District, Kenya. A cross-sectional study involving observations, questionnaires and interviews was conducted to determine the socio-economic variables and practices/lifestyles in 336 randomly selected homesteads. Frequencies of malaria and typhoid fever in two randomly selected health centers were determined through a retrospective study for the period from 2004 to 2009. The respondents had large families (68%), low education level (67%) and high responsibility burden (67%). Individuals who did not boil drinking water constituted 61%. Boiling drinking water was less common among the poor, Odds Ratio (OR) of 2.36, v2 = 9.88, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of 1.38–4.03. Respondents who washed their hands in a basin after using the latrines comprised 79.8% while 4.8% did not. 18.5% of the
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
Malaria Typhoid fever Odds ratio Practices Blood tests
Citation
Kinuthia G. K., Gicheru M. M., Ngure P. K., and Kabiru E. W. (2011): Lifestyles and Practices that Enhance Malaria and Typhoid Fever in Njoro District, Kenya. Journal of Community Health