Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Pediatric Infectious Diseases
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Diarrheal diseases remain a major cause of mortality in children under five, particularly in low-income countries like Haiti.
• Household amenities such as access to safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, and refrigeration are critical determinants of child health.
• Previous studies have indicated a link between household conditions and childhood illnesses, but specific impacts of various amenities require further investigation in the Haitian context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the role of household amenities (drinking water, toilets, refrigerator) and their quantity in the occurrence of diarrhea among children under five in Haiti.
• To analyze the association between specific amenities and diarrhea incidence across different age groups of children (1-59 months).
• To identify the impact of having multiple household amenities on reducing diarrhea prevalence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized pooled data from four Haitian Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1994-1995 and 2012.
• Included a sample of 14,481 children aged 1-59 months.
• Employed logistic regression models to assess the influence of household amenities on diarrhea occurrence, stratified by child age groups (1-5, 6-11, 12-23, 24-59 months).

Main Results:

• Overall diarrhea prevalence in children aged 1-59 months was 29.31%, peaking at 42.14% in the 6-11 month age group.
• Children in families with improved drinking water, improved toilets, or a refrigerator had lower rates of diarrhea.
• Access to at least two household amenities was associated with a statistically significant reduction in diarrhea occurrence (OR: 0.45) for children aged 24-59 months. Improved toilets showed a significant reduction for children aged 24-59 months (OR: 0.62), and refrigerators for those aged 6-11 months (OR: 0.11). No significant association was found with drinking water access alone.

Conclusions:

• Increasing access to and the number of household amenities per family is crucial for combating diarrhea in Haiti.
• Integrated interventions addressing multiple household infrastructure components are recommended for improving child health outcomes in Haiti's socio-sanitary environment.
• Targeted improvements in sanitation and refrigeration show promise in reducing childhood diarrhea, especially in older age groups and infants, respectively.