Children and mothers at risk for diarrheal disease in Nepal

Diarrhoeal disease remains one of the primary causes of disease in children under five in develping countries. Understanding the many causes of this cluster of diseases is vital if intervention programmes for the promotion of maternal and child health is to be effective. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of hygiene and food related behaviours, nutritional status and age as risk factors for diarrhoeal disease in pre-school children and their mothers in Nepal. The objectives of the paper are to:

1. identify risk factors for diarrhoeal disease,
2. examine the pathways through which the risk factors affect diarrhoea rates, and
3. determine the areas for intervention based on the results of the first two objectives.

The data for this study were collected between July 1989 and January 1990 in three villages located in the eastern Kathmandu Valley of Nepal.