Socio-Economic Status and Household Environmental Factors in Children With Acute Respiratory Infections in Mogadishu, Somalia

Abstract

An estimated 3.9 million deaths of young children occur globally due to the Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) which is preventable by using low-cost interventions such as hand washing, breastfeeding, and accessibility of rapid and attainable methods of early diagnosis. A cross-sectional study was conducted in selected hospitals of Mogadishu City in Somalia. A sample size of 140 respondents was used. Random sampling technique was applied for the selection of the study sample. Semi-structured questionnaire has been used as a tool for data collection. The majority of the respondents were aged between 15-45 years. The maximum number of the respondents were housewives with a family income of 100-300 USD. Most children were born with a normal birth weight more than or equal to 2500 grams. More than half of the participants, 88(62.85%), 30(21.42%), responded that their children were born with a low birth weight less than 2500 grams, and 22(15.71%) of the respondents were not sure about their childbirth weight. The prevalence of ARI is often associated with many socio-economic status and household environmental factors such as overcrowding, unemployment rates, and educational and housing quality, among other factors which increase the risk of ARI and should therefore be included in the strategies to reduce ARI incidence.