The Causes And Effect Of Diarrhea Among Children In Benin City

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Ten research questions are formulated by the researcher. And they will be tested to ascertain their relationship and differences with the causes and effect of diarrhea among children in Benin City. The formulated research questions are as follows:

1. Does poor toilet facilities causes diarrhea infection in children? 

2. Do contaminated water cause diarrhea among children?  

3. Does poor child health care cause to diarrhea infection? 

4. Does washing of hands properly before eating help to reduce the risk of diarrhea? 

5. Does the provision of sufficient child health care help to reduce the risk of diarrhea among children? 

6. Does poor health care utilization by mothers causes diarrhea among children in Benin City?

7. Does lack of washing of hands by mothers before feeding the child cause diarrhea infection among children in Benin City? 

8. Does poor environmental sanitation causes diarrhea among children in Benin City? 

9. Does poor defecation behaviour among mothers causes diarrhea among children in Benin City?

10. Does poor nutritional status of children causes diarrhea among children in Benin City? 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The importance of this research work cannot be overemphasized. The study will be useful to the health workers, parents/guardians and the individual within the society. Firstly, this study will reveal some of the causes of diarrhea among children in Benin City and also ways to preventing the infection among children in Benin City.    

This study will also be of importance to the local community health workers in the rural areas where incidence of diarrhea is mostly rampant. It will also provide measures to prevent the outbreak of the diseases among children in our rural communities. 

This study is also relevant to the government by providing the statistics of children infected with the deadly disease in Benn City in particular and in Nigeria as a whole. The information from this will help the government to swing into action in providing measures that can help reduce the cause of diarrhea.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The study is set out to determine the causes and effect of diarrhea among children in Benin City. Therefore, the study is restricted to selected women in Benin City, community health workers, and other health related personnel in Benin City.

LIMITATION TO THE STUDY 

In carrying out this research work the researchers was faced with some constraints such as lack of readily available materials on the topic under review. As such the researcher had to carry out investigation by herself and visited the cyber café several times before writing this project work. 

The researcher was also faced with financial constraint during the time of writing this project work. 

Lastly, the researcher was faced with time constraint; this is because the researcher had to combine the project work with other academic activities such as going to class and also preparing for the final examination at the college this reduced the time that was put in by the researcher in writing the project work.    

DEFINITION OF TERMS 

Diarrhea: It is a disease characterized by water stool more than three (3) times a day, with the smooth or liquid feces consistency. 

WHO:- World Health Organization.

Threat:-. An expression of an intention to inflict pain, injury, evil, or punishment.  An indication of impending danger or harm.  One that is regarded as a possible danger; a menace.

SANITATION: Is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems include human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic wastewater (sewage, sullage, greywater), industrial wastes and agricultural wastes. Hygienic means of prevention can be by using engineering solutions (e.g. sewerage and wastewater treatment), simple technologies (e.g. latrines, septic tanks), or even by personal hygiene practices (e.g. simple handwashing with soap).

According to World Health Organization states that:

"Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and feces. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across communities. The word 'sanitation' also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal

MICROORGANISM: According to Encyclopedia (2012) Microorganisms are very diverse; they include all of the prokaryotes, namely the bacteria and archaea; and various forms ofeukaryote, comprising the protozoa, fungi, algae, microscopic plants (green algae), and animals such as rotifers and planarians. Some microbiologists also classify viruses as microorganisms, but others consider these as nonliving.[2][3] Most microorganisms are unicellular (single-celled), but this is not universal, since some multicellular organisms are microscopic, while some unicellular protists and bacteria, like Thiomargarita namibiensis, are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye.

PARASITE: according to encyclopedia (2012) A parasitic disease is an infectious disease caused or transmitted by a parasite. Many parasites do not cause diseases. Parasitic diseases can affect practically all living organisms, including plants and mammals. The study of parasitic diseases is calledparasitology.

RISK: Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity (including the choice of inaction) will lead to a loss (an undesirable outcome). The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists (or existed). Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks". Almost any human endeavor carries some risk, but some are much more risky than others.

MORTALITY: Mortality is the state of being mortal, or susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality

MORBIDITY: Departure from a state of physical or psychological well-being, resulting from disease, illness, injury, or sickness, specially where the affected individual is aware of his or her condition. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), morbidity could be measured in terms of (1) number of persons who were ill, (2) illnesses these persons experienced, and (3) the duration of these illnesses.

DISEASE: A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs.[1] It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. In humans, "disease" is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes pain,dysfunction, distress, social problems, or death to the person afflicted, or similar problems for those in contact with the person. In this broader sense, it sometimes includes injuries, disabilities, disorders, syndromes, infections, isolated symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts and for other purposes these may be considered distinguishable categories. Diseases usually affect people not only physically, but also emotionally, as contracting and living with many diseases can alter one's perspective on life, and their personality.