Home environment and its relation to child health in a rural area, Assiut governorate

ABSTRACT

Children health is threatened from a variety of environmental agents, such as contaminated food and water, polluted indoor and outdoor air, traffic accidents, unsafe housing, environmental tobacco smoke, and exposure to more than 15000 synthetic chemicals. To assess the home environmental hazards and its health effects on children aged from 2-5 years in a rural area, Assiut Governorate, Egypt. This study was conducted using a hybrid design including field cross sectional part and interventional part by using a multistage random sample method, the following steps was conducted to select the study sample. All villages of Awlad-Elyas rural area affiliated to Assiut Governorate were included in the study [4 villages]. From each village 25% of rural families having children aged 2-5 years were systematic randomly selected. The total number was [415] families. Two tools used for data collection the first was structured personal interview and the second was home assessment checklist. Anthropometric measures: weight, height and body mass index was calculated for the children. Data analyzed using SPSS version 16. The mean age of mothers was 30.8 +/- 6.2 years, nearly half of them were at age group<30 years. One third of them were illiterate. The majority of mothers were housewives. [30.1%] of the children complained of pneumonia while 26.7% complained of asthma. For more than two thirds [69.4%] the cause of asthma was exposure to dust and fumes as reported by the mother. There is a strong relation between garbage disposal, animal's enclosure with respiratory complain, pneumonia and asthma of children were habitation with not separated animal's enclosure. Health classes for mothers should be held in MCH centers, well baby clinic and hospitals. It will include knowledge regarding home environmental hazards and its relation to children's health. Arranging a national day for environmental sanitation to increase the public awareness about that issue. And utilizing mass media is one the best methods to increase public awareness of mothers regarding home environmental hazards among their children and to correct the false concepts and habits