Morbidity and mortality in children in rural community of district Peshawar

ABSTRACT

In Pakistan more than 20 million people are under five years age. The aim of this study was to determine the mortality rate, morbidity and its various causes in children of less than 5 years age in a rural community of District Peshawar. This descriptive study was conducted in the village Budhni of District Peshawar, from 1[st] January 2005 to 31[st] July 2006. Sampling technique was purposive. The data was analyzed in PMRC Research centre PGMI, Peshawar by using SPSS version 14. Descriptive statistics was given for qualitative variables and presented in the form of frequency and percentage. Two hundred and eighty-three children under 5 years age, presented to Budhni Health Centre during the study period. Male to female ratio was 1.91. Nine deaths occurred in children under 5 years during the study period. Most of the deaths 7[78%] were in the neonatal period. Among the diseases, acute respiratory infection was the leading disease comprising 27% of the total. Causes of death were neonatal jaundice [22%], diarrhea [11%], fits [11%], and unknown [45%]. Majority of deaths occurred in the neonatal period, which enhances the importance of antenatal care in the first month after birth. Infant/Child mortality in this region can be reduced by improvement in the health care system at peripheral level