Effects of mothers' water, sanitation and hygiene habits on diarrhoea and malnutrition among children under 5 years in Nepal.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Diarrhoea and malnutrition (stunting, wasting and underweight) are major public health problems in developing countries, including Nepal. Improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) may reduce the global disease burden by as much as 10.0%. This paper aims to examine the effects of the WASH components on diarrhoea and malnutrition rates among children under 5 years in Nepal.

Methods

The 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey datasets were examined. The sample included children with outcome measures of diarrhoea (n=4846) and malnutrition (n=2363 for stunting, n=2360 for wasting and n=2370 for underweight). The study participants were mothers aged 15-49 with children under 5 years on the survey day. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. The

SUBMITTER: Dhital SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12414205 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature