Socio-economic factors associated with common childhood illness among infants in Benue State, Nigeria

Adekunle S. Akerele, University of Ibadan

Socio economic status of caregivers have been documented to play significant role on prevalence of common childhood illness among infants. Assessing risk factors for early childhood illnesses is critical to program planning for maternal and child health. This paper assessed association between occurrence of common childhood illnesses and socio economic status of mother and their households. We conducted a cross sectional study among 909 caregivers in Benue state, using a multi-stage sampling technique. From a stratified sample of 276 caregivers with infants aged 6-11months, we found living in household in the lowest wealth quintile (OR=4.52, CI=1.53-13.31) and being a farmer (OR=1.71, CI=1.01, 2.87) were significantly associated with fever and cough respectively among infants. Government and program planners need to prioritize these socio-economic and occupation categories in their maternal and child health interventions. Reducing the prevalence of common childhood diseases need to be intensified to reduce childhood morbidity.