One Week Prevalence and Incidence of Diarrhea: Baseline Status of Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial of Nano Maji Filter System in Geita, Tanzania

BACKGROUND: We have developed Nano Maji (NMM) filter system for water treatment which is currently being evaluated in a definitive cluster randomised controlled trial. OBJECTIVES: This paper descriptively presents the baseline status of one-week incidence and prevelence of diarrhoea water, sanitation and hygiene and their determinants. METHODS: Recruited households in the three villages of Geita district were allocated to either intervention (NNM filter system) or control (usual practice). The primary outcome of the trial is to reduce episodes of diarrhoea at 6 months post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes are to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) status. Although households were sampled, individuals living in the selected households are used as unit of analysis for estimation of prevalence and incidence of diarrhea. RESULTS: A total of 1,281 individuals (1,070 above 5 years and 211 under the age of 5 year children) lived in 186 households (7 individuals per household). The reported one-week prevalence and incidence of diarrhea was 10.8% and 8.4% respectively. Children under the age of five years had high incidence (22.7%) of diarrhea than individuals aged 5 years and above (5.6%). Among under five children, boys had high incidence and prevalence of diarrhea than girls. Individuals with diarrhea were likely to live in poor household, not using safe water and toilet. Over 70% of households had unacceptable latrines 135 (72.7%) and poor water situation 138 (74.3%) in terms of practice of storing, treating and drawing water from storage container. Majority of respondents had limited knowledge on handwashing and rarely used soap when washing hands. CONCLUSION: Substantial proportion of individuals living in project areas are affected by diarrhea. Children below the age of five years are more affected than individuals aged five years and above. The baseline findings are representative of local status of WASH, and reflects the prevailing poor water, sanitation and hygiene status in rural areas of Tanzania. Trial approval number NIMR/HQ/R.8a/Vol. IX/3045.