The Determinants of the Incidence of Diarrhea in Underfive Children in Urban Coastal Areas: A Cross-sectional Study

Toddlers in metropolitan coastal locations like Bitung City still have a high rate of diarrhea, which fluctuates. The environment, health services, and host factors are some of the causes of diarrhea in toddlers. This study aims to quantify the factors that influence the prevalence of diarrhea in young children living in coastal urban settings. This study uses a cross-sectional methodology and is an analytical survey. This study was conducted in coastal urban regions. The state of the latrines, supplies of clean water, and the frequency of diarrhea in toddlers were the study's variables. Observations and interviews were used to gather data. Mothers of toddlers were interviewed, and researchers made observations using pre-existing forms and questionnaires. Both univariate and bivariate analysis are used in the study analysis. Both the square time test and the square khi test are used in bivariate analysis. The SPSS program, version 16.0, was used to conduct this analysis. According to the findings, 54.3% of children had diarrhea within the previous three months. 40% of drilled wells and up to 60% of dug wells are used as sources of drinking water by families under five. Gooseneck latrines with septic tanks and infiltration are used by up to 40% of families with children under five. The results of the bivariate analysis demonstrated that there is a relationship between the incidence of diarrhea in toddlers and the condition of clean water sources, with a p-value of 0.030 (p<0.05). Additionally, a p value of 0.005 (p<0.05) was found for the association between the latrine's condition and the incidence of diarrhea in toddlers, indicating that there is a relationship. In metropolitan coastal locations, the incidence of diarrhea in toddlers is determined by the state of latrines and clean water sources