Volume : III, Issue : XII, December - 2013

Gastrointestinal Disorders amongst Children in Urban Slums of Lucknow

Dr. Anish Khanna, Dr. Pratibha Gupta

Abstract :

Introduction: The urban population is rapidly expanding because of large–scale migration to cities for a possible better life. The cities and towns are also expanding but the sheer volume of people compromises the ability of the city to meet their basic needs. A large proportion of this migrating population ends up residing in slums in inhuman conditions. As a result, urban poverty and hunger are increasing in many developing countries. Aims and Objectives: To Study the various Gastrointestinal disorders amongst children in Urban slums of Lucknow and various factors affecting them. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study carried out amongst children of 5–15 years of age group in urban slums of Lucknow. . Over all 256 families could be studied. In these families a total of 524 children were studied who belong to the age group between 5–14 years. Two different types of schedules–family interview schedule and Individual Interview schedule were used after pre–testing. Data was collected by door–to–door home visit. The information so collected was analyzed and tabulated using SPSS 17.0 Version. Results: In present study a total of 524 children were studied. Present study showed that 11.25% children of slum areas were suffering from gastrointestinal disorders. Diarrhea was present in 5.6 % children. In present study It was found that 83 children (15.8%) out of 524 showed infestation with round worm, 11.8% with Amebiasis , 9.7% showed hookworm infestation and 6.3% had giardiasis. Out of major illnesses detected at the time of examination nutritional deficiencies contributed to 18.1%, diseases of respiratory tract 16.98% and diseases of G. I. tract 11.25%. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a continuing high burden of childhood illnesses among urban slum dwellers in northern India. The high percentages of Gastrointestinal Disorders and parasitic infestations shows the poor personal hygiene and poor sanitation and water supply of the urban slums. Attention therefore directed towards improving the water supply and sanitation and sanitary conditions in general as well as health education of both children and adults.

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijar  

Cite This Article:

Dr. Anish Khanna, Dr. Pratibha Gupta Gastrointestinal Disorders amongst Children in Urban Slums of Lucknow Indian Journal of Applied Research, Vol.III, Issue.XII Dec 2013

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