Association between water, sanitation, and hygiene practices (WASH) and anthropometric nutritional status among selected under-five children in rural Noakhali, Bangladesh: a cross-sectional analysis

This study aims to find out how WASH practices may be responsible for the development of diarrheal disease and poor physical growth of under-five children in rural Noakahli, Bangladesh. A case study was conducted among 110 households who had children aged between 0 and 59 months chosen by simple random method at Noakhali district, Bangladesh. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was employed to find the association. About 40.1% of children had diarrhea within 1 week prior to the study and 38.9% had skin problems of different kinds. A significant association between wasting and hand washing before feeding the baby (p < 0.006) was found; stunting and family income also showed association (p < 0.003). Bathing the baby regularly, cleaning toilets, and cleanliness of the baby was found to be strongly associated; not cleaning toilets was associated with a very high risk of getting diarrhea (AOR: 16.397 (1.075-250.013)). Moreover, the unavailability of soaps in toilets increased the risk of diarrheal diseases (COR: 3.933 (1.258-12.296)) in the study population. Malnutrition is highly prevalent in children living in the study area and needs to be addressed by considering the factors which affect this rate.