Influence of women's schooling on children's health in developing societies: evidence from infant diarrheas in Cameroon

Context: There is evidence in the literature that children health status in developing societies is precarious, as they suffer from several communicable diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections, hookworm infections, diarrheas, etc. As far as infant diarrheas are concerned, each year there are an estimated 4 billion cases worldwide (WHO, 2006). However, the risk of contracting diarrheal disease is increased five fold in developing countries compared to developed countries (39.1% vs 7.2% respectively). Thus, diarrheas are an immanent threat to public health, mostly in the developing world. Methods: In order to update the situation in Cameroon, a research programme was conceived to address the children's state of health. This geo-epidemiological study was carried out in May 2002 and rationalized in March 2005 in Yaoundé. Objectives: The objectives were to identify risk factors predisposing children to diarrheas, to measure their prevalence, and ascertain their spatial distribution. Results: The microbiological analyses revealed an average prevalence rate of 14.4% (437 cases of diarrhea on the 3034 infants tested). Amongst studied risks factors, mother's level of education was seen to be strongly associated with the occurrence of infants' diarrhea. It was acknowledged that the level of diarrhea infection varies considerably from one household to another ie children from literate women were less exposed to diarrheas than children from illiterate women.