Ssekandi, NathanTlotleng, NonhlanhlaNaicker, Nisha2023-11-302023-11-302023-07-18Ssekandi, N., Tlotleng, N. & Naicker, N. Sociodemographic and environmental factors associated with diarrhoeal illness in children under 5 years in Uganda, 2016: a cross-sectional study. BMC Infectious Diseases 23, 480 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08458-8.1471-2334 (online)10.1186/s12879-023-08458-8http://hdl.handle.net/2263/93574BACKGROUND : Uganda is among the 10 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region that have the highest prevalence of diarrhoeal disease. Evidence suggests that the severity of childhood diarrhoeal disease is escalated through various sociodemographic and environmental factors. OBJECTIVES : To assess prevalence of diarrheal illness in children below the age of 5 years in Uganda in 2016 and associated factors. METHODS : A cross-sectional study was employed that analyzed secondary data from the 2016 Uganda Demography and Health Surveys. Children with and without diarrhea were compared. A logistic regression was used to determine sociodemographic and environmental factors associated with diarrheal illness in children with statistical significance at p < 0.05. RESULTS : The prevalence of childhood diarrhoeal illness for children below the age of 5 years in Uganda was 20.9% (n = 2838/13,753). There was a statistically significant difference when comparing children diarrhoeal with the following sociodemographic factors: caregiver’s age, child’s age and gender and duration of breastfeeding (p < 0.0001). Children with a caregiver aged between 15 and 24 years (aOR;1.42; 95% CI:1.24–1.62) and 25–34 years (aOR;1.19; 95% CI:1.04–1.37) were more likely to report diarrhoeal disease, compared to those with a caregiver aged 35–49 years. For environmental factors, households using springs water, access to health facility and children who received a dose of vitamin A had a decreased risk of reporting children diarrhoeal. CONCLUSION : Significant factors in the study like caregiver’s age, gender and duration of breastfeeding will create the opportunity for all interventions to shift their focus to these factors thus a better evidence-based approach to reducing of diarrhoeal disease will be achieved in the country.en© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.DiarrhoeaSociodemographic factorsEnvironmental factorsChildren under fiveUgandaSDG-03: Good health and well-beingArticle