DATA SHEET

 

Table: Environmental Factors Affecting Child Health in India, NFHS-2 Data

 

         
 

 

Percent of Children suffering in past two weeks from

 

 
 

 INDIA

Cough accompanied

by fast breathing

Fever

 Diarrhoea

Number of

Children

 

Any

with blood

 

Age of the Child

 
 

1-5 months

17.4

20.9

16.9

0.9

5074

 
 

6-11 months

23.7

33.6

25.1

2.8

4901

 
 

12-23 months

20.0

33.4

21.3

2.9

10076

 
 

24-35 months

17.5

27.8

15.1

3.0

9813

 
 

Sex of the Child

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Male

20.7

30.3

19.4

2.5

15515

 
 

Female

17.9

28.5

18.9

2.6

14349

 
 

Standard of living Index  

 
 

Low

21.0

29.8

19.9

3.2

10710

 
 

Medium

19.4

30.1

19.7

2.6

13906

 
 

High

15.7

26.7

16.1

1.3

4889

 
 

Source of Drinking  Water  

 
 

Piped water

15.1

28.4

19.3

1.8

9697

 
 

Hand Pump

21.7

29.6

19.2

3.2

13343

 
 

Well water

21.1

30.9

18.5

2.5

5834

 
 

Surface Water

19.3

30.0

22.1

3.8

783

 
 

Other

17.6

34.6

16.8

1.4

200

 
 

Purification of water  

 
 

Staining by cloth

18.6

29.0

22.0

2.3

5151

 
 

Alum

20.3

29.0

18.8

1.6

323

 
 

Water filter

12.2

25.4

15.2

0.9

1159

 
 

Boiling

16.9

31.2

16.5

1.8

2054

 
 

Electronic Purifier

20.8

24.2

18.0

0.1

69

 
 

Nothing

19.9

29.6

19.0

2.8

216

 
 

 Other

23.3

30.3

25.2

3.3

21673

 
 

Total

19.3

29.5

15.0

2.6

29864

 
               

 

Source: I.I.P.S: NFHS Survey (NFHS-2), India, 1998-99

 

NFHS –2 Survey collected data regarding the prevalence and treatment of acute respiratory infection (ARI), fever and diarrhoea. Mothers of children less than three years old were asked if their children suffered from cough, fever or diarrhoea during the two weeks preceding the survey and it so, the type of treatment given.  Accuracy of all these measures is affected by the reliability of the mother’s recall of when the disease episode occurred. The two-week recall period is thought to be most suitable for ensuring that there will be an adequate number of cases to analyze and that recall errors will not be too serious. Table above shows the percentage of children with cough accompanied by fast breathing (symptoms of acute respiratory infection), fever and diarrhoea during the two weeks preceding the survey by selected background characteristics in India.