# Occurrence of major infectious diseases and healthcare seeking among young children with disabilities in Sierra Leone using cross-sectional population-based survey data

## TL;DR

Young children with disabilities in Sierra Leone are more likely to have symptoms of infectious diseases like fever and diarrhea, but healthcare-seeking behaviors do not differ significantly.

## Contribution

This study identifies increased risk of infectious diseases in children with disabilities in Sierra Leone using population-based survey data.

## Key findings

- Children with functional difficulties had a higher risk of fever and diarrhea symptoms.
- No significant differences in healthcare-seeking behaviors were found between children with and without disabilities.
- Severe functional difficulties were associated with increased odds of diarrheal symptoms.

## Abstract

Children with disabilities are at risk of worse health outcomes compared to children without functional difficulties. Sierra Leone has one of the world’s highest prevalences of functional difficulties among children, but little is known about the co-occurrence of major infectious diseases and healthcare-seeking behaviours among children with disabilities.

We used household survey cross-sectional data on children 2–4 years old and logistic regression models estimating ORs between functional difficulties and symptoms of infectious diseases including diarrhoea, fever and acute respiratory infection (ARI), adjusted for sex, age and stunting. We also examined whether caregivers sought advice or treatment for the illness from any source and if the child was given any treatment for the illness.

There was an increased risk of fever among children with functional difficulty (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.8) and children with severe functional difficulty (AOR=1.6, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.7). Children with severe functional difficulty were also at increased risk of diarrhoea (AOR=1.8, 95% CI=1.1 to 3.3). There were no significant differences in seeking advice or treatment for diarrhoea, fever or ARI symptoms between the groups.

In Sierra Leone, children with functional difficulties, especially severe functional difficulties, more often have symptoms of major childhood diseases that are known to increase under-5 mortality.