Assessment of the Disease Burden of Acute Lower Respiratory Infection among Under-five Children due to Indoor Air Pollution in Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal

Abstract

Acute Lower Respiratory Infection (ALRI) i.e. pneumonia, severe pneumonia and very severe disease as per the standard classification protocol of the government of Nepal (GoN) or World Health Organization (WHO), is one of the major killer of under-five children in Nepal. WHO in its global environmental health impact assessment process published a guideline to calculate the Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) lost by ALRI and attributable fraction to the exposure to solid fuel smoke in indoor environment. Solid fuel is the most common as it is used by more than 80 percent population for heating, cooking and other household purposes in Nepal and mostly women and young children are exposed to it.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study following probability sampling method. Thirty clusters (wards) were selected following systematic random sampling technique with equal class interval and the sample represents 449 households and 292 children of under-five years of age.