A geomedical analysis of diarrhoeal diseases among children in Madurai City, Tamilnadu, India

Medical Geography is a multi-dimensional structure of knowledge and understanding the spatial aspects of human health problems and issues. Diarrhoeal disease claims almost two million children’s lives worldwide every year because their bodies are weak from lack of fluids and undernourishment. Africa and India alone lose 1.4 million lives to diarrhoeal diseases. UNICEF and WHO report that around four billion cases of diarrhoea are recorded each year, mostly among children under the age of five. The present study attempt to describe the diarrhoeal diseases among children and its association with environmental factor. The study area Madurai is located in the Southern part of Tamil Nadu, India. This analysis helps to understand which region has highly prone to diarrhoeal diseases and the causes of the diarrhoeal occurrence among children at Madurai city. This study analyzed the precipitating factors for the occurrence of diarrhoeal disease among children with reference to drinking water supply, personal hygiene and nutritional factors. The main aim of this study is to conceptualize the facts and bring out in a conceptual framework by applying Geographical Information System (GIS) and statistical analyses.