Table 3.
Summary of household and child characteristics and health outcomes according to political region and household density category, western Panamá*
| Characteristic | Emplanada de Chorcha† | Soloy† | P | Dispersed households (< 50 houses/km2) | Dense households (> 50 houses/km2) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Household | ||||||
| Distance to road, km | 2.4 (0.2) 96 | 0.9 (0.09) 154 | < 0.001 | 1.9 (0.1) 181 | 0.2 (0.02) 69 | < 0.001 |
| Distance to health facility, km | 2.9 (0.2) 96 | 2.0 (0.1) 154 | < 0.001 | 2.8 (0.1) 181 | 1.1 (0.07) 69 | < 0.001 |
| Distance to school, km | 1.1 (0.06) 96 | 0.6 (0.04) 154 | < 0.001 | 0.9 (0.04) 181 | 0.4 (0.02) 69 | < 0.001 |
| Household density,‡ homes/km2 | 14.5 (1.3) 96 | 48.1 (3.0) 154 | < 0.001 | NA | NA | |
| Households in Soloy, % | NA | NA | 48 (40–55) 181 | 100 (94–100) 69 | < 0.001 | |
| Household Wealth Index§ | −0.12 (0.04) 90 | 0.41 (0.06) 139 | < 0.001 | 0.097 (0.05) 172 | 0.51 (0.09) 57 | < 0.001 |
| Maternal education, years | 2.7 (0.3) 94 | 4.6 (0.3) 146 | < 0.001 | 3.6 (0.3) 176 | 4.6 (0.5) 64 | 0.05 |
| Latrine, % | 15 (9–24) 93 | 41 (34–49) 142 | < 0.001 | 26 (20–33) 175 | 45 (33–58) 60 | < 0.001 |
| Aqueduct, % | 12 (7–20) 94 | 49 (42–57) 146 | < 0.001 | 27 (21–34) 176 | 52 (40–63) 64 | < 0.001 |
| Water quality, Escherichia coli CFU/100 mL | 270 (39) 83 | 184 (28) 123 | 0.002 | 243 (28) 152 | 151 (38) 54 | 0.004 |
| Child | ||||||
| Age, months | 26.3 (1.4) 139 | 25 (1.1) 217 | 0.5 | 25.5 (1.0) 268 | 25.7 (1.6) 88 | 0.93 |
| Female, % | 47 (39–55) 139 | 50 (44–57) 217 | 0.6 | 48 (42–54) 268 | 51 (41–61) 88 | 0.58 |
| Protozoan infection, CPI¶ | 0.24 (0.02) 122 | 0.31 (0.02) 170 | 0.005 | 0.25 (0.02) 228 | 0.37 (0.03) 64 | < 0.001 |
| Diarrhetic stool, CDI# | 0.3 (0.02) 122 | 0.3 (0.02) 170 | 0.92 | 0.30 (0.02) 228 | 0.30 (0.03) 64 | 0.69 |
| HAZ | ||||||
| Stunting (< −2 SD), % | 61 (53–70) 122 | 60 (52–67) 163 | 0.74 | 58 (51–64) 225 | 70 (57–80) 60 | 0.09 |
| Mean Z score | −2.33 (0.12) 122 | −2.18 (0.1) 163 | 0.33 | −2.16 (0.08) 225 | −2.56 (0.18) 60 | 0.03 |
| WAZ | ||||||
| Underweight (< −2 SD), % | 22 (16–31) 125 | 22 (16–29) 163 | 0.95 | 20 (16–26) 225 | 29 (19–41) 63 | 0.17 |
| Mean Z score | −0.94 (0.13) 125 | −0.99 (0.1) 163 | 0.74 | −0.87 (0.09) 225 | −1.3 (0.2) 63 | 0.03 |
| WHZ | ||||||
| Wasting (< –2 SD), % | 7 (3–13) 121 | 4 (2–9) 159 | 0.4 | 6 (3–10) 221 | 3 (0–12) 59 | 0.45 |
| Overweight (> 2 SD), % | 17 (12–25) 121 | 7 (4–12) 159 | 0.007 | 14 (10–19) 221 | 3 (0–12) 59 | 0.03 |
Values are mean or % (± SE binomial 95% confidence interval). Sample size is indicated after the summary statistics. NA = not available; CFU = colony-forming units; CPI, Chronic Protozoan Index; CDI = Chronic Diarrhea Index; HAZ = height-for-age Z score; WAZ = weight-for age Z score; WHZ = weight-for-height Z score.
Summary data presented for Emplanada de Chorcha and Soloy are restricted to households for which spatial data were available.
Density based on households participating in the study.
Asset-based index weights were derived from the first component of Principle Components Analysis.
Proportion of positive samples provided (for children who provided ≥ 4 of 7 possible sampling periods).
Proportion of positive samples provided (for children who provided ≥ 4 of 7 possible sampling periods).