Association between Observance of Diaper Hygiene and Urinary Tract Infection in Children Under Three Years of Age

Urinary tract infection is one of the most common diseases of the urinary tract and is one of the common infections in infants and children. One of the risk factors for urinary tract infection in children is lack of diaper hygiene. Therefore, in the present study, the relationship between diaper hygiene related factors and urinary tract infection in children, was investigated.   This case-control study was performed on 150 children hospitalized in different wards of specialized educational pediatric Hospital. The case group was selected from hospitalized patients with urinary tract infection and the control group from different hospital wards. The data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of three sections, including: the first part related to the demographic information of mother, the second part was the factors related to the child, and the third part was the factors related to diaper hygiene. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and Chi-square test.   In this study, type of child care, income of mother, education level of mother, and type of the diaper (p=0.001) and time of diaper changing (p<0.001) were related to developing urinary tract infection.   The results of this study showed that the hygiene of diaper could be related to urinary tract infection. Considering the high prevalence of urinary tract infection in children under three years of age, educational interventions are suggested to increase knowledge and preventive behaviors.