Incidence and correlates of diarrhea, fever, Malaria and weight loss among elderly and non-elderly internally displaced parents in Cibombo Cimuangi in the eastern Kasai Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Socio-demographic and medical information about internally displaced persons in all parts of the world is lacking. One area where many of these persons reside is the Democratic Republic of Congo. A cross-sectional survey was used to assess the differences, if any, between elderly and non-elderly internally displaced parents in Cibombo Cimuangi, a resettlement community in the Eastern Kasai province. The survey was undertaken in 2005. Adults members from these households provided data on the experience of disease episodes over a six-month period and demographic information. Elderly internally displaced parents (older than 60 years) and non-elderly displaced parents were compared in number of illnesses (e.g., fever, weight loss) and selected demographic variables. These groups are similar in terms of experience of disease, but significantly different in terms of level of spouse's education and concentration of adult children in the household. Adjusting for these two demographic variables did not change the experience of illness for either type of parents. We discussed reasons for the absence of differences in disease incidence between the two groups and several factors that will impact internally displaced persons in Africa in the future.