Diarrhea and associated factors among under-5 children in Ethiopia: A secondary data analysis
Getahun Fetensa1, Ginenus Fekadu2, Firew Tekle3
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, Institute of Health Sciences, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Insights
Diarrhea remains a significant threat to children under five in Ethiopia. Key predictors include delayed breastfeeding initiation and lack of prenatal care, highlighting the need for maternal education.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Diarrhea is a leading cause of preventable death in children under five globally.
- While incidence is decreasing, the impact of diarrhea is rising, especially in developing nations.
- Ethiopia faces a significant burden of childhood diarrhea.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence of diarrhea among children under five in Ethiopia.
- To identify factors associated with childhood diarrhea using nationally representative data.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 2016 Ethiopian National Survey.
- Employed logistic regression to identify independent predictors of childhood diarrhea.
- Considered variables with p < 0.05 as significant predictors.
Main Results:
- 10.2% of 10,641 children under five experienced diarrhea.
- Independent predictors included delayed breastfeeding initiation (AOR=1.553) and lack of prenatal care (AOR=2.142).
- Receiving no treatment for fever/cough (AOR=0.170) and permanent residence (AOR=0.583) were also significant.
Conclusions:
- Diarrhea poses a substantial health challenge for Ethiopian children under five.
- Maternal and child health education focusing on identified predictive factors is crucial for intervention.
- Targeted educational programs can help mitigate the impact of childhood diarrhea.
Objectives:
Diarrhea is a major contributing factor for preventable childhood morbidity and death. Despite the occurrence of diarrhea is decreasing, its effect is increasing at an alarming rate among under-5 children particularly in developing countries. The survey was aimed to assess diarrhea and associated factors among children less than 5 years (0-59 months) in Ethiopia with nationally representative data.
Methods:
The data were extracted from the Ethiopian National Survey of 2016. A logistic regression model was undertaken to identify the contributing factors for childhood diarrhea. Variables with p < 0.05 were considered as independent predictors of childhood diarrhea.
Results:
From a total of 10,641 under-5 children, 5483(51.5%) were males and most of the children (62.3%) were above 24 months. About 10.2% had diarrhea 14 days before data collection, and the majority (93.1%) were born to married mothers. Receiving no treatment or advice for fever/cough (adjusted odd ratio (AOR) = 0.170, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.139-0.208, p = 0.001), being permanent residence (AOR = 0.583, 95% CI: 0.347-0.982, p = 0.043), initiating breastfeeding after 24 h of birth (AOR = 1.553, 95% CI: 1.197-2.015, p = 0.001), and lack of prenatal care (AOR = 2.142, 95% CI: 0.624-0.875, p = 0.001) were independent predictors of diarrhea among under-5 children's in Ethiopia.
Conclusion:
The result of this survey indicated that diarrhea is a significant health challenge among under-5 children. To tackle this illness, sufficient education on child and maternal health has to be provided for mothers focusing on predictive factors.
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