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Prevalence of wasting and associated factors among children aged 6-59 months in Wolkite town of the Gurage zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2020. A cross-sectional study
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, Vol 17, Iss 1, p e0259722 (2022), PLoS ONE
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2022.
-
Abstract
- Background Undernutrition among children is one of the leading major public health problems and about 49.5 million children were wasted worldwide. Asia and African countries contributed 69% and 27.2% of wasting respectively. In Ethiopia, 7% of children were wasted and 1% was severely wasted. Although Ethiopia has achieved remarkable progress in reducing under-five mortality and designed multi-dimensional approaches to address malnutrition, the data on acute malnutrition among children in the study setting is limited. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence of acute malnutrition and associated factors among 6-59-month-old children. Methods Community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted at Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 293 study participants were selected using a systematic sampling technique. Data were collected using structured and pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaires by face-to-face interview. Data entry and analysis were made using Epi Data version 4.6 and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24 respectively. Descriptive statistical analysis and some of the statistical tests like the odds ratio were carried out. Both Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis with 95% confidence interval was carried out to identify associated factors and variables with P value < 0.05 were taken as statistically significant. Results The prevalence of wasting among children aged from 6–59 months in this study was 14.7% (95% CI: 10.9, 18.8). After controlling for all possible confounding factors, the result revealed that age of children between 6–11 months [AOR = 2.78(95% CI: 1.67, 6.19)], caregivers who were unable to read and write [AOR = 2.23 (95% CI: 1.04, 5.34)], presence of diarrheal disease in the past two weeks [AOR = 1.68 (95% CI: 1.23, 5.89)] and mothers who had a history of poor handwashing practice before food preparation and child feeding [AOR = 2.64(95% CI: 1.52, 4.88)] were found to be significantly associated with wasting. Conclusions The study findings indicate that respondents’ wasting was mainly affected by age of the child, educational status of caregivers, presence of diarrheal disease and hand washing practice of the mother. Providing acceptable, quality and honorable care for all children is very crucial to prevent child wasting and proper handwashing during breastfeeding and food handling is recommended and interventions aimed at improving maternal health and access to health care services for children are urgently needed.
- Subjects :
- Male
Parents
Maternal Health
Social Sciences
Pediatrics
Geographical Locations
Families
Risk Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Medicine and Health Sciences
Prevalence
Public and Occupational Health
Towns
Children
Multidisciplinary
Geography
Child Health
Vaccination and Immunization
Breast Feeding
Child, Preschool
Educational Status
Medicine
Female
Research Article
Hand Disinfection
Adult
Diarrhea
Science
Immunology
Human Geography
Urban Geography
Humans
Nutrition
Wasting Syndrome
Malnutrition
Biology and Life Sciences
Infant
Diet
Cross-Sectional Studies
Logistic Models
Food
Age Groups
People and Places
Africa
Earth Sciences
Women's Health
Population Groupings
Ethiopia
Preventive Medicine
Neonatology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 17
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLOS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....afb221d7bf536cc5f78d5d9206e505e4