Availability of adequately iodised salt at household level and its associated factors in Robe town, Bale Zone, South East Ethiopia: community-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Iodine is a micronutrient required by the body in small amounts to prevent iodine deficiency disorder (IDD), which is a global public health concern. There were no specific data at household level of adequately iodised salt in the study area. Thus this study aimed to assess availability of adequately iodised salt and its associated factors at household level in Bale-Robe, South East Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Robe town, Bale Zone, South East Ethiopia in April 2015. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires from a total of 367 households, which were identified through systematic random sampling. Salt iodine content was estimated using rapid testing kits at the household level. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the prevalence, and association between dependent and independent variables was computed by using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. A p-value of < 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: Of 374 samples, 370 respondents were interviewed yielding a response rate of 99%. One-third (32.7%) of the household levels used adequately iodised salt. Respondents' educational status, exposure to information on how to handle iodised salt and type of salt used by the respondents were independent factors for availability of adequately iodised salt at the household level. Salt that had been stored in a dry place was twice as likely to have an adequate iodine content compared with salt stored in a high-moisture area or near a fire (AOR = 2.13, CI = 1.19-3.72). Conclusion: Availability of adequately iodised salt at the household level was very low. Factors that were associated with household levels' access to adequately iodised salt included educational level, age of the respondents and place where salt is stored, and had an effect on whether households iodise salt adequately. Strategies to educate residents regarding the appropriate storage conditions to minimise iodine losses in iodised salt are required in Bale-Robe district of South East Ethiopia.

Spatial distribution and determinants of household iodized salt utilization in Ethiopia: a spatial and multilevel analysis of Ethiopian demographic and Health survey

“…Similarly, those households who were from high community education level had higher chance of iodized salt use compared with households from low community education level. This finding is similar with the finding of other studies in Ethiopia [ 24 , 26 – 28 ]. This could be due to participants who had education are more likely to be knowledgeable on the use of iodized salt than those who did not have education [ 26 , 36 – 38 ].…”

“…Several factors are known to affect iodized salt utilization. Most importantly, being female, married [19,20], having knowledge on IDD and iodized salt [19,[21][22][23][24][25], higher educational status [24,[26][27][28], and higher monthly income [26,27,29] are significantly associated with iodized salt utilization.…”

Impact of knowledge, attitude, and practice on iodized salt consumption at the household level in selected coastal regions of Bangladesh

“…In the case of regression analysis to know about the associated factors of knowledge, it was found that educational status and attitude score were significantly associated with knowledge score (p < 0.01). However, age was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), which was similar to a study conducted in southeast Ethiopia where researchers said that the knowledge of respondents reduced with low educational status determined by binary logistic regression [22]. In our study, the percentage of positive attitude was lower (16.2%) than the percentage of respondents being indifferent (41%) and having negative (42.8%) attitudes.…”

“…The majority (67.5%) of them stored salt for less than two-months; almost similar to Karmakar et al, where 76% of women stored salt for less than one month [19]. Nevertheless, dissimilar to Dida et al as in his study, almost all people (93%) preserved salt for less than sixty days [22].…”

Magnitude, Trends, and Determinants of Iodized Salt Availability among Households in Ethiopia: Analysis of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (2000–2016)

“…Other cross-sectional studies in different parts of Ethiopia have found such variables to be determinants for iodized salt availability in the household. 24,26,27 There have been regional differences in household iodized salt coverage in this study as well as previous studies. 28 From literature including recent analysis from EDHS, these geographical differences might arise from lack of access to messages regarding the use of iodized salt which may encompassed the lack of access to mass media, 29,30 another factor could be market availability of iodized salt.…”