Diarrhea and associated factors among under-5 children in Ethiopia: A secondary data analysis

Abstract

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.

Diarrhea and associated factors among under five children in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from demographic and health surveys of 34 sub-Saharan countries

“…Inadequate quantities and quality of drinking water and lack of sanitation facilities cause the death of millions of the world’s poorest people through diarrheal diseases each year [ 9 , 10 ]. Furthermore, studies revealed that age of child [ 11 – 15 ], maternal education [ 11 , 12 , 16 ], lack of awareness of mothers/caregivers [ 17 , 18 ], lower socio-economic status [ 12 ], distance and source of drinking water [ 11 , 19 , 20 ], latrine and hand washing facilities [ 21 , 22 ], breast feeding [ 21 , 23 ], place of residence [ 14 , 22 , 24 ], disposal of children’s stool [ 24 – 26 ], family size [ 17 , 27 ], number of under-five children in the household [ 13 , 18 ], maternal age [ 19 , 20 ] and maternal employment status [ 13 , 17 , 19 , 28 ] as the determinant factors of diarrhea among under-five children.…”

Relative burden of diarrheal cases in under-five children before and during COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: a retrospective study

“…A systemic review and meta-analysis study done with 31studies revealed that the pooled prevalence of diarrhea among under-ve children in Ethiopia was 22% (18). Many recent local studies also showed the prevalence of diarrhea in under-ve children ranging from 10.2% to 29.9% (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Diarrheal disease has contributed to 38.4% of deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases and 8% of the total death in Ethiopia (26).…”

Trends and determinants of diarrhea among under-five children in Gambia, evidence from 2013 – 2019/20 Gambian demographic and health survey; multilevel binary logistic regression and multivariate decomposition analysis

“…[10] The possibility reasons for diarrhea incidences different from place to place among children included the size of child at birth, type of toilet facility [11], quality of drinking water and lack of hygiene services reason the loss of millions of the world's poorest individuals through diarrheal illnesses each year [12,13]. Additionally, studies shows that age of child [14,15], maternal education [14,16,17], lack of awareness of mothers/caregivers [18,19], lower socio-economic status [16], distance and source of drinking water [14,20,21], latrine and hand washing facilities [22,23], breast feeding [22,24], place of residence [11,23,25], disposal of children's stool [25,26],…”