Factors associated with childhood underweight among orphaned preschool children: A community-based analytical cross-sectional study in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Childhood underweight is one of the major public health problems in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, most of the available evidence is related to the general community children, which had different risk and severity levels than orphan children. Even though under-five orphan children have a higher risk of being underweight, they are the most neglected population. Objective: The study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with childhood underweight among orphaned preschool children in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 367 orphans. The burden of childhood underweight was assessed using World Health Organization standard cutoff points below −2 SD using z-scores. All variables with a p-value of < 0.25 during binary logistic regression analysis were entered into a multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify predictor variables independently associated with underweight at a p-value of 0.05 with 95% CI. Results: In this study, the prevalence of underweight among orphan children was 27.4%. The main factors associated with underweight were female child (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 5.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.83–9.92)), adult food as type of first complementary food (aOR = 2.47; 95% CI (1.24–4.94)), food insecurity (aOR = 1.98; 95% CI (1.23–3.21)), and child age from 24–59 months (aOR = 7.19; 95% CI (3.81–13.60)). Conclusion: Childhood underweight is a public health problem in the study area. The sex of a child, type of first complementary food, household food security status, and child age were the major predictors of underweight. Therefore, appropriate dietary interventions, nutrition education, and increased food security status of orphan children are highly recommended.

Assessment of Physical and Mental Health of Children Living in Orphanages in Islamabad- A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…The presence of low BMI among orphans, especially among younger age groups, has also been observed among the orphans of Southern Ethiopia as well as those living in Odisha, India, where around 27% and 32% of the orphans were found to be underweight respectively. However, the study populations in the above-mentioned studies were much younger (6 months -5 years) in age as compared to those of the present study (7 -18 years) (22,23). Moreover, the prevalence of underweight among male orphans was higher as compared to female orphans.…”

Faktor-Faktor yang Berhubungan dengan Underweight pada Anak Usia 6-23 Bulan di Pagedangan Kabupaten Tangerang

“…Pemeriksaan kehamilan atau antenatal care dapat mencegah terjadinya underweight pada anak (Nigatu et al, 2018). Studi Tesfaye et al (2021) menunjukkan ketidaktahanan pangan dan pemberian makanan keluarga sebagai makanan pendamping ASI pertama kali diberikan kepada anak menjadi faktor penyebab underweight pada anak.…”

Perceived Worries and Spirituality: A Mixed Methods Study of the Primary Caregiver Well-Being of Orphan and Vulnerable Children in Ethiopia

“…These factors critically affected the population and contributed to high morbidity, mortality, and social disintegration. Millions of children in Ethiopia have widowed grandparents and relatives who live in distressed communities and struggle with physical, mental, economic, social, and psychological deficiencies [6,7].…”

“…Approximately 6% of the Ethiopian population is categorized as orphans and vulnerable children [6]. Similar to other Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, poverty and HIV/AIDS increasingly affect the well-being of rural households in Ethiopia [8,9].…”