Factors associated with diarrheal morbidity among under-five children in Jigjiga town, Somali Regional State, eastern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of underfive diarrhea in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia is one of the highest in the country. This study attempted to examine the multiple factors associated with underfive diarrhea and how they might influence its prevalence in Jigjiga, Somali regional state, Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 15 to 28, 2015. Multistage sampling technique was used to collect data from 492 mothers via household survey. A pre-tested, structured questionnaire was used to collect data through face-to-face interview. Ethical clearance was obtained before data collection. Stepwise multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios.ResultsThe two weeks prevalence of under five diarrhea in Jigjiga town was 14.6%. Up on multivariable analysis, maternal educational level of primary school and above was found to be protective against childhood diarrhea [AOR: 0.227(0.100–0.517)] whereas, unavailability of water [AOR: 2.124(1.231–3.664)] and lack of hand washing facility [AOR: 1.846(1.013–3.362)] were associated with diarrhea.ConclusionPoor water supply, lack of hand washing facilities and lack of formal maternal education were associated with underfive diarrhea in the study area. Improved access to water supply along with environmental health intervention programs designed to promote good hygiene behavior could be of paramount importance to alleviate burden of childhood diarrhea.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-017-0934-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Risk factors for under-five mortality in Ethiopia: Evidence from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey

“…[10,[13][14][15] An unexpected finding was that the risk of U5CM decreased as family size of the household increased, meaning that children in a larger household had a better chance of surviving to see their fifth birthday. [9,12,[16][17][18] This is due to the fact that a mother who has had more than one child would have the experience to seek healthcare services to keep the child healthy.…”

Socio-demographic, environmental and behavioural risk factors of diarrhoea among under-five children in rural Ethiopia: further analysis of the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey

“…The independent variables included in the study were identified from literature conducted earlier and associated with the occurrence of diarrhoea among under-five children [4,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. These are the socio-demographic variables (current age of mother, sex of child, current age of child, child lives with whom, region, mother educational level, religion, birth order, work status of the mother, household wealth index, number of under-five children in the household, current marital status, current breastfeeding status and number of household members); environmental and behavioural variables (source of drinking water, type of toilet facility, if toilet facility is shared with other households, disposal of youngest child's stools when not using toilet and main floor material).…”

High common childhood illnesses while treatment seeking behavior of mothers’/care givers’ was low at rural northwest Ethiopia

“…Furthermore, our finding noted lower prevalence of childhood illnesses, particularly childhood diarrhea, compared to different studies conducted at different regions and districts in Ethiopia (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38). Sample size, year of study, and study setting were some of the factors for the differences in prevalence of childhood illnesses across literatures.…”