The Association Between Diarrheal Morbidity and ODF Status Among Under Five Children in Southeast, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Diarrheal disease remains one of the leading killers of children around the world. Most cases of diarrhea spread in settings with poor hygiene and lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation. In Ethiopia, diarrheal disease is more common and kills almost fifteen thousand under-five children in year 2016. Therefore, this study determined diarrheal morbidity among under five children and its association with open defecation free status.Methods: A community-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 732 households that had at least one under-five children. Multistage sampling technique was used to select households. Informed verbal consent was obtained from study participant. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with diarrheal morbidity among under five children. Odd ratios with 95% confidence interval were reported and p-value of <0.05 was considered as statistical significance. Results: A total of 709 mothers or caregivers of under-five children were interviewed making the response rate 97%. The past two-week diarrhea morbidity in the study area was 20.2%. Multivariable analysis showed that unsanitary disposal of children`s feces (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]= 2.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.66, 4.30), exclusive breast feeding (AOR=0.43 [0.26, 0.71), mother not attend formal education (AOR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.18, 3.15) and child age (AOR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.04. 3.57) were significantly associated with diarrheal disease. Conversely, there is no association between open defecation free status and childhood diarrhea among under-five children (AOR=0.89, 95% CI: 0.55, 1.44).Conclusions: The prevalence of diarrhea was slightly higher among children from non-open defecation free households when compared to children living in open defecation free households. However, open defecation free status was not significantly associated with diarrhea morbidity during multivariable logistic analysis.