Abstract
Background Childhood diarrhea remains a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Women empowerment reduces child mortality, and wife beating attitude is one of the indicators of women empowerment. There is a dearth of evidence about wife beating attitudes and childhood diarrhea in SSA. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the association between attitude towards wife beating and diarrhea among under-five children. Methods We used Demographic and Health Surveys from 25 countries in SSA that were conducted between 2010 and 2020. Using Stata version 14 software, we carried out the analysis on 153,864 children under five. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied, and the results were presented using adjusted odd ratios (aOR) at 95% confidence interval (CI). Results The pooled results show that 71.4% of married women disagreed with wife beating. About 20.5% of under-five children of married women had diarrhea. Childhood diarrhea varied from highest prevalence in Chad (27.9%) to the lowest prevalence in Sierra-Leone (8.5%). The study showed lower odds of diarrhea among children of married women who disagreed with wife beating (aOR = 0.66 95% CI; 0.54–0.80) compared to children of married women who agreed with wife beating. Moreover, the study results show that women's age (35–39 years-aOR = 0.48, 95% CI; 0.31–0.74, 40–44 years-aOR = 0.57, 95% CI; 0.35–0.93, 45–49 years-aOR = 0.35, 95% CI; 0.16–0.79) was negatively associated with childhood diarrhea, while husband's education (primary school-aOR = 1.36, 95% CI; 1.05–1.77), parity (ever born 3-4 children-aOR = 1.36, 95% CI; 1.09–1.70, and 5+ children-aOR = 1.56, 95% CI; 1.14–2.12), and religion (Muslim-aOR = 3.56, 95% CI; 1.44–8.83) were positively associated with diarrhea among under-five children. Conclusions The study shows association between women attitude towards wife beating and childhood diarrhea. Therefore, empowering women, especially young women by increasing awareness about domestic violence, their rights, and empowering them through education and economic advancement need to be considered in order to reduce childhood diarrhea. Moreover, fertility control or birth spacing and working closely with religious leaders are important factors to consider in reducing childhood diarrhea.
Highlights
Substantial progress has been made in reducing death among children under five [1, 2], from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.2 million in 2019 [1]
Childhood diarrhea varied from highest prevalence in Chad (27.9%) to the lowest prevalence in SierraLeone (8.5%). e study showed lower odds of diarrhea among children of married women who disagreed with wife beating compared to children of married women who agreed with wife beating
The study shows lower odds of diarrhea among under-five children of married women who disagreed with wife beating compared to under-five children of married women who agreed with wife beating. e study shows lower odds of diarrhea among under-five children of married women within the age groups of 35–39 years (0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI); 0.31–0.74), 40–44 years, and 45–49 years compared to under-five children of married women within the age groups of 15–19 years
Summary
Substantial progress has been made in reducing death among children under five [1, 2], from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.2 million in 2019 [1]. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Central and Southern Asia accounted for more than 80% of the 5.2 million under-five deaths in 2019, and jointly they account for 52% of the global under-five child mortality. Childhood diarrhea remains a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Women empowerment reduces child mortality, and wife beating attitude is one of the indicators of women empowerment. Ere is a dearth of evidence about wife beating attitudes and childhood diarrhea in SSA. Erefore, the present study aimed to examine the association between attitude towards wife beating and diarrhea among under-five children. E pooled results show that 71.4% of married women disagreed with wife beating. E study shows association between women attitude towards wife beating and childhood diarrhea. Fertility control or birth spacing and working closely with religious leaders are important factors to consider in reducing childhood diarrhea
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