Abstract
Introduction. Breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants, and therefore food is needed. Microbiologically contaminated food is particularly harmful for children <2 years of age. There is scanty of information on hygienic practice and associated factors during complementary feeding among mothers of children aged 6 to 24 months in the country, particularly in the study setting. Objective. The study was aimed to assess hygienic practices and associated factors during complementary feeding among children aged 6 to 24 months in Bahir Dar Zuria District, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross sectional study was conducted from March 20 to April 20, 2019. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected using the structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with hygienic practice during complementary feeding. Data were entered by using Epi Data version 3.1, and then it was exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis, and at 95% CI, p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result. Among 604 respondents, 235 (38.9%) of study participants had good hygienic practice during complementary feeding. Access to media (AOR: 8.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8–20.3), private latrine ownership (AOR: 4.11, 95% CI: 1.90–8.49), presence of hand washing facility at doorstep (AOR: 6.75 95% CI: 3.16–14.41), and residence of the study participants (AOR: 85.42, 95% CI: 1.94–15.2) were significantly associated with good hygienic practice of mothers during complementary feeding. Conclusion. Majority of mothers had poor hygienic practice during complementary feeding. Attitude of mothers, access to media, household private latrine ownership, presence of handwashing facility, and residence of the study participants were significantly associated with hygiene practice of mothers during complementary feeding. The health sector should train mothers on good hygiene practices during complementary feeding.
Highlights
Breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants, and food is needed
Children are vulnerable to infections at the weaning period, and poor complementary food hygiene practice and subsequent diarrhea may contribute to stunting [7]
A community-based cross sectional study was conducted from March 20 to April 20, 2019, in Bahir Dar Zuria District, Northwest Ethiopia. e district is located at the distance of 564 km from the capital city Addis Ababa. ere are 36 kebeles with a total population of 200,000. e district has 9 health centers and 36 health posts
Summary
Complementary feeding is the process that starts when breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants and food is needed, along with breast milk. Poor food hygiene practice is one of the major contributors to childhood diarrhea up to 70% of diarrhea episodes in developing countries [3]. Children are vulnerable to infections at the weaning period, and poor complementary food hygiene practice and subsequent diarrhea may contribute to stunting [7]. Contamination of complementary foods is very common in developing countries due to contaminated water, poor personal hygiene, inadequate cleaning of eating utensils and inappropriate storage of foods after preparation [8], inadequate knowledge of safe food handling, poor environmental sanitation, and inadequate social amenities such as toilets, kitchen, and poor sewage systems [9]. Erefore, the present study was aimed to assess the hygiene practice and associated factors during complementary feeding among mothers of children aged 6–24 months in Bahir Dar Zuria District, Northwest Ethiopia
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