Abstract
BackgroundIn Ethiopia, morbidity and mortality due to diarrhea is significantly high. Most importantly, burden of diarrhea is disproportionately high among under-five children. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with diarrhea among children younger than 5 years old in Bahir Dar city, Northwest, Ethiopia, 2016.MethodsThis community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among under-five years-old children from March 24 to April 12, 2016. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 498 households. Data were collected by using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify predictor variables. Factors with a p-value of < 0.05 were considered as independently associated with diarrhea.ResultsThe 2 weeks prevalence of diarrhea among under five children was 14.5%. Lack of hand washing facilities in the household (AOR = 3.910 (1.770, 8.634)), lack of separate feeding materials (AOR = 5.769 (1.591, 9.220)), poor hand washing practice (AOR = 6.104 (2.100, 17.738)) and not breastfeeding (AOR = 2.3 (1.023, 5.46)) were predictors of the concurrence of diarrhea.ConclusionsThe prevalence of diarrhea in the study area was slightly higher than the 2016, Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey finding which was 12%. Thus, improving handwashing facilities and practices, serving the food to the child with a separate materials and encourage optimal breastfeeding were recommended.
Highlights
In Ethiopia, morbidity and mortality due to diarrhea is significantly high
Diarrhea is thepassage of three or more watery or loose stools per day, and when the mother considered as increased stool frequency or liquidity [1]
Only 40% of people living in urban setting were accessing improved sanitations [3] and 72% of the people in Ethiopia were living without improved sanitation facilities [4]
Summary
In Ethiopia, morbidity and mortality due to diarrhea is significantly high. The acute diarrhea causes high loss of water and salts from a body which results in either severe dehydration and death within a short period of time or predisposes children to malnutrition and makes them more susceptible to other infections [2]. Diarrhea is the second most cause of mortality and morbidity of under-five childhood illnesses in sub-Saharans Africa countries. In these countries, only 40% of people living in urban setting were accessing improved sanitations [3] and 72% of the people in Ethiopia were living without improved sanitation facilities [4]
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