Prevalence and factors associated with acute diarrheal disease among under- five children in Halaba Special District, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Diarrheal disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among under-five children worldwide. It is one of the top leading causes of under-five morbidity & mortality in Ethiopia. Identifying the determinants of a disease enables to design an effective intervention. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of acute diarrheal disease among under-five years of age in Halaba Special District Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in 2021. Five hundred thirty mothers/care givers with under-five children were selected by using systematic random sampling from selected kebeles in the district. Data were collected using structured and pre-tested questionnaires. Data were cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were done to assess factors affecting diarrhea.

Results: The mean ages of the respondents and the index children were 33.30(+6.26SD) years and 22.75 (+12.79SD) months, respectively. Prevalence of acute diarrheal disease over a period of two weeks preceding the study was 21.3%. Water source [AOR: 4.476, 95% CI (1.962, 10.210)], distance to water source [AOR: 2.252, 95% (1.139, 4.451)], feces seen outside the pit hole of latrines [AOR: 2.943, 95% (1.347, 6.429)], mothers/care givers who feed adult food to the children [AOR: 6.985,95 % (1.074, 45,433)] and bottle feeding [AOR: 8.269 ,95% (1.086, 62.975)] were significantly associated with acute diarrheal disease.

Conclusions and recommendations: Acute diarrhea is prevalent in children under five, linked to improper latrine use, unsafe drinking water sources, distance to water sources, and inadequate food and feeding practices. Recommendations to mitigate this include improving water sources, promoting proper latrine use, educating on appropriate food and feeding, and implementing health education programs on household hygiene, sanitation, and behavior.