Magnitude of stunting and its determinants in children aged 6-59 months among rural residents of Damot Gale district; southern Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is assessing magnitude of stunting and its predictors among children aged 6-59 months in Damot Gale district, South Ethiopia. Community based cross sectional study was done at Damot Gale district. About 398 children aged 6-59 months were included in the study. Kebele (small administrative unit) and household were chosen by two-phase cluster sample design. Structured questionnaire was used to gather the data. Anthropometric measurement was also used to get the data. SPSS version 20 was used to analysis the data. RESULTS: About 41.7% of children were stunted. Children aged 36-47 months [AOR 6.22; 95% CI (1.81-21.36)], and 48-59 months [AOR 7.27; 95% CI (1.22-43.19)], sex of the child [AOR 20.79; 95% CI (7.50-57.65)], birth order [AOR 6.42; 95% CI (1.68-24.48)], mother education [AOR 0.06; 95% CI (0.02-0.14)], having toilet facility [AOR 0.059; 95% CI (0.02-0.18)], washing hand by soap [AOR 16.21; 95% CI (5.11-51.4)] and ANC [AOR 0.045; 95% CI (0.01-0.13)] were associated with stunting.

Prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors in children aged 6-59 months among rural dwellers of damot gale district, south Ethiopia: community based cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition remains one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among children throughout the world. This study aimed to assess prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among children aged 6-59 months in Damot Gale, South Ethiopia. METHODS: A community based cross sectional study was conducted on 398 children aged 6-59 months in the Damot Gale district. A two-stage cluster sample design was used to select kebele and households. Anthropometric measurements and structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was done by using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: The results of this study indicated that 27.6% of children were under-weight and 9% were wasted. Being male (AOR: 1.90; 95% CI: (1.10-3.32), children with shorter birth interval (AOR:2.89;95% CI: (1.23-6.80), children who had sickness some times for past 2 weeks (AOR:0.42; 95% CI:(0.10-0.93) and children whose mothers attended ANC (AOR:0.29; 95% CI: (0.16-0.52) were associated with underweight. Children whose mother's main occupation was non-farm (AOR: 7.06;95% CI: (1.31-38.21), presence of diarrhea (AOR:39.5, 95% CI: (13.68-114.30), and children whose mothers attended ANC (AOR:0.18,95% CI: (0 .18 (0.07-0.45) were associated with wasting. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of malnutrition in the study area was high. Health extension workers and stakeholders should give due concern on promotion of proper nutrition in the community.