Determinants Of Neonatal Hypothermia Among Newborn Admitted To Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Of West Shoa Zone Public Hospitals, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background; Neonatal hypothermia is an abnormal thermal state in which the body temperature of newborn is below 36.5oC. It is a global problem and an important contributing factor to neonatal morbidity and mortality especially in low- and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. Objective: To identify determinants of neonatal hypothermia among newborn admitted to Neonatal intensive care unit of public hospitals located in West Shoa Zone, 2021. Methods: Hospital-based unmatched case-control study design was done among 300 study participants from August 1-September 30, 2021. All cases were consecutively included and purposefully two consecutive controls which follow cases were selected. Mother related data were collected from the mothers and newborn related data were filled from the chart of the patient by data collectors with a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire and checklist respectively. Data entry was done by Epi-data 4.6, and analyzed using SPSS version 25 software. Bi-variable and multi-variable logistic regression analyses were done. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) was estimated and statistical significance was made at 95% CI and p-value <0.05. Results: In this study 300 mothers and newborns cards (100 for cases and 200 for controls) were selected giving 98.7% response rate. The mean birth weights for cases were 2.5 kg (SD=+0.76) and 3.3 kg (SD=+2.49) for controls. Low birth weight (AOR= 3.35,95%CI:1.75-6.41), delayed initiation of breast feeding (AOR= 2.76, 95%CI:1.09-6.95), lack of skin-to-skin contact (AOR= 3.27, 95%CI: 1.3- 8.1), absence of warm transportation (AOR= 3.52, 95%CI= 1.82-6.95), wet linen utilization (AOR= 2.73, 95%CI:1.49- 4.98) and cesarean section delivery (AOR= 2.02, 95%CI:1.05- 3.90) were determinants of the neonatal hypothermia. Conclusion and recommendation: Low birth weight, delayed initiation of breast feeding, lack of skin-to-skin contact, absence of warm transportation, wet linen utilization and cesarean section delivery were identified as independent determinants of neonatal hypothermia in this study. The hospitals and health workers are then recommended to focus on preventive mechanism. Further research is recommended on institutional factors