Abstract:
Background: Stunting describes children who are too short for their age. It remains a major public health issue in Ethiopia. There was no information regarding determinant factors contributing to stunting in Woliso district. Therefore, identifying determinants of stunting among 6–59-month-old children helps the health department prioritize appropriate interventions.
Objective: To identify the determinants of stunting in children aged 6-59 months in public health facilities of Woliso district, South West Shao Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, in 2022.
Methods A facility-based unmatched case-control study was conducted from October 1 2022 to November 30 2022 on sample of 302(101 case and 201 controls) children aged 6-59 months selected by systematic random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire primarily developed in English and translated into Afan Oromo was used to collect data. The data was entered using Epi-Info version 7.2.2.2 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Texts, tables, and percent were used to present categorical data. Bivariate binary logistic regression and multivariable binary logistic regression model were used to identify determinants of stunting. The variables with p-values of ≤ 0.25 in bivariate logistic regression were identified as candidate variable for fitting multivariable binary logistic regression model, the good fitness of model was checked using Hosmer-Lem show goodness-of-fit. Multicollinearity was checked by VIF. The final model was interpreted using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) at a P-value less than 0.05.
Result: Factors such as having two and more under five children in the household (AOR = 2.74 (1.42-5.26)), not being a member of community based health insurance (AOR = 3.68 (1.97-6.85), no antenatal care visit (AOR = 3.38 (1.49-7.62)), birth interval < 24 months (AOR = 3.47 (1.77-7.33), exposure to acute respiratory infection (AOR = 3.34 (1.67-6.66), mother not counseled on additional feeding during lactation (AOR = 2.77 (1.49-5.14), and absence of latrine (AOR = 2.41 (1.13-5.09)) were significantly associated with stunting.
Conclusion: Factors like the number of under-five children living in a household, the birth interval, enrollment in community-based health insurance, and the ANC visit of the mother, the mother's counseled on additional feeding while lactation, exposure to acute respiratory infections, and absence of latrine were significant determinants of stunting. A strategy to reduce child stunting should consider mother, child, and societal levels in the study area
