Abstract:
Background: Short birth interval is defined as when women give birth within 33 months between two consecutive live births, which had an impact on the health of the mother, and the baby. Although evidence indicates, magnitude of short birth interval has been studied at various levels; analytical studies addressing its determinants are limited, particularly in study area.
Objective: To identify determinants of short birth interval among mothers in reproductive age groups living in Elu District, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2023.
Methods: Community-based unmatched case-control study was done among 408 mothers in reproductive age groups (204 cases and 204 controls) from April to May 2023. Systematic sampling technique was used to select study participants from sampling frame. Data were collected via face-to-face interview using structured questionnaire. Data was entered into Epi-info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Bivariate logistic regression was done and Binary logistic regression with P < 0.25 were added into multbinary logistic regression. Multcollinearity was tested using variance inflation factors and finally significance was declared at 95% confidence interval along with adjusted odd ratio and P-value < 0.05.
Results: In this study mothers who were learn grade 9-12 (AOR = 0.3; 95% CI : 0.1, 0.8), mothers who had 2000 3000 monthly income (AOR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.5),mothers who know the right time of birth interval (AOR = 0.14; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.2) and mothers who give birth at health facilities (AOR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3, 0.8) were identified as determinants of short birth interval.
Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed mothers who were learned, mothers who had 2000 3000 monthly income, mothers who give birth at health facilities and mothers who know the right time of birth interval were identified as determinants of short birth interval. The study's findings suggest the need for possible interventions on these variables at various levels
