Background
Globally, diarrhea is the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among <5years children and it contributes for the deaths of approximately one million children every year. In Ethiopia, diarrhea is the second cause of under-five mortality and morbidity. However, in the study area the study was very limited. Therefore, this study was assessed the prevalence of diarrhea and associated factors among <5years of age in Jamma district, Northeast Ethiopia.
Methods
A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from August 15 to September 15, 2017 in Jamma district, South Wello zone, northeast Ethiopia. Using systematic random sampling technique 614 households were selected and a pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with diarrheal disease. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) with the corresponding 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to show the strength of associations and variables with P-values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results
In this study, the prevalence of diarrhea among under-five children was 23.1% (95% CI: (19.4, 26.5)). Living in rural area (OR:2.75, 95% CI (1.33,5.66)), absence of latrine (OR:4.80, 95% CI (2.39,9.60)), absence of hand washing facility (OR:2.45, 95% CI (1.53,3.93)), unprotected drinking water source (OR:2.68, 95% CI(1.54,4.68)), Improper waste disposal practices (OR:3.86, 95% CI (2.38,6.26)), and source of drinking water, improper waste disposal, and child age were notably associated with childhood diarrheal disease. Therefore, encouraging hand washing practice and proper waste disposal in the district would minimize the burden of diarrheal disease.