Prevalence of stunting and associated factors among under-five children in Robe Woreda, Arsi zone, Ethiopia

Objective

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of stunting and associated factors among children in Robe Woreda, Ethiopia.

Method

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among under-five children in Robe District from March, 22 – April 22, 2021. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 901 under five children for the study. Data were collected using a structured pretested questionnaire and anthropometric measurement tools. We used Emergency Nutrition Assessment (ENA) software for anthropometric calculation and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to determine factors associated with stunting. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95 % confidence interval (CI) was computed to assess the strength of the association and a P-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Result

The overall prevalence of stunting among under-five children was 39.4 %[95 %CI; 36.2, 42.6 %]. Factors such as having large family size (AOR=1.75; 95 %CI:1.12–2.73), lack of latrine facility (AOR=5.36; 95 %CI: 3.32–8.65), history of diarrhea in last two weeks (AOR=2.80;95 % CI:1.80–4.35), pre-lacteal feeding (AOR=10.22; 95 % CI: 4.80–21.74), lack of animal product in daily consumption (AOR=3.43; 95 % CI: 2.13–5.53), lack of fruit in daily consumption (AOR=5.51; 95 % CI: 2.75–11.05) and absence of growth monitoring and promotion (AOR=1.72; 95 %CI:1.08–2.73) were associated with stunting in under-five children.

Conclusions

In this study, around two-fifths of under-five children were stunted. Thus, healthcare providers and caregivers should work on strengthening family planning utilization, enhancing dietary diversity, and improving sanitation and hygiene services to reduce the level of stunting among under-five children.