AUTHOR=Tiku Meskerem , Zeru Melkamu A. , Belay Denekew Bitew 

TITLE=Spatio-temporal distributions and determinants of diarrhea among under-five children in Ethiopia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1369872

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1369872

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Objective</title><p>The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spatio-temporal pattern of Ethiopia’s childhood diarrheal disease and identify its contributing factors.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>We conducted analyses on secondary data from four Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2000 and 2016. Moran’s I was used to determine spatial dependence and spatial models were used to evaluate variables associated with diarrhea in under-five children at the zonal level.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Childhood diarrhea showed spatial clustering in Ethiopia (Moran’s I; <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). The spatial regression model revealed significant factors at the zonal level: children born at home (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mi>e</mml:mi><mml:mi>θ</mml:mi></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula> = 1.355, 95% CI: 1.052–1.544, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), low birth weight (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mi>e</mml:mi><mml:mi>θ</mml:mi></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula> = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.017–1.691, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05), and unimproved source of water (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mi>e</mml:mi><mml:mi>θ</mml:mi></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula> = 0.8568, 95% CI: 0.671–1.086, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01).</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>The prevalence of diarrhea among under-five children varied over time by zone, with the Assosa, Hundene, and Dire Diwa zones having the highest rates. Home births and low birth weight contributed to the prevalence of childhood diarrhea. In high-risk zones of Ethiopia, reducing childhood diarrhea requires integrated child health interventions and raising awareness about the potential hazards associated with unimproved water sources.</p></sec>