Prevalence of neonatal hypothermia and its associated factors in Ethiopia: A systemic review and meta-analysis

<ns3:p>Background Neonatal hypothermia is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and death in the world, especially in low-income countries like Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, despite many studies being conducted on neonatal hypothermia, the reported findings are inconsistent. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to assess the pooled prevalence and factors associated with neonatal hypothermia in Ethiopia. Objectives This study aims to assess the pooled prevalence and factors associated with neonatal hypothermia in Ethiopia. Methods An extensive systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to extract studies on the pooled prevalence of neonatal hypothermia in Ethiopia. The PubMed, Medline, Google, Google Scholar, CINAL, and EMBASE were systematically searched. Nine articles assessed the pooled prevalence of neonatal hypothermia and associated factors in Ethiopia were included. Articles selected and extracted using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and exported to Stata version 14 for analysis. I-squared was used to assess the heterogeneity of the included papers, while Egger’s regression test and the funnel plot were used to check publication bias. Results A total of nine primary articles that going well together the inclusion criteria with a total population of 4075 were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of neonatal hypothermia in Ethiopia was found to be 61.81% (95% CI: 57.21%, 66.41%). Neonates who had delayed initiation of breast feeding (Odds Ratio: 3.1; 95% CI: 2.37, 4.05), neonates who had no skin to skin contact (Odds Ratio: 4.4; 95% CI: 3.08, 6.27), neonates delivered at night time (Odds Ratio: 2.99; 95% CI: 1.90, 4.69), being low birth weight (Odds Ratio: 3.61; 95% CI: 2.35, 5.54) and neonates who had early bathing (Odds Ratio: 5.27; 95% CI: 2.73, 10.17) were factors significantly associated with hypothermia. Conclusion We found that the pooled prevalence of neonatal hypothermia was high. Thus, The concerned stakeholders should work to strengthen the neonatal care practice to include the possible significant factors of neonatal hypothermia.</ns3:p>