HYGIENIC PRACTICE DURING COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN AGED 6-24 MONTHS IN BORECHA WOREDA SOUTH WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Introduction: Complementary feeding is a critical time of transition in the life of infant and complementary foods should be hygienically prepared, stored and fed with clean hands, dishes and utensils to prevent diseases. However, Prevalence and risk factors of hygienic complementary feeding practice is not well addressed in Ethiopia especially in study area. Objective: To assess hygienic practices and associated factors during complementary feeding among mothers with children aged 6 to 24 months in Borecha Woreda, Buno Bedele Zone, South Western Ethiopia, 2022. Methods: Community based cross sectional study design with multi-stage sampling technique was employed. The study was conducted on 536 mothers with children aged 6-24 months in the Borecha Woreda from March 1stto April 1st, 2022. Data were collected using interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Data were coded, cleaned, edited and entered into Epi-Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 20.0 for further analysis. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted. Moreover, Crude (for bivariate) and adjusted (multivariable) odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals was computed to assess the association between independent factors and outcome variables. A pvalue < 0.05 was considered as level statically significance. Result: Among 536 respondents, 350 (65.3%) of study participants had poor hygienic practice during complementary feeding. The risk of poor practice among more than 30 years old were about two times [AOR: 1.8 (with 95% CI 1.11, 2.90)] higher than those of less than 25 years old women. Mother whose husband has primary or above education level has a reduction of 50% [AOR: 0.5 (with 95% CI 0.50 (0.31, 0.83)] in the odds of having a poor hygiene care practices during complementary feeding compared to counterpart. The odds of poor hygiene practice among mother with poor knowledge of hygienic care were 2.71 times [AOR: 2.71(95%CI; 1.60, 4.61)] higher than those knowledgeable. Conclusion: The prevalence of poor hygienic practice during complementary food preparation and handling of mothers in Borecha Woreda is high as compared to other studies. Therefore, improving hygiene practice of complementary food preparation requires the responsibility of policy makers, community and family