DETERMINANTS OF ACUTE MALNUTRITION AMONG CHILDREN AGED 6–59 MONTHS IN WONDO GENET WOREDA, SIDAMA, ETHIOPIA: UNMATCHED CASE CONTROL STUDY.

ABSTRACT Background: Acute malnutrition is public health problem in developing countries. It is caused by deficiencies or imbalances in energy, protein and/or other nutrients. However, there is a study gap in the study area to identify the associated factors of the acute malnutrition related to the socio demographic, environmental and health services, and the child feeding practices. Therefore, identifying its determinant factors is important to intervene in the study area. Objective: To assess the determinants of acute malnutrition among children aged 6–59 months in Wondo Genet district, Sidama, Ethiopia 2022. Method: A community-based unmatched case control study was conducted among under-five children from May, 1st to June 30, 2022. The sample was drawn in proportion to 384 people, from randomly selected 8 kebeles based on the WHO 2006 reference population median. Data were collected from a mother/caregiver of the child by using a structured pre-tested questionnaire by trained data collectors. The anthropometric data was analyzed by the WHO Anthro 2010 software to generate Z-score values. Data was entered and cleaned into STATA V.15. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression models were analyzed. A multivariable logistic regression to indicate the association with acute-malnutrition in adjusted odds ratio (AOR). Statistical significance is declared at a p-value of ≤ 0.05. Results: This study included the 181 in the control group and 181 in the cases with response rate of the 94.3%. A child born from a poor household [(AOR = 3.265; 95% CI: 1.828, 5.829)], having more than five family members [(AOR = 1.947; 95% CI: 1.220, 3.108)], and being headed only by the husband [(AOR = 2.059; 95% CI: 1.202, 3.527)] were all associated with under-five child acute malnutrition. In addition to this, a child sick in the last two weeks [(AOR= 1.713; 95% CI: 1.015, 2.891)], having no critical time hand washing practice [(AOR= 1.939; 95% CI: 1.135, 3.312)], and inadequate dietary diversity [(AOR = 3.401; 95% CI: 1.398, 8.273)] were major determinants of the under-five children's acute malnutrition in the study area as compared with their counter parts. Conclusions: Being poor, having more than five family members, husband dominance, and child illness all contributed to under-five malnutrition. This may necessitate intervention in areas such as hand washing and insufficient dietary intake. As a result, health officials and stakeholders must work together to reduce risk factors for a child's health and future.