Prevalence and risk factors of child morbidity with spatial analysis among under five children in Bangladesh

Child morbidity has been, and still is, an enormous public health concern everywhere around the world and a major cause of child mortality in low- and middle-income countries like Bangladesh. Even if some improvements are seen with child health indicators in Bangladesh recently, the burden of child morbidity, on the other hand, remains high. This study investigated the prevalence, spatial distribution, and risk factors of child morbidity in Bangladesh utilizing data from the 2022 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Spatial analyses were carried out using Moran’s I and Getis-Ord Gi* statistics, which identified hot spots of child morbidity in Rangpur, Khulna, Barisal, and Chattogram divisions. Multilevel logistic regression analysis indicated that children aged 24–59 months (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.57–0.88), children currently being breastfed (aOR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.68–0.99), children from the richest households (aOR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.56–0.97), and those living in rural areas (aOR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.65–0.95) were all significantly less likely to experience morbidity. The high level of overall prevalence (33.6%) suggests a geographically targeted intervention is required as a matter of urgency, particularly in the hot spot divisions (Rangpur, Khulna, Barisal and Chattogram). These spatial results have programmatically clear implications: to enhance the prioritization of child health resources and preventive care (like addressing integrated management of childhood illness as well WASH-related interventions) at hotspots and strengthen geographically targeted monitoring to inform sub-national level planning. Understanding spatial patterns and risk factors of the morbidity will help policymakers to develop more focused interventions to decrease under-five mortality and improve child health outcomes in Bangladesh.