Under-nutrition of 2–5 years old children and associated factor among employed and unemployed women: Comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Many child deaths result from undernutrition globally. More than half of total childhood deaths are attributed to mild and moderate undernutrition in low-income countries. This study intended to assess the undernutrition of pre-school children (2–5 years) and associated factors among employed and unemployed women in three town administrations in the Wolaita zone. Methods: Community-based comparative cross-sectional study design was conducted among randomly selected 317 employed and 317 unemployed women having pre-school children in Wolaita zone town from 22 May to 27 June 2019. Data collection was carried out using structured, pre-tested and interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were entered into EPI-data version 3.5.2 and exported to SPSS version 21.0 for further analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, proportions, and cross-tabulation were used to present the data. Also, bivariate logistic regression was done to assess the association between independent and dependent variables. Model fitness was checked by doing the Hosmer and Lemeshow test. Variables that shown association (p-value ≤ 0.25) in the bivariate analysis were included in the final multivariable logistic regression model. Odds ratios for logistic regression along with a 95% confidence interval were estimated. A table having crude and adjusted Odds ratio, as well as 95% confidence intervals, was constructed along with the corresponding p-value. A P-value of less than 0.05 was declared as the level of statistical significance. Result: The magnitude of stunting among children of employed and unemployed women was found to be 18.5% and 26.5%, respectively. Concerning the level of wasting among the study participants, 5(1.7%) and 8(2.6%) of children of the employed and unemployed mother were classified as wasting based on the result of the anthropometric measurement. Similarly, about 4.6% and 8.3% of pre-school children of employed and unemployed mothers were underweight, respectively. In general, the magnitude of stunting, wasting, and underweight is higher among pre-school of an unemployed mother when compared with employed mother. Conclusion and recommendation: The magnitude of stunting and wasting is lower among children of employed mothers compared with unemployed women. Educating and empowering women is one of the areas that needs great intervention by concerned stakeholders for better maternal and child nutritional status.