DETERMINANTS OF PNEUMONIA AMONG UNDER FIVE CHILDREN AT HIWOT FANA SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL, EASTERN ETHIOPIA: UNMATCHED CASE CONTROL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia is a major public health issue around the world, and it is one of the top causes of morbidity and mortality for children under the age of five. Ethiopia is ranked 6th out of 15 countries with the highest burdens of death rate among under-five children due to pneumonia. Regardless of this fact, efforts to identify determinants of pneumonia have been limited yet in the study area. This study aimed to identify the determinants of pneumonia among under-five children at Hiwot Fana Specialized Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia. Objective: To identify the determinants of pneumonia among under-five children at Hiwot Fana Specialized Hospital, eastern Ethiopia, from October to November 2022. Methods: A hospital-based unmatched case-control study was conducted with a sample of 347 (115 cases and 232 controls) children at Hiwot Fana Specialized Hospital from October to November, 2022. Systematic random sampling techniques were employed and data were collected with a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire through a face-to-face interview. Data was entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 25 software. Descriptive statistics, such as; frequency, mean, percentage, and cross-tabulation were used to present data. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were fitted. Variables with 95% confidence interval having p-value < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: The result of this study identified, using only water for hand wash before child feeding [AOR: 3.11 (1.74-5.57)], non-exclusive breastfeeding [AOR: 2.76 (1.35-5.25)], not zinc supplementation [AOR: 2.46 (1.33-4.40)], diarrhea in the last 2 weeks [AOR: 4.69 (2.64-8.33)], and URTI in the last 2 weeks [AOR: 5.46 (3.21-10.92)] were found to be determinants of pneumonia. Conclusions: In this study, using only water for hand wash before child feeding, non-exclusive breastfeeding, not zinc supplementation of child, diarrhea and URTI in the last 2 weeks showed a significant association with pneumonia under five. These contributing risk factors for pneumonia are preventable with no or minimal cost. Therefore, we advise suitable and sufficient health education addressing the prevention and management of pneumonia.