Prevalence and risk factors of diarrhea among children less than five years of age in the rural suburbs of Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia; Robust Poisson Regression Analysis

BACKGROUND: Diarrhea is the second leading cause of under-five mortality in Ethiopia. Information on the prevalence and the impacting factors of diarrhea in the rural suburbs of Dire Dawa is inadequate. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at determining risk factors of diarrhea among children less than five years of age in the rural suburbs of Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 02 May 2018, to 31 May 2018. The required 1146 children for this study were selected from the rural suburbs of Dire Dawa using multi-stage sampling. Both bi-variable and multivariable Robust Poisson regressions were used for identifying the risk factors. Explanatory variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered as independently associated with diarrhea. RESULTS: The prevalence of diarrhea among the children was 23% (95% CI: 20.7 - 25.4). The type of house floor (aPR [adjusted prevalence ratio] = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.84 - 0.95) and sharing latrine with neighbours (aPR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.09 - 1.26) were the significant factors associated with childhood diarrhea. CONCLUSION: Earthen house floor and shared use of latrine were the risk factors associated with childhood diarrhea. Hence, improving the house floor condition and construction of private latrine together with health education are recommended.