Prevalence and associated factors for stunting among 6–12 years old school age children from rural community of Humbo district, Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Stunting is one of the most serious and challenging public health problems in Ethiopia, which constitute a significant obstacle to achieving better child health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with stunting among 6–12 years old children in Humbo district, Southern Ethiopia. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 633 children 6–12 years old living in Humbo district, Southern Ethiopia, from March to April, 2015. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select participants from households in eight Villages in the study area. Height was measured using standard methods and height for age Z-score was computed to assess stunting. EPI info version 3.5.4 was used for data entry, whereas Anthroplus software and SPSS version 20.0 were used for computation of height for age Z-scores and statistical analyses respectively. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine factors associated with stunting in the study sample, using 95% confidence limits (statistical significance set at p < 0.050). RESULTS: Prevalence of stunting was 57%, about, 3.5% were severely stunted, 27.3% moderately stunted and 26.4% mildly stunted, and the mean (SD) was − 1.1 (±1.2). About 7 (1.1%) boys and 15 (2.4%) girls were severely stunted. Age groups 10–12 years had significantly higher rate of stunting than others. Age (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.1–2.6), big family size (AOR = 4.6, 95% CI = 2.2–9.5) and field disposal of wastes (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.2–5.8) were factors significantly associated with stunting. CONCLUSION: This study exposed high rate of stunting among school age children. Stunting remains a noticeable attribute of rural school age children. Findings suggest the need to implement evidence-based school-aged rural children nutrition policy and strategies as well as need for intervention to improve domestic waste management system in the rural community.