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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1369872
This article is part of the Research Topic Gastrointestinal Tract Infections: A Global Perspective View all 5 articles

Spatio-temporal Distributions and Determinants of Diarrhea among under-five Children in Ethiopia

Provisionally accepted
Meskerem Tiku Meskerem Tiku 1Melkamu A. Zeru Melkamu A. Zeru 2*Denekew B. Bewlay Denekew B. Bewlay 2
  • 1 Injibara University, Injibara, Ethiopia
  • 2 Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate Ethiopia's childhood diarrhea disease spatio-temporal pattern and pinpoint its contributing factors.We conducted analyses on secondary data from four Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2000 and 2016. Moran's I was used to determine spatial dependence and spatial models were used to evaluate variables associated with diarrhea in under-five children at the zonal level.Results: Childhood diarrhea showed spatial clustering in Ethiopia (Moran's I; p < 0.05). The spatial regression model revealed significant factors at the zonal level: children born at home ( =1.355, 95% CI: 1.052-1.544, p < 0.001), low birth weight ( =1.18, 95% CI: 1.017-1.691, p < 0.05), and unimproved source water ( =0.8568, 95% CI: 0.671-1.086, p < 0.01).The prevalence of diarrhea among under-five children varied over time by zone, with the Assosa, Hundene, and Dire Diwa zones having the highest rates. Home births and low birth weight contributed to the prevalence of childhood diarrhea. In high-risk zones of Ethiopia, reducing childhood diarrhea requires integrated child health interventions and raising awareness about the potential hazards associated with unimproved water sources.

    Keywords: Childhood, Diarrhea, Spatio-temporal, Zones, Ethiopia EDHS, Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, WHO, World Health Organization, UNICEF, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, SNNP, Southern Nation and Nationality People, GNS, General Nested Spatial, SAC, Spatial Autocorrelation model, SDM, Spatial Durbin Model, SDEM, Spatial Durbin Error Model

    Received: 13 Jan 2024; Accepted: 15 Apr 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Tiku, Zeru and Bewlay. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Melkamu A. Zeru, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

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