ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1518427
Acute Respiratory Infections and its associated risk factors among children aged 6-59 months in Ghana: A multinomial regression analysis of the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey
Provisionally accepted
- 1Centre for Malaria Research, Institute of Health Research, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
- 2Department of Adult Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Central Region, Ghana
- 3Kotobabi Number two Junior High School, Ghana Education Service, Tema, Ghana
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Background: Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) remain a critical health concern, particularly among children aged 6-59 months, where they are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Globally, ARIs significantly contribute to child mortality, accounting for nearly 15% of all deaths in children under five years of age. Objective: To assess the risk factors associated with ARI severity among children aged 6-59 months in Ghana. Research design: This study utilized data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), focusing on a weighted sample of 541 children aged 6-59 months who exhibited symptoms of ARI. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine maternal, household, and child-related predictors of ARI. A significant p-value was set at 0.05. Results: The prevalence of ARI was 17.1% for chest problems only, 66.1% for nose breathing difficulties, and 16.8% for both nose and chest problems. Key predictors of ARI included coastal zone residency (aOR=7.89; CI: 2.26-27.60), maternal illiteracy (aOR=0.34; CI: 0.12-0.93), maternal ethnicity (Akan: aOR=0.12; CI: 0.02-0.85), and age of household head (20-29 years: aOR=59.08; CI: 3.04-1150.14). Boys were more likely than girls to experience both nose and chest problems (aOR=3.44; CI: 1.61-7.34), and younger children, particularly those under 12 months, were at higher risk of ARI (aOR=21.04; CI: 3.34-132.64). Children who were not breastfeeding (aOR=2.62; CI:1.15-5.94) and had not suffer from diarrhoea (aOR=2.28; CI:1.19-4.38) were more at risk of ARI. Conclusion: The findings highlight the significant role of maternal education, household sanitation, and child-specific factors in influencing ARI risk among children in Ghana. Efforts to improve maternal education, enhance sanitation facilities, and implement targeted interventions for high-risk children are critical to reducing the burden of ARI in Ghana.
Keywords: acute respiratory infections, Child Health, Maternal factors, household predictors, Ghana
Received: 28 Oct 2024; Accepted: 26 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Klu, Alhassan and Dansu. 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: Desmond Klu, Centre for Malaria Research, Institute of Health Research, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
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