Abstract:
Acute respiratory infections are a serious public health concern across the globe, they are, however, prominently present in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, different primary studies were conducted in regard to the link between household biomass fuel use and acute respiratory infections among under-five children. However, there is no national study
on the association between household biomass fuel use and acute respiratory is infections among under-five children.
Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence of acute respiratory infections and their predictors among under-five children in Ethiopia.
The systematic review was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalysis (PRISMA) guideline. We systematically searched the databases: PubMed/Medline, Cochrane library, Google
Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched to access potentially relevant articles conducted in Ethiopia about
acute respiratory infections among under five children. Stata/SE 14.00 statistical software was used for analysis and
the pooled prevalence with 95% confidence interval (CI) were presented using tables and forest plots. To assess the
heterogeneity among studies, I square (I2) tests were used. Publication bias was checked by Begg’s and Egger’s regression test. The random effects meta-analysis model was employed to estimate the pooled prevalence and predictors of
under-five acute respiratory infections
A total of 7 studies with 8,529 study participants were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of acute
respiratory infection among under five children was 17.75% (95% CI: 16.95, 18.55). Child holding during cooking
(OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.48, 5.47) and using unclean sources of energy for cooking (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.70) were
identified predictors of under-five children acute respiratory infection.
In the current study, the pooled prevalence of acute respiratory infection among under-five children was relatively
high. Child holding during cooking and using unclean sources of energy for cooking were significantly associated with
under-five acute respiratory infections. Therefore, the policies and regulations enacted should address the barriers that
impede the development of clean and efficient energy sources.
Key words: Acute respiratory infection; biomass fuel; meta-analysis; systematic review; under five children; Ethiopia.
