Abstract:
Abstract
Introduction: Stunting refers to a child who is too short for his or her age, which is the
most common cause of morbidity and mortality in under five children of developing
countries. Studies showed employment status of mother was associated with stunting of
preschool children. However there is no comparative study in the study area. Therefore
this study aimed to assess the disparity of stunting of preschool children among employed
and unemployed mothers.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of stunting and associated factors among preschool
Children’s of employed and unemployed mothers in Gondar city, northwest Ethiopia, 2021
Methods: A community based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among
770 preschool children of employed and unemployed mothers in Gondar city from
February 30-March 30, 2021. Data were collected through a structured questioners-based
interview accompanied by height measurements. A multi-stage cluster sampling
technique was employed. Data were entered to EPI Info version 7.22 and transferred to
Stata version.14 for further analysis. The binary logistic regression analysis was
employed. To identify factors associated with stunting, the presence of an association
was declared based on p-value < 0.05 and confidence intervals. Likewise, adjusted odds
ratios with its respective 95% CI were used to interpret the strength of an association.
Results : A total of 770 preschool children with a respondent rate of 100 % were
participated in the study .The overall prevalence of stunting of preschool children were
39.7% with 95 % CI(36.3-43.2).The prevalence was higher among preschool children from
employed mothers 42.6% 95% CI (37.6-47.5) than unemployed mothers 36.88% 95 %
CI(32.04-41.72).Maternal age(15-24) [AOR:2.8, (95%CI: 1.26-6.34)] and wealth
status(medium) [AOR:0.32, (95%CI: 0.18-0.57)] were significantly associated with stunting
among unemployed mothers while family size(?7) [AOR:7.19 :95%CI:2.95-17.5)],
maternal age (15-24)[AOR:4.59,95 %CI(1.6-13.4), number of under five children(?2)
[AOR:1.92 (95%CI 1.12-3.29)], maternal sickness during pregnancy [AOR=1.8
(95%CI:1.4-3.15)] and Having care giver [AOR:0.126 (95%CI:0.06-0.26)], were associated
with stunting of preschool children among employed mothers.
Conclusion: Disparity of stunting exists among children of employed and unemployed
mothers in the current study .Interventions need to consider employed and unemployed
mothers separately. Mothers who are at work child care service should be facilitated.
Key words: stunting, preschool, employed, unemployed, Gondar city
