STUNTING AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF EMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED MOTHERS: A COMPARATIVE COMMUNITY BASED CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

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