Abstract:
Acute respiratory infection is an infectious illness caused by acute
viral or bacterial infection. According to a 2018 WHO report, exposures to indoor
and ambient air environmental pollution were contributing factors to a higher
risk of respiratory problems following 7 million deaths of children under five
globally. Housing conditions such as wall material, roof type, kitchen location,
sanitation condition, and cooking fuel type are household-level predictors of
acute respiratory disease among children under five years of age.
Method: This research used EDHS-2016 secondary data, which are nationally
representative. The data collection period was from January 18, 2016, to June
27, 2016. Among the 16,650 total surveys, 10,006 households that had children
below 5 years of age. The outcome variable for this study was acute respiratory
infection symptoms. Analyses were performed using STATA Version 17.1. The data
were weighted before performing analysis to reinstate the representativeness
of the sample. In the bivariable analysis, a p value <0.2 was used to screen for
multivariable. Multicollinearity was checked using the variance inflation factor.
Then, a multilevel multivariable regression model was used in this study for
the analysis of acute respiratory infection symptoms and possible predictor
variables. Variables with a p value <0.05 in multivariable regression analysis were
considered statistically significant predictors.
Results: Most (95.00%) households commonly used solid fuel for cooking, and
household main construction materials: 81.44 and 91.03% of floors and walls of
households were constructed with unprocessed natural materials, respectively.
The prevalence of acute respiratory infection symptoms among children under
five years of age was 7.955% (7.397, 8.551%). The findings indicated that acute
respiratory infection symptoms among children under five years of age were
significantly linked with the age of the children, diarrhea status, residence,
region, fuel type, stool disposal, wall material, and floor material.
Conclusion: Interventions should target modifiable factors such as proper stool
disposal of the youngest child, informing the health effects of poor housing
conditions such as improving wall and floor construction material to reduce
acute respiratory infection symptoms among children under five
