Abstract
Background: Diarrheal disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among under-five children worldwide. It is one of the top leading causes of under-five morbidity & mortality in Ethiopia. Knowing the determinants of a disease enables us to design an effective intervention. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of acute diarrheal disease among under-five years of age.Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was carried out. Five hundred thirty mothers/care takers with under-five children were selected by using systematic random sampling from selected kebeles in the district. Data were collected using structured and pre-tested questionnaires. Data was cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was done to assess factors affecting diarrhea. Results: A total of 530 households with under- five children were involved in the study. The mean ages of the respondents and the index children were 33.30(+6.26SD) years and 22.75 (+12.79SD) months, respectively. Prevalence of diarrheal disease over a period of two weeks preceding the study was 21.3%. Water source [AOR: 4.476, 95% CI (1.962, 10.210)], distance to water source [AOR: 2.252, 95% (1.139, 4.451)], feces seen outside the pit hole of latrines [AOR: 2.943, 95% (1.347, 6.429)], mothers/care takers who feed adult food to the children [AOR: 6.985,95 %( 1.074, 45,433)] and bottle feeding [AOR: 8.269 ,95%(1.086, 62.975)] were significantly associated variables on multivariate analyses.Conclusions and recommendations: The magnitude of diarrhea among under -five children was relatively high. Improper use of latrines, source of water of for drinking, times to water source, types of food and methods of feeding were the factors associated with acute childhood diarrheal. The authors of the study recommend availing improved water sources for the community. The community is also advised to use latrine appropriately and use appropriate food and method of feeding to reduce the risk of diarrheal. Health education program should be given to the hygiene sanitation and behavioral practice of the households