Pooled prevalence and associated factors of diarrhea among under-five years children in East Africa: A multilevel logistic regression analysis

Abstract

The pooled prevalence of diarrhea among under five years of children in East African countries is high. Maternal age, child's age, wealth status of the household, the timing of breast feeding initiation, sex of the child, community level of educational status, working status of the mother, and the number of under five children were factors that were associated with diarrheal diseases. Scaling up of maternal and child health services by government and other concerned bodies should consider those economically marginalized communities. Additionally, awareness should be created for those uneducated mothers concerning the nature of childhood diarrhea.