Magnitude and associated factors of pneumonia among under-five children visiting outpatient department of public hospitals in Jigjiga city, Somali region, Ethiopia in 2024

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pneumonia is a common and severe inflammatory condition affecting children under five years old, particularly in Southern Asia and Africa. In Ethiopia, approximately 3.37 million children under five contract pneumonia each year. Pneumonia is major health problem in Ethiopia, and studying it can help improve child health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the magnitude and associated factors of pneumonia among under-five children visiting outpatient departments of public hospitals in Jigjiga city, Ethiopia. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted at two public hospitals in Jigjiga city from March 15 to April 15, 2024, 2024. A systematic random sampling was implied to collect primary data from 341 under-five children visiting outpatient departments. The data was entered and cleaned using Epi data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Multivariable binary logistic regression models were employed to analyse the data. RESULT: The study revealed that the magnitude of pneumonia was 33.4% and the risk factors for under-five pneumonia were identified. Children carried on their mothers back during cooking (AOR: 4.32, 95%CI: 1.67-11.1), with history of house hold ARTI (AOR: 4.39, 95%CI: 1.49-12.6), partially vaccinated (AOR: 5.33, 95%CI: 1.09-26.07), unvaccinated (AOR: 7.18, 95%CI: 1.18-44.4), had diarrhea (AOR: 3.61, 95%CI: 1.8-9.44), being female (AOR: 2.6, 95%CI: 1.18-5.77) were significantly associate with under five pneumonias. CONCLUSION: This study found a very high number of young children with pneumonia. Children, who weren't fully vaccinated, were exposed to cooking smoke, household members with respiratory infections, had diarrhea, or were girls all had a much higher risk. This suggests that getting kids fully vaccinated and reducing indoor air pollution are key ways to bring down pneumonia rates.