article · Frontiers in Pediatrics
Pneumonia is an acute lower respiratory infection and a principal cause of death in children under five worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. An institutional cross-sectional study of 239 child and caregiver pairs in southern Ethiopia examined the prevalence and drivers of childhood pneumonia. The findings revealed that thirty percent of the evaluated children had pneumonia, a figure considered relatively high compared to other regions in the country. Key determinant factors significantly linked to pneumonia included cooking food inside living areas, non-exclusive breastfeeding, child vaccination status, and vitamin A supplementation status. Cooking indoors and lacking essential preventative health interventions substantially heightened the odds of infection. Addressing these risks requires improved caregiver awareness of household conditions, early nutritional practices, and routine child immunisations to effectively lower the burden of childhood respiratory illness.
Pneumonia remains a leading cause of child mortality across sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for extensive preventable loss of life. Identifying local determinant factors, such as indoor cooking smoke and gaps in basic healthcare access, provides essential guidance for public health bodies and community health programmes. Addressing these clear, preventable risks can directly decrease illness rates and help improve overall child survival in vulnerable communities.
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Background Pneumonia, which is a form of acute lower respiratory tract infection, affects the lung parenchyma and destructs alveolar air space. Pneumonia is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in under-five children. It was estimated that pneumonia kills 900,000 under-five children each year worldwide. Approximately 172 deaths per 1,000 live births occur in sub-Saharan African countries, with pneumonia being the major cause. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and determinant factors of pneumonia inunder-five children in southern Ethiopia. Methodology An institutional cross-sectional study was employed. A total of 239 child–caregiver pairs were included. Data were collected by trained nurses using a semi-structured questionnaire. The collected data were checked for completeness, coded and entered into EPI data version 4.6, and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Results were reported as the mean, frequency, and percentile. Logistic regression was employed to assess statistically significant predictors of pneumonia. Variables with a p -value <0.05 were considered statistically significant factors of pneumonia. Result The prevalence of pneumonia in the study area was 30%. Among the factors assessed, place of food cooking—inside the living room [adjusted odd ratio (AOR) = 5.79, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.47–13.58], nonexclusive breastfeeding (AOR = 3.26, 95% CI: 1.42–7.52), vitamin A supplementation status (AOR = 5.62, 95% CI: 2.65–11.94), and vaccination status (AOR = 3.59, 95% CI: 1.49–8.66) were significantly associated with the occurrence of pneumonia in under-five children. Conclusion This study showed that the prevalence of pneumonia was relatively higher in Arba Minch town than other parts of the country. Place of food cooking, nonexclusive breastfeeding, vitamin A supplementation status, and vaccination status of children were significant factors of pneumonia among under-five children. Enhancing caregivers’/mothers’ awareness of predicted factors was needed to reduce the incidence of childhood pneumonia and to enhance children's quality of health.
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DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.1017386
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