Undernutrition and associated factors among children aged 6-59 months in East Belesa District, northwest Ethiopia: a community based cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Undernutrition remains the major public health concern in Ethiopia and continues as the underlying cause of child mortality. However, there is a scarcity of information on the magnitude and determinant factors of undernutrition. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors among children aged 6–59 months in East Belesa District, northwest Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May, 2014. A multistage stratified sampling technique was used to select 633 study participants. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. In order to identify factors associated with undernutrition (stunting and wasting) a multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed. The Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95 % Confidence Interval (CI) was computed to show the strength of the association. In the multivariate analysis, variables with a p-value of