Prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors among children aged 6-59 months in rural model households in the Central Zone of Sidama regional state, Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study using robust Poisson regression analysis

Objective Undernutrition remains a public health challenge in Ethiopia, despite several nutrition programmes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among children aged 6 - 59 months in rural model households in the Central Zone of the Sidama regional state.

Design This study employed a community-based cross-sectional design between 4 July and 4 August 2024. Setting The study was conducted in selected woredas of the Central Zone of the Sidama regional state.

Participants A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 627 children aged 6 - 59 months in the model households. Model households, defined as those that attended at least 75% of the 96-hour training sessions and successfully implemented 75% of the Health Extension Program (HEP) packages, were awarded certificates.

Primary outcome The primary outcomes of this study were undernutrition, specifically stunting, underweight and wasting. Secondary outcome The secondary outcome focused on factors associated with stunting, underweight and wasting.

Bivariable and multivariable robust Poisson regression analyses were used to identify the associations between outcome and risk factors.