Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the determinants impacting diarrhea incidence among children
under five at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, Western Uganda. Through a cross-sectional
investigation, quantitative data was collected via self-administered and investigator-led
questionnaires utilizing digital tools such as Google Sheets for both online and offline data
collection. From a randomized sample of 323 caregivers selected through convenience
sampling, a diarrhea prevalence of 27.3% among children under five was observed at the time
of data collection as reported by caregivers. Among the children studied, 136 (43.7%) were
male, and 175 (56.3%) were female. The average age of the participants was 2 years with a
standard deviation of 1.25 years. The analysis revealed higher rates of diarrhea among
children aged 1 and 3 years, constituting 24 (28%) cases in each group, followed by 20 cases
(24%) in the 2-year-old group. Additionally, 12 (14%) cases were reported in children aged 6-
11 months, while only 5 (6%) cases were found in 4-year-olds out of the total 85 reported
cases of diarrhea. Regarding breastfeeding practices, 11 (3.7%) children were breastfed 1-3
times a day, 77 (26.1%) were breastfed 3-5 times, 150 (50.8%) were breastfed 5-7 times, 34
(11.5%) were breastfed 7-9 times, and 23 (7.8%) were breastfed more than 9 times a day. The
introduction of supplementary food varied with 25 (8.0%) initiated at 3-4 months, 80 (25.7%)
at 5-6 months, and the majority, 181 (58.2%), introduced to supplementary food after 6
months. The study highlighted maternal occupation influencing weaning practices; 152
(48.9%) of mothers who weaned their children at 2 years were self-employed, followed by 56
(18.0%) engaged in casual labor and 36 (11.6%) in civil service. Merely 6 (1.9%) civil servant
mothers, 47 (15.1%) self-employed, and 14 (4.5%) casual laborers practiced weaning at three
years of age. The elevated prevalence of diarrhea (27.3%) was associated with factors such as
health-seeking behavior, early introduction of supplementary foods, premature weaning, and
breastfeeding frequency. Notably, exclusive breastfeeding practices were scarce, with
mothers introducing other foods early and weaning their children prematurely.
Keywords: Diarrhoea, Children under five, Breastfeeding, Weaning, Supplementary foods.