Magnitude Of Under Nutrition And Associated Factors Among Adolescent Street Children At Jimma Town, South West Ethiopia

Background: Undernutrition is the major health problem in developing countries especially among underprivileged populations. In Ethiopia there is no clear information regarding the magnitude and forms of undernutrition and their associated factors among adolescent street children. This study assessed the magnitude of undernutrition and its associated factors among adolescent street children at Jimma town from March 1-31, 2019.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 312 street children. Pretested self-administered structured questions were used for data collection. Data were entered to EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20 for statistical analysis. WHO AnthroPlus software version 1.0.4 was used for computing standardized indicators of nutritional status. Independent variables with P-value <= 0.25 in bivariate analysis were included in multivariable logistic regression and variables with P-value <0.05 in multivariable logistic regression were declared as statistically significant.Results: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 312 street children from March 1-31, 2019. The study found 29.2% (95%CI: 24-34.0) and 30.4% (95%CI: 24.6-35.3) magnitude of thinness and stunting respectively. Being female (AOR: 2.55; 95%CI: 1.16-5.63), Ever skipped one or more daily meal per day (AOR: 6.56; 95%CI: 2.25-19.15), low dietary diversity score (AOR: 1.86; 95%CI: 1.05-3.27) and using unprotected water source (AOR: 1.78; 95%CI: 1.03-3.05) were statistically significant factors for thinness whereas being in age group 15-18 (AOR: 5.78; 95%CI: 3.20-10.40) and ever used substance (AOR: 3.01; 95%CI: 1.17-7.77) were statistically significant factors for stunting.Conclusion: This study found that the magnitude of thinness and stunting was high among adolescent street children and a range of factors were observed that result in thinness and stunting. Service provisions targeting nutritional supply, personal and environmental sanitation should be given to these street children through intersectoral collaboration.