Elimination Disorders and Associated Factors among Children and Adolescents Age 5–14 Year-old attending Pediatric Outpatient Clinic at Wolaita Sodo University Comprehensive Specialized hospital, South Ethiopia

Abstract Background : Elimination disorder occurs when a child aged five and above passes urine or, aged four and above, defecates feces in inappropriate locations, whether voluntary or involuntary. Pediatric elimination disorders are not well understood by parents, teachers, medical professionals, mental health practitioners, and researchers. Hence, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of elimination disorder and associated factors among children and Adolescents aged 5–14 years old at Wolaita Sodo University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, South Ethiopia, in 2022. Method: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 22 to November 22, 2022, at Wolaita Sodo University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 423 study subjects. The data were gathered using a structured, face-to-face interviewer-administered questionnaire. The development of the symptom score for dysfunctional elimination syndrome of Vancouver questionnaires was used to screen for elimination disorders. Logistic regression model was used to determine the association between the outcome and independent variables. A 95% CI and Odds ratio with corresponding p-value < 0.05 were used to determine the strength of association. Result: The overall magnitude of elimination disorder among children and Adolescents age 5–14 in this study was (n 70, 16.8%); in boys (n 47, 17.3%) and girls (n 23, 15.75%). The prevalence of enuresis was (n 64, 15.3%), encopresis (n 15, 3.6%), both enuresis and encopresis, or combined elimination disorder (n 9, 2.2%). Age 9–11 years (AOR=3.2, 95%CI:1.09, 9.43), family size (AOR=3.4, 95%CI:1.78, 6.56), family history of elimination disorder (AOR=3.9, 95%CI:2.12, 7.45), emotional problem (AOR=2.2, 95%CI:1.18, 4.05), hyperactive problem (AOR=3.8, 95%CI:1.83, 7.83), low toilet training skills (AOR=5.9, 95%CI:2.61, 13.33), bad parenting practices, were poor supervision (AOR=4.4, 95%CI:1.29, 14.69) were significantly associated with elimination disorder. Conclusion and Recommendation: In this study, approximately one in five children and adolescents had an elimination disorder. Younger age, large family size, positive family history of elimination disorder, presence of emotional and hyperactive problems, bad parenting practices, and low toilet training skills were factors associated with elimination disorders. Therefore, a holistic approach to early detection and management is important to reverse the impact of the problem.