Abstract:
Introduction: - Underweight in women of reproductive age can not affect only women but it
is also responsible for the increment in the risk of the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.
This study aim to assess the Association between Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and the
underweight of women of reproductive ages in Arba Minch Demographic Health Surveillance
Site.
Methods: - A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Arba Minch Health
and Demographic Surveillance Site, South Ethiopia from April 17 –May 29/2022. By using a
simple random sampling technique 422 women of reproductive age were selected. Data were
collected by the use of pre-tested interviewer-administered structured questions. Bivarite
logistic analysis was used to determine the association between dependent and independent
variables. Variables that were significant in bivariate were selected for Multivariate analysis.
The level of statistical significance was set at a p-value of less than 0.05. The Adjusted Odds
Ratio (AOR) along with a 95% confidence interval was used to assess the strength of
association.
Results: This study found that 7.8% of women of reproductive age were underweight with a
body mass index <18.5 Kg/m2. Women living in those household with poor sanitary condition
were nine times (AOR=9.02, 95% CI: 3.77, 21.61) more likely to be underweight compared to
their counterparts. Reproductive age women living in a household with an unimproved main
source of drinking water were nearly four times (AOR=3.82, 95% CI: 1.79, 8.17) more likely
to become underweight compared to those from a household with an improved main source of
drinking water. This study also identified that after adjusting for the confounding factors,
women living in a household where only adult females fetch water were more than two-fold
times (AOR=2.50, 95% CI: 1.17, 5.37) more likely to be underweight compared to women
from a household where other family members fetch water in addition to adult females.
Conclusion;-The finding shows that the prevalence was 7.8% which is low compared with the
Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey 2016(22%). Sanitation conditions, the main source of
drinking water, and the responsibility to fetch water were some of the factors associated with Underweight in the study area.
