Traditional Uvula Cutting and Associated Factors Among Under Two Children in Godere District, Majang Zone, Gambella Region South- West, Ethiopia, 2022

Abstract

Background: Traditional uvula cutting is some African Harmful traditional practice that is commonly implemented like in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. The practice's has a significant negative effect on child’s health .The scope of the problem and the reasons of the practice should have been verified in order to design effective preventive measures against it. Therefore this study was aimed to assess prevalence and factors associated with traditional uvula cutting among under- two years children in Godere district, Majang Zone, Gambella regional state. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study involving quantitative research was conducted from June 1 to 30, 2022 among a total of 664 randomly selected children less than 2 years old in Godere district. Data was collected by five trained data collectors by using interviewers administered pre-tested questionnaires. The collected data was checked for completeness, entered to Epi data version 4.1, exported to SPSS 26 version, coded and cleaned and then analyzed. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to select the candidate to evaluate the association of all independent variables with the dependent variable. AOR with 95% CI and p value < 0.05 95% CI were used to declare statistical significant association in the final model. Result: The prevalence of the uvula cutting in this study was 61.9% .Being rural residence AOR: 2.3 (1.2, 4.39), mothers no educational status, AOR: 3.622 (95% CI: 1.540-8.522), mothers information of Harmful traditional practice AOR: 2.098 (95% CI: 1.328-3.14), perceived uvula cause illness AOR: 0.135 (95% CI: .087-.209), number of antenatal care visits AOR: .277 (95% CI: .176-.436), antenatal counseling and AOR: .063 (95% CI: .017, .241) are significant factors. Conclusion & recommendation: With a prevalence of 61.9 p%, it was determined that uvula cutting was the most prevalent practice in the study area. The number of antenatal visits, antenatal counseling, perceived uvula causes illness, and information about harmful traditional practice all revealed a statistically significant association (P value less than 0.05) with the practice of uvula cutting on children under the age of two. The community should be educated on the prevention of harmful traditional practice; the elimination of this harmful practice should be a top priority for all concerned parties