Acute respiratory infections among under-five children from households using biomass fuel in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections are a serious public health concern across the globe, they are, however, prominently present in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, different primary studies were conducted in regard to the link between household biomass fuel use and acute respiratory infections among under-five children. However, there is no national study on the association between household biomass fuel use and acute respiratory infections among under-five children. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence of acute respiratory infections and its predictors among under-five children in Ethiopia.The systematic review was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline. We systematically searched the databases: PubMed/Medline, Cochrane library, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched to access potentially relevant articles conducted in Ethiopia about acute respiratory infections among under five children. Stata/SE 14.00 statistical software was used for analysis and the pooled prevalence with 95% confidence interval (CI) were presented using tables and forest plots. To assess the heterogeneity among studies, I square (I2) tests were used. Publication bias was checked by Begg’s and Egger’s regression test. The random effects meta-analysis model was employed to estimate the pooled prevalence and predictors of under-five acute respiratory infectionsA total of 7 studies with 8,529 study participants were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of acute respiratory infection was 17.75% (95% CI: 16.95, 18.55). Child holding during cooking (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.48, 5.47) and using unclean sources of energy for cooking (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.70) were identified predictors of under-five children acute respiratory infection.In the current study, the pooled prevalence of acute respiratory infection among under-five children was relatively high. Child holding during cooking and using unclean sources of energy for cooking were significantly associated with under five acute respiratory infections. Therefore, the policies and regulations enacted should address the barriers that impede the development of clean and efficient energy sources.