Minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among 6-23 months old children enrolled in outpatient therapeutic program in the Tulla district, Sidama region, Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Improving the minimum acceptable diet (MAD) is essential for ensuring optimal growth and development of children, as well as preventing malnutrition and its consequences. Previous studies in Ethiopia have focused on the magnitude and determinants of a minimum acceptable diet. However, much emphasis was not given to minimum acceptable diet and its associated factors among 6-23 months old children enrolled in Outpatient therapeutic programs (OTP), particularly, in the study area. This study determines the minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among 6-23-month-old children enrolled in OTP.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 346 randomly selected mothers with children aged 6-23 months who were admitted to the OTP. The data were collected using interviewer-administered structured questionnaires. The data were entered, cleaned, coded into Epidata version 4.6, and exported to SPSS version 26 for further analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the determinants of MAD.

Results: The overall prevalence of minimum Acceptable diet among children aged 6-23 months enrolled to OTP was 14.5% (95% CI: 12.02-19%). The odds of MAD were 1.9 times higher among children aged 18-23 months compared to children aged 6-11 months (AOR = 1.9, 95% CI ((1.2 3.9). The odds of MAD were 2.9times higher in children whose mothers had a good knowledge on recommended feeding (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI (1.2, 6.35). Mothers who had no formal education were 81% less likely to provide minimum acceptable diets for their children compared to their counterpart.(AOR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.24, 4.19).

Conclusion: The practice of a minimum acceptable diet is inadequate. Nutrition education should be emphasized to improve the mothers' nutrition knowledge regarding infant and young child feeding recommendations, to support mothers in overcoming barriers to feeding their children with adequate diets, and to foster complementary feeding practices for malnourished children.