Abstract

Background: Anemia among women of childbearing age is a major public health issue worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income nations. The most prevalent type of anemia in the world is nutritional anemia, which is caused by a lack of iron, folate and vitamin B12. Iron deficiency anemia is the most frequent cause of anemia, accounting for more than half of all cases. Investigating regional variations in iron supplementation among women is necessary for designing and assessing successful intervention strategies. As a result, from 2016 to 2019, this study aimed to investigate the regional variance in iron supplementation among Ethiopian women aged 15 to 49 who had a child in the previous five years.

Methods: The 2016 and 2019 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys were used. Researchers employed spatial autocorrelation analysis, hotspot analysis, spatial interpolation, and spatial scan statistics to identify geographical risk areas for iron supplementation coverage. Using ArcGIS V.10.3 and SaTScan V.10.0 statistical software, the spatial pattern and major hotspot areas for iron supplementation among women were explored.

Results: At the regional level in Ethiopia, iron supplementation coverage was regionally clustered. (Global Morans = -0.517864 (p = 0.033744)). In Ethiopia, the solely SaTScan spatial analysis showed seven significant clusters. The SaTScan cluster with the lowest iron supplementation coverage was shown to be the most likely cluster in Oromia (LLR = 164.51, p < 0.01) and Somalia (LLR = 12.01, p < 0.01). In 2016 and The SaTScan cluster with the lowest iron supplementation coverage was shown to be the most likely. in Somalia (LLR = 82.34, p < 0.01), Oromia (LLR = 14.10, p < 0.01).and SNNPRS (LLR4.81, p < 0.01) in 2019.

Three notable clusters were detected using the Space-Time SaTScan analysis.

The SaTScan cluster with the lowest iron supplementation coverage was shown to be the most likely. in Oromia (LLR = 162.13, p < 0.01) and SNNPRS (LLR 3.24, p < 0.01) during the period from 2016/6/27-2017/6/28.

Conclusion: Women in the Harar, Dire Dawa, Gambella, Somalia Oromia, and Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples Regions had a low likelihood of receiving iron supplements.

As a result, these locations should be considered when designing effective Antenatal care programs to increase iron supplementation among women in order to reduce the burden of anemia and its repercussions among pregnant women in Ethiopia.

Keywords: Iron Supplementation; Spatial Analysis

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