Risk factors associated with severe malaria in children under five years of age at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda.

Malaria is among the world's most common and life-threatening tropical diseases. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted through the female Anopheles mosquito's bite, which occurs mainly between dusk and dawn. Children are mostly affected because their immune systems are not yet fully developed to fight severe forms of disease. This study determined risk factors associated with severe malaria in children under five years in the Jinja regional referral hospital in Jinja City, Eastern Uganda. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 participants to determine factors associated with severe malaria among children under five years. After completing data collection, the data was subsequently fed into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 for analysis. In a tabular form, each independent variable was analyzed in a univariate form; the independent variables were compared with the dependent variable in a bivariate form, then subsequently multivariate, and this served as the basis for drawing conclusions in this study. Among the 380 participants in the study, the majority (57.6%) were above 3 years old, had household heads aged 26–40 years old (56.6%), and were male (65.3%). This study found that among the socio-demographic factors, age of the child, education level of the caregiver, and marital status of the caregiver were significantly associated with severe malaria among children under five years. Further, type of toilet facility used at home, size of household, having a treated mosquito net and using it, and number of children under five years in the household were significantly associated with severe malaria among children under five years. This study further established an association between distance to the health facility, waiting hours, getting all medication while at the facility, and severe malaria among children under five years. Severe malaria among children under five years old is still a big public health challenge. Factors associated with severe malaria among children under five years include age of the child, education level of caregiver, marital status of caregiver, type of toilet facility used at home, size of household, owning a treated mosquito net, number of children under five, distance to the health facility, waiting hours, and getting all medication while at the health facility. Keywords: Risk, severe malaria, children, Jinja, regional, referral hospital, Uganda