Ntabaare, Kwehangana Rubahika2026-02-122026-02-122025-08-30Ntabaare Kwehangana Rubahika. (2025). Prevalence and factors associated with stunting and wasting among children aged 6–59 months in Rubanda District (Unpublished undergraduate dissertation). Kabale University.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/3063Background: Undernutrition continues to be an underlying cause of under-five morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Rubanda District accounted for most cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) seen at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital (KRRH). We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with stunting and wasting among children 6 - 59 months in the district. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design and multistage cluster sampling, we selected 750 caregiver-child pairs on whom anthropometry was done and Z-scores determined. We subjected the caregivers to an interviewer administered questionnaire. Data analysis was done in STATA (version 17). Modified Poisson regression was used for bivariable and multivariable analysis for factors associated with stunting and logistic regression was used for wasting. Results: The prevalence of stunting was 52.27% (95% CI 48.62 - 55.89) while that of wasting was 5.47% (95% CI 3.95 - 7.34). Factors independently associated with stunting were: Age 24 - 35 months (AOR=1.27, 95% CI: 1.08 - 1.49, p = 0.004), male sex (AOR=1.15, 95% CI: 1.01 - 1.31, p = 0.032), being delivered from a private health facility (AOR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.58 - 0.94, p = 0.015), and high wealth index (AOR=0.84, 95% CI: 0.72 - 0.99, p = 0.038). Factors independently associated with wasting were: Age 36 - 59 months (AOR=0.26, 95% CI: 0.09 - 0.69, p = 0.007), long distance (> 5Km) to the health facility (AOR=4.16, 95% CI: 1.97 - 8.78, p = 0.001), and recent fever (AOR=2.96, 95% CI: 1.42 - 6.11, p = 0.004). Conclusion: We documented a very high prevalence of stunting and a medium prevalence of wasting in Rubanda District, Southwestern Uganda. Age 24 - 35 months and being male were predictors of stunting, while being delivered in a private health facility and high wealth index household were protective factors. Long distance to the health facility and recent fever were predictors of wasting, while the age group 36 - 59 months was protective.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United Stateshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Stuntingwastingmalnutritionundernutritionchild nutritionprevalencepublic healthgrowth falteringnutritional statusThesis