Availability of Adequately Iodized Salt and Associated Factors in Gambela Town, South West Ethiopia

AbstractBackgroundUniversal salt iodization has been extremely effective at reducing the burden of iodine deficiency disorders. Iodized salt coverage of the households in Ethiopia is below the international goal. There was limited study on availability of adequately iodized salt at household level and associated factors in Gambela town.<br>ObjectiveTo assess availability of adequately iodized salt at household level and associated factors in Gambela town, South West Ethiopia, 2019.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gambela town in April 2019. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires from a total of 422 households, which were selected by multi stage sampling method followed by systematic random sampling method. Salt iodine content was estimated using rapid testing kits at the household level. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the prevalence, and association between dependent and independent variables was computed by using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. A p-value of &lt; 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance.ResultThis study found that about 52.8% (95% CI: 47, 57%) of households had adequately iodized salt. Havingcollege diploma and above educational status (AOR=7.62, 95% CI: 2.16, 24.38), hearing about iodizedsalt (AOR=2.25, 95% CI: 1.18, 4.28) , perceived susceptibility towards developing IDDs if they do notconsume iodized salt (AOR=2.51, 95% CI: 1.18, 5.35), walking less than 30 minutes to get iodized salt(AOR=3.75, 95% CI: 1.95, 7.24), using packed salt (AOR=12.72, 95% CI: 6.64, 24.36), shorter saltstorage duration (AOR=2.81, 95% CI: 1.44, 5.47) were found to be positively associated with household availability of adequately iodized salt.ConclusionThe availability of iodized salt in Gambela town is below the WHO recommendation. Therefore, boosting strategies targeted to enhance community awareness on the benefit and handling practice of iodized salt is essential to improve availability of iodized salt.