Umbilical Cord Care Practices and Associated Factors Among Mothers Who Gave Birth in The Last Six Months in Hetosa District, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia 2021: Community-Based Mixed Design

Cord care is the series of steps applied to handle the umbilical cord after delivery of the newborn. Despite increasing the number of primary health facilities, unhygienic cord care remains persist.The umbilical cord is a common entry point for bacteria causing neonatal sepsis. Harmful traditional practices related to umbilical cord care are influenced by cultural beliefs of mothers. However, there is limited information available on this topic in the study area and in Ethiopia. This study aims to fill this gapA mixed-type cross-sectional study design was conducted in the Hetosa district of Arsi zone, from April 15 to May 15, 2021, with 550 mothers using a systematic random sampling technique for quantitative study. Quantitative Data were collected using a structured pretested questionnaire, entered into EpiData version 3.1, and then exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Factors associated with outcome variables were identified using logistic regression analysis. Qualitative data was collected through twelve in-depth interviews and analyzed thematically