Predictors and factors associated with stunting among under- five-year children: a cross-sectional population-based study in Rwanda of the 2014-2015 demographic and Health Survey

Globally, stunting affects 159 million Under-five-years-old (U-5) children. Stunting affects the physical, mental, and cognitive development of children increasing the risk of suffering and death. This paper aimed to determine the predictors and factors associated with stunting among under-five children in Rwanda. We retrieved data from the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) 2014-2015 data set. A sample of 3599 U-5 eligible children with complete and valid anthropometric data was taken. Stata software was used to analyze the data extracted using a developed checklist. Descriptive statistics and Logistic regression analysis were performed to test the association between study variables. Of 3599 U-5 children, 37.5% of children were stunted. The demographic characteristics: age (p< 0.001), sex (p