Time to recovery and its predictors among children aged 6–59  months having uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition attending an outpatient therapeutic program in Northeast Ethiopia: prospective cohort study

Introduction: There are insufficient data regarding the variables influencing
recovery times, despite the accessible outpatient therapy program (OTP)
bringing services for treating severe acute malnutrition (SAM) closer to the
community. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors influencing the
recovery duration in children with uncomplicated SAM between the ages of 6
and 59  months who were attending an OTP in North Wollo, northern Ethiopia.
Methods: From February 2021 to July 2021, 356 children, ages 6–59  months,
enrolled in a facility-based prospective cohort study. An interviewer administered
a semi-structured questionnaire once a week to acquire anthropometric
measures. The data were imported into Stata version 14.2 for analysis from
EPI data entry version 4.6.06. The time to recovery for each attribute was
determined using a log-rank test, a survival curve, and a Kaplan–Meier estimate
of the median time to recovery. The Cox Proportional-Hazards Model was used
to identify independent predictors of recovery time; statistical significance was
indicated at 95% CI and a p-value of 0.05.
Results: With a recovery rate of 74.7%, the median recovery period was 56
days. Frequency of growth monitoring and promotion (GMP) service utilization
[AHR  =  1.622 (95% CI: 1.052–2.130)], cough [AHR  =  0.385 (95% CI: 0.176–
0.843)], maternal delivery at health center [AHR  =  1.448 (95% CI: 1.023-2.050)],
and maternal literacy [AHR  =  1.445 (95% CI: 1.019–2.058)] were determinants of
time to recovery.
Conclusion: The median recovery period was 56 days with a recovery rate of
74.7%. Regular utilization of GMP services, maternal delivery at the health center,
and cough at admission were independent predictors for this study. As a result,
there should be a greater emphasis on the importance of girls’ (future mothers’)
education and nutrition counseling, particularly the integration of GMP service
components into institutional delivery/for girls/women who have received little
education on how to improve time to recovery and the success of the OTP.