PARENTAL TRADITIONAL MEDICINE USE AND ITS ASSO CIATED FACTORS AMONG CHILDREN'S IN GUNDO-MESKEL TOWN, NORTH SHEWA ZONE, OROMIA REGION, ETHIOPIA, 2024 G.C: COMMUNITY BASED CROSS- SECTIONAL STUDY.

Traditional medicine has been a prominent healthcare resource, especially in regions with limited access to modern medical services. However, the lack of guidelines for traditional medicine usage poses risks to children's health. In Ethiopia, where traditional healers are of ten the main source of healthcare; understanding the prevalence and factors influencing parental use of traditional medicine is crucial. Objective: To assess parental traditional medicine use and its associated factors among chil dren’s in Gundo-Meskel town, North Shewa zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia, 2024. Methods: This study used a community-based cross-sectional design. A multi-stage sam pling approach was employed to select a representative sample of 522 households for the research. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire administered to parents using Kobo toolbox. The data were entered into kobo toolbox, cleansed, coded, and then moved to SPSS version 26.0 for analysis. Inferential statistics, such as binary logistic regression with a p-value less than 0.25, were utilized for multivariate analysis. Furthermore, multiple logistic regression and odds ratio analysis were employed to assess the relationship between variables within a 95% confidence interval (p < 0.05%). Result : The study included 522 eligible parents. All of whom responded, resulting in a 100% response rate. 81.2% (95% CI: 77.4-84.3) of parents utilized traditional medicine for their children’s. Sex of parents (AOR = 4.92, 95% CI: 2.68-9.01), marital status (AOR = 5.38 CI: 2.59-8.15), monthly income (AOR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.11-3.65), parental education level (AOR = 4.47, 95% CI: 1.43-8.99), number of children under eighteen in the household (AOR=2.14, 95% CI: 1.16-3.95), and Parental TM use for themselves (AOR = 6.75, 95% CI: 3.62-12.57), were factors associated with parental TM use for children. Conclusion and Recommendation: A high prevalence of parents used TM for their chil dren's healthcare. Sex, marital status, monthly income, parental education level, number of children in the household and Parental TM use for themselves were significantly associated with TM use. Conduct parental forum on the benefits and risks of traditional versus modern healthcare and increase access to reasonably priced healthcare through CBHI.