| Summary: | Yilkal Simachew,1 Taddese Zerfu,2 Wagaye Alemu3 1School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Nutrition, College of Medicine and Health Science, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia; 3Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Dilla University, Dilla, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Yilkal SimachewSchool of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Hawassa University, P.O. Box: 1560, Hawassa, EthiopiaTel +251 941050775Fax +251 462122122Email joemakalister123@gmail.comBackground: The outpatient therapeutic program (OTP) of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) brought the treatment approach closer to the community. In spite of the high coverage and accessibility, a low recovery rate of OTP is often reported. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the treatment outcomes and identify predictors of recovery among children aged 6– 59 months with SAM enrolled to OTP in Wenago district, Southern Ethiopia.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted by assessing health records and interviewing mothers of 554 children, who were treated between July 2017 and February 2018. A single stage cluster sampling was used to enroll the study participants. The data were coded and entered into EpiData version 3.1, and analyzed by SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression was used to identify predictors of recovery. All statistical tests in this study were declared significant at P< 0.05.Results: The recovery, average weight gain rate and length of stay were 70.4%, 3.9 g/kg/day and 6.67 weeks, respectively. The adjusted odds ratios to recovery of children who were treated with amoxicillin, born from a mother whose age at first marriage was > 18 years, from a food secured household and had access to safe water sources were (AOR=3.97, 2.75, 3.21 and 2.96; 95% CI= 2.32, 6.78, 1.54, 4.93, 1.86, 5.52, and 1.61, 5.45), respectively. Conversely, children from households with three under-5 year olds had a 86% (AOR=0.14; 95% CI 0.05, 0.38) less risk of recovery as compared to children from households with only one under-5-year-old child.Conclusion: The recovery rate, average daily weight gain and length of stay in the program were not within the acceptable sphere standards. Provision of amoxicillin, numbers of under-5-year-old children in the house, maternal age at first marriage, a source of water and food security status were independently associated with recovery from SAM under OTP.Keywords: outpatient therapeutic program, treatment outcome, severe acute malnutrition, Wenago district
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