Infant feeding practices among HIV exposed infants using summary index in Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study
Combining various aspects of child feeding into an age-specific summary index provides a first answer to the question of how best to deal with recommended feeding practices in the context of HIV pandemic. The objective of this study is to assess feeding practices of HIV exposed infants using summary index and its association with nutritional status in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: Facility based cross-sectional study design with cluster random sampling technique was conducted in Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Bivariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association between summary index (infant and child feeding index) (CS-ICFI) and nutritional status. Results: The mean (+/-standard deviation (SD)) cross-sectional infant and child feeding index (CS-ICFI) score of infants was 9.09 (+/-2.59), [95% CI: 8.69-9.49]). Thirty seven percent (36.6%) of HIV exposed infants fell in the high CS-ICFI category while 31.4% of them were found in p