Father's involvement in child feeding and associated factors among fathers having children aged 6-24 months in Jinka town, Ethiopia, 2024.

Child feeding practices are crucial for child health, growth, and development. Fathers have a vital role in optimal child-feeding practices, while traditional cultural norms dictate that men are responsible for family finances and leadership, and women are responsible for child care. Hence, this study aimed to assess father involvement in child feeding and associated factors among fathers having children aged 6-24 months in Jinka Town. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jinka town from January 1 to February 15, 2024, on 415 randomly selected study participants. Pre-tested structured questionnaires collected data through face-to-face interviews. The data was entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and then analyzed by using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics, like frequency and percentage, were calculated. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed. Variables with a p-value of ≤ 0.25 in bivariate analysis were included in the multivariable logistic regression at a 95% confidence interval with a p-value < 0.05 was considered to declare a significant association. Our findings revealed that 52.2% of study participants were involved in child feeding. Father's involvement in child feeding was significantly associated with monogamy marital form, counseled on child feeding, knowledge, attitude, community encouragement, and heard about fathers' involvement in child feeding. Therefore, the health professionals and Jinka Town Health Administrative Office should enhance fathers' involvement in child feeding through counseling, raising awareness, and health information dissemination by setting programs that involve fathers in child care.