Complementary feeding practices and associated factors among mothers of children aged 6 to 23 months in Tanzania: A multilevel analysis of the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey

Background Appropriate complementary feeding (CF) is an important factor in the growth, development and nutritional status of young children. Inadequate complementary feeding is one of the major causes of undernutrition among 6-23‐month‐old children. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of appropriate CF practices and associated factors among mothers having children aged 6–23 months in Tanzania. Methods An Analytical cross-sectional study of the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys data was conducted. The sampling frame was stratified by geographic region and urban/rural areas, using a two-stage sampling method that selected primary sampling units based on census enumeration areas, followed by household selection using probability systematic sampling. Given the complex survey design, multilevel logistic regression was used to identify individual and community-level factors associated with CF practices. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the strength and magnitude of association, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Appropriate CF practices were observed in only 15.4% of mothers with children aged 6–23 months (95% CI: 13.76–17.21). Factors associated with this were that women in the middle quintile had a lower likelihood of appropriate CF practices than women in the poor quintile (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.39–0.84). Women with media exposure (AOR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.38–2.43) had a higher likelihood of appropriate CF practices than their counterparts. Children aged 12–17 months (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.47–2.52) and those aged 18–23 (AOR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.78–3.02) were more likely to have appropriate CF practices than their counterparts. At the community level, women in high poverty communities were 58% less likely to have appropriate feeding practices than their counterparts (AOR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.29–0.60). Conclusion Appropriate complementary feeding practices were suboptimal among children aged 6–23 months in Tanzania. Multifaceted interventions addressing poverty, leveraging health information through media platforms, and targeting specific age groups and communities would be crucial to improve child nutrition status in Tanzania.