Search

Negussie Boti Sidamo,1 Sultan Hussen,1 Tamiru Shibiru,2 Meseret Girma,1 Mulugeta Shegaze,1 Abera Mersha,3 Teshale Fikadu,1 Zeleke Gebru,1 Eshetu Andarge,1 Mustefa Glagn,1 Selamawit Gebeyehu,1 Bilcha Oumer,4 Gebremaryam Temesgen5 1School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 2School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 3School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 4Department of Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 5Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Negussie Boti SidamoSchool of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, EthiopiaEmail Hanehalid@gmail.comBackground: Since the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, different public health measures have been implemented to prevent and control the further spread of the disease. However, barriers that influence the effective implementation of public health measures were not explore in Ethiopia especially in study Area. Therefore, this study tried to fill this gap by exploring the barriers to effective implementation of public health measures for prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Gamo Zone of southern Ethiopia.Methods: The study employed a qualitative study with a phenomenology approach among purposely selected 30 individuals in the community and selected institutions. Key informant interview was used to collect the data. The data were transcribed verbatim and translated into the English language. The transcribed data were read several times to clearly understand the content for further analysis. The analysis of the data was conducted based on the modified Tanahashi framework.Results: The study identified different barriers under five main themes: accessibility, acceptability, availability, contact and use, and effective implementation of public health measures related to barriers. The main barriers to effective implementation of public health measures were resistance to change, negligence, lack of community engagement, insufficient training for front line workers, poor supportive supervision, poor law enforcement, and lack of continuous community awareness creation. Beside, acceptability related barriers like cultural and religious norms and availability related barriers like shortage of personal protective equipment and shortage of skilled health professional have also lion share barriers for implementation of the public health measures.Conclusion: The study identified different personal, institutional, and societal level barriers for effective implementation of public health measures for the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, proper and targeted continuous community awareness creation with further mandatory law enforcement activities should be implemented by the concerned bodies to mitigate individual and societal level barriers. In addition, the government with relevant stakeholders should give due attention to equip and protect the frontline professionals by availing the necessary logistic and provision of continuous capacity-building activities.Keywords: COVID-19, effective implementation, public health measures, modified Tanahashi model, barriers, Gamo zone

Background Delays in care have been recognized as a significant contributor to maternal mortality in low-resource settings. The non-pneumatic antishock garment is a low-cost first-aid device that can help women with obstetric haemorrhage survive these delays without long-term adverse effects. Extending professionals skills and the establishment of new technologies in basic healthcare facilities could harvest the enhancements in maternal outcomes necessary to meet the sustainable development goals. Thus, this study aims to assess utilization of non-pneumatic anti-shock garment to control complications of post-partum hemorrhage and associated factors among obstetric care providers in public health institutions of Southern Ethiopia, 2020. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 412 obstetric health care providers from March 15 –June 30, 2020. A simple random sampling method was used to select the study participants. The data were collected through a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify determinants for the utilization of non-pneumatic antishock garment. STATA version 16 was used for data analysis. A P-value of < 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. Results Overall, 48.5% (95%CI: 43.73, 53.48%) of the obstetric care providers had utilized Non pneumatic antishock garment for management of complications from postpartum hemorrhage. Training on Non pneumatic antishock garment (AOR = 2.92; 95% CI: 1.74, 4.92), working at hospital (AOR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.16), good knowledge about NASG (AOR = 1.997; 95%CI: 1.16, 3.42) and disagreed and neutral attitude on Non pneumatic antishock garment (AOR = 0.41; 95%CI: 0.24, 0.68), and (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.73), respectively were significantly associated with obstetric care provider’s utilization of Non-pneumatic antishock garment. Conclusions In the current study, roughly half of the providers are using Non-pneumatic antishock garment for preventing complications from postpartum hemorrhage. Strategies and program initiatives should focus on strengthening in-service and continuous professional development training, thereby filling the knowledge and attitude gap among obstetric care providers. Health centers should be targeted in future programs for accessibility and utilization of non-pneumatic antishock garment.

A significant proportion of infant and young child mortality can be prevented by the provision of a diverse diet. Globally, an estimated 45% of deaths of children under the age of 5 are because of malnutrition. More than two-thirds of these deaths are associated with inappropriate child-feeding practices. This situation is the worst in Ethiopia. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the status of dietary diversity and identify relevant variables. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 335 randomly selected mothers/caregivers who had infants and young children aged between 6 and 23 months. Data were collected by interview with a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS Version 23. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with dietary diversity practices and statistical significance was declared at p < 0.05 . Only 12.6% (95% CI; 9.2, 16.6) of children aged 6 to 23 months had adequate dietary diversity. Having a backyard garden and primary education were associated with adequate dietary diversity practices. In this study, the status of adequate dietary diversity feeding practice is low. Therefore, interventions targeting dietary diversity should encourage households to have backyard gardens, and strengthening counseling of mothers/caregivers attending antenatal care and postnatal care is proposed for achieving adequate dietary diversity practices.

Background The survival rate from breast cancer is lowest in African countries and the distribution of breast self-examination practice of and its determinants are not well investigated in Ethiopia. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to determine the pooled prevalence of breast self-examination and its associated factors among women in Ethiopia. Methods Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed for this systematic review and meta-analysis. The databases used were; PUBMED, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CINAHL, African Journals Online, Dimensions and Summon per country online databases. Search terms used were; breast self-examination, breast cancer screening, early detection of breast cancer and Ethiopia. Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI) was used for critical appraisal of studies. The meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 15 software. The pooled meta-analysis was computed to present the pooled prevalence and relative risks (RRs) of the determinate factors with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results We identified 2,637 studies, of which, 40 articles (with 17,820 participants) were eligible for inclusion in the final meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of breast self-examination in Ethiopia was 36.72% (95% CI: 29.90, 43.53). The regional distribution breast self-examination ranged from 21.2% (95% CI: 4.49, 37.91) in Tigray to 61.5% (95% CI: 53.98, 69.02) in Gambela region. The lowest prevalence of breast self-examination was observed among the general population (20.43% (95% CI: 14.13, 26.72)). Women who had non-formal educational status (OR = 0.4 (95% CI: 0.21, 0.77)), family history of breast cancer (OR = 2.04 (95% CI: 1.23, 3.39)), good knowledge of breast self-examination (OR = 4.8 (95% CI: 3.03, 7.6)) and favorable attitude toward breast self-examination (OR = 2.75, (95% CI: 1.66, 4.55)) were significantly associated with practice of breast self-examination. Conclusions Only a third of women in Ethiopia practiced breast examination despite WHO guidelines advocating for this practice among all women of reproductive age. Intervention programs should address the factors that are associated with breast self-examination. Population specific programs are needed to promote breast self-examination.