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Introduction Neonatal intensive care unit is important to save the lives of a sick neonate; however, parents are challenged by several stressful conditions during their stay. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the lived experiences of parents in neonatal intensive care units in Ethiopia. Methods We used a phenomenological study design. The data were collected using an in-depth interview method from purposively selected parents. In addition, we followed a thematic analysis approach and used Open Code Software Version 4.02 to process the data. Results In this study, 18 parents were interviewed. The researchers have identified six themes. Parents complained of psychological problems like anxiety, stress, worries, hopelessness, and a state of confusion. In addition, anger, crying, sadness, frustration, dissatisfaction, regret, disappointment, feeling bad, self-blaming, nervousness, disturbance, and lack of self-control were major emotional problems raised by the parents. Parents expressed that health care providers showed indiscipline, lack of commitment, and uncooperative behaviour. Likewise, shortage of medicines, money, and limited time to visit their neonates were the other concerns of many parents. At the same time, parents were provided minimal information and limited cooperation from health care providers. Conclusion Parents whose infants admitted to the NICU were suffered from various psychological and emotional problems. Researchers recommend that health care providers should be supported parents with psycho-emotional problems, strengthen parents–healthcare workers' interaction, and scale up neonatal intensive care unit services to the primary health care centres.KEY MESSAGESParents whose infants admitted to the NICU were suffered from psychological and emotional problems.Poor NICU environment, shortage of equipment, long hospital stay, the presence of pandemic COVID-19, and lack of parental involvement in the care were identified barriers that affected parents' stay.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the magnitude, pattern and associated factors of multimorbidity in Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia. Methods A multi-centered facility-based study was conducted among 1440 participants aged 40+ years attending chronic outpatient medical care. Two complementary methods (interview and review of medical records) were employed to collect data on socio-demographic, behavioral and disease related characteristics. The data were analyzed by STATA V.16 and R Software V.4.1.0. We fitted logistic regression and latent class analyses (LCA) models to identify the factors associated with multimorbidity and determine patterns of disease clustering, respectively. Statistical significance was considered at P-value Results The magnitude of individual chronic conditions ranged from 1.4% (cancer) to 37.9% (hypertension), and multimorbidity was identified in 54.8% (95% CI = 52.2%-57.4%) of the sample. The likelihood of having multimorbidity was higher among participants aged 45–54 years (AOR: 1.6, 95%CI = 1.1, 2.2), 55–64 years (AOR: 2.6, 95%CI = 1.9, 3.6) and 65+ years (AOR: 2.6, 95%CI = 1.9, 3.6) compared to those aged 40–44 years. The odds of multimorbidity was also higher among individuals classified as overweight (AOR: 1.6, 95%CI = 1.2, 2.1) or obese (AOR: 1.9, 95%CI = 1.3, 3.0) than the normal weight category. Four patterns of multimorbidity were identified; the cardiovascular category being the largest class (50.2%) followed by the cardio-mental, (32.6%), metabolic (11.5%) and respiratory (5.7%) groups. Advanced age, being overweight and obesity predicted latent class membership, adjusting for relevant confounding factors. Conclusions The magnitude of multimorbidity in this study was high, and the most prevalent conditions shaped the patterns of multimorbidity. Advanced age, being overweight and obesity were the factors correlated with multimorbidity. Further research is required to better understand the burden of multimorbidity and related factors in the population, and to determine the impact of multimorbidity on individuals’ well-being and functioning.

IntroductionMultimorbidity refers to the presence of two or more chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in a given individual. It is associated with premature mortality, lower quality of life (QoL) and greater use of healthcare resources. The burden of multimorbidity could be huge in the low and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Ethiopia. However, there is limited evidence on the magnitude of multimorbidity, associated risk factors and its effect on QoL and functionality. In addition, the evidence base on the way health systems are organised to manage patients with multimorbidity is sparse. The knowledge gleaned from this study could have a timely and significant impact on the prevention, management and survival of patients with NCD multimorbidity in Ethiopia and in LMICs at large.Methods and analysisThis study has three phases: (1) a cross-sectional quantitative study to determine the magnitude of NCD multimorbidity and its effect on QoL and functionality, (2) a qualitative study to explore organisation of care for patients with multimorbidity, and (3) a longitudinal quantitative study to investigate disease progression and patient outcomes over time. A total of 1440 patients (≥40 years) on chronic care follow-up will be enrolled from different facilities for the quantitative studies. The quantitative data will be collected from multiple sources using the KoBo Toolbox software and analysed by STATA V.16. Multiple case study designs will be employed to collect the qualitative data. The qualitative data will be coded and analysed by Open Code software thematically.Ethics and disseminationEthical clearance has been obtained from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University (protocol number 003/2021). Subjects who provide written consent will be recruited in the study. Confidentiality of data will be strictly maintained. Findings will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.

Introduction Globally an estimated 55.9 million abortions occur each year. The majority of abortions occur due to unintended pregnancies, which is a result of the non-use of family planning methods. World health organization recommends all clients to utilize modern contraceptive methods after any abortion procedure. However, post-abortion family planning utilization is still low in Ethiopia including the study area. Therefore, this study was expected to determine the utilization of post-abortion family planning and associated factors in Bahir Dar city health facilities in Northwest Ethiopia. Method Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 408 women from March 1 to April 30, 2019. Data were collected through face-to-face interview using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. Systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants. Data were cleaned, coded, and entered into epi data and exported to SPSS for further analysis. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression were employed. Those variables that had a p-value of less than 0.2 during the bivariate analysis were retained for the multivariable analysis. P-value and confidence interval were used to measure the level of significance on multi-variable analysis and those variables whose P-value, less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results The finding of this study showed that the magnitude of post-abortion family planning (PAFP) utilization was 61% with 95% CI (55, 65). Secondary education level(AOR, 4.58; 95% CI (1.96, 10.69)), certificate and above education level (AOR, 3.06; 95% CI (1.32, 7.08)), Manual Vacuum Aspiration(MVA) (AOR, 7.05; 95% CI (2.94, 16.90)), both medication and Manual Vacuum Aspiration (AOR, 5.34; 95% CI (2.56, 11.13)) and received Post Abortion Family Planning (PAFP) counseling (AOR, 5.99; 95% CI (3.23, 11.18)) were significantly associated with PAFP utilization. Conclusion Post-abortion family planning utilization in Bahir Dar health facilities was low compared with the national figure. Secondary and above educational level, respondents who were managed by Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA), both Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) and medication and receiving Post Abortion Family Planning (PAFP) counseling were predictors of post-abortion family planning service utilization.