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Background: Malaria is a critical public health concern in Ethiopia, with significant socioeconomic consequences. Malaria data trend analysis is essential for understanding transmission patterns and adopting evidence-based malaria control measures. The purpose of this study was to determine the 5 year distribution of malaria in North Shewa zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia, in 2023., Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed to analyse the 5 year trend of malaria surveillance data in the North Shewa zone of the Amhara regional, Ethiopia, spanning from July 2018 to June 2023. The malaria indicator data were gathered from the zone's public health emergency management database. Malaria data from the previous 5 years was collected, compiled, processed, and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2019., Results: Among a total of 434,110 suspected cases 47,889 (11.03%) cases were confirmed as malaria, with an average annual malaria incidence rate of 4.4 per 1000 population in the Zone. Malaria cases exhibited an increase from Epidemiological Week (Epi week) 37 to Epi week 49 (September to November) and again from Epi week 22 to week 30 (May to July). Individuals aged 15 and above, and all districts in the Zone except Angolela were notably affected by malaria., Conclusion: Despite implementing various measures to reduce malaria incidence, the disease continues to persist in the zone. Therefore, the Zone Health Department should intensify its preventive and control efforts., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Low vaccine acceptance remains a public health threat, which is still common among healthcare workers. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to determine the level of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia. This review was reported using the PRISMA checklist. Eleven articles were retrieved, then extracted on Excel, and exported to STATA version 11 software for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of vaccine acceptance and it is 95% CI were presented using forest plots. Tests to check heterogeneity and publication bias were done. The estimated pooled prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia with a random-effects model was 54.59% (95% CI: 42.49, 66.69) through a heterogeneity index (I 2 ) of 99.1% ( p  < .001), which is relatively low. Therefore, it is important to identify and remove any myths or obstacles preventing healthcare professionals from accepting the COVID-19 vaccination.

Objectives: Preconception care can have a major public health impact by reducing maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity. Despite this importance, preconception care is still not implemented in majority of developing countries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proportion of knowledge of preconception care and its associated factors among reproductive-age women in Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia., Design and Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was employed from 1 March to 30 March 2019 among reproductive-age women. Data were collected via a face-to-face, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered into EpiData V.4.6 and exported to SPSS V.25 for analysis. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, variables with p<0.05 were declared statistically significant. The strength of statistical association was measured using adjusted OR (AOR) and 95% CI., Setting and Participants: The study was conducted in Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia. A total of 414 reproductive-age women were enrolled in the study., Outcome: Knowledge of preconception (good or poor)., Results: Of the total 414 participants, 71 (17.1%) had good knowledge about preconception care. Women's occupation (AOR: 8.68, 95% CI 1.25 to 60.3), monthly income (AOR: 9.89, 95% CI 1.93 to 50.76), gravidity (AOR: 0.28, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.58), contraceptive use (AOR: 4.95, 95% CI 1.09 to 22.39), history of congenital abnormality (AOR: 7.53, 95% CI 2.03 to 27.96), history of neonatal death (AOR: 6.51, 95% CI 1.62 to 26.18) and time to reach a health facility (AOR: 0.37, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.79) were statistically associated with knowledge about preconception care., Conclusions: In this study area, only less than one-fifth of reproductive-age women had good knowledge of preconception care. Therefore, to improve women's knowledge about preconception care, a strong collaborative effort including several sectors should be made., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of immediate postpartum family planning utilisation and the associated factors among postpartum women at public hospitals of North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia., Design and Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 1-30 May 2020. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select the participants. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using a structured and pretested questionnaire. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, p<0.05 and adjusted OR (AOR) with 95% CI were used to declare statistically significant factors., Setting and Participants: The study was conducted at public hospitals of North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia. A total of 394 postpartum women within 48 hours after giving birth before discharge from the selected hospitals were enrolled in the study., Outcome: Immediate postpartum family planning utilisation (used or not used)., Results: Of the total 394 participants, 84 (21.3%) used immediate postpartum family planning. The factors associated with immediate postpartum family planning utilisation were women's age (30-34 years) (AOR: 0.118; 95% CI 0.023 to 0.616), planning status of pregnancy (AOR: 3.175; 95% CI 1.063 to 9.484), reproductive intention (AOR: 5.046; 95% CI 1.545 to 16.479), partner support (AOR: 4.293; 95% CI 1.181 to 15.61), attitude towards family planning (AOR: 2.908; 95% CI 1.081 to 7.824) and maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care (AOR: 6.243; 95% CI 2.166 to 17.994)., Conclusion: In the study area, only less than a quarter of postpartum women used immediate postpartum family planning. Therefore, enhancing immediate postpartum family planning utilisation, strengthening community awareness to develop a favourable attitude towards family planning, promoting partner involvement in family planning and ensuring maternal satisfaction during intrapartum care are essential., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Maternal satisfaction is an essential indicator of the quality and the efficiency of the health care systems. At a time when efforts are being made globally to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, assessing maternal satisfaction is essential. There is a dearth of studies on maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care, particularly in the study area. This study aimed to assess maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care and associated factors among postpartum women at public hospitals of North Shoa Zone Ethiopia., Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study with a systematic random sampling technique was conducted from May1-30/ 2020. Data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and analyzed using a statistical package for the social sciences version 25. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were employed. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, level of statistical significance was declared at variables with p < 0.05 and the strength of the association was measured by an adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval., Result: Of the total 394 participants, 111 (28.2%) [95% CI: 23.9, 32.5] of postpartum women were satisfied with the intrapartum care. Place of residence [AOR: 1.934; 95% CI (1.183, 3.162)], planned status of the pregnancy [AOR: 2.245; 95% CI, (1.212, 4.158)], number of antenatal care visit [AOR: 2.389; 95% (1.437, 3.974)] and duration of labour [AOR: 2.463; 95% (1.378, 4.402)] were factors significantly associated with maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care., Conclusion: The proportion of maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care was low. Therefore, designing strategies to enhance maternal satisfaction by strengthening adherence to antenatal care visits, provision of family planning to prevent unplanned pregnancy, and strict utilization of partograph to prevent prolonged labour and childbirth-related complications are crucial., Competing Interests: he authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Studies in sub-Saharan Africa indicated the overall prevalence of optimal breast feeding ranged between a lowest of 17.63% in East Africa and a highest of 46.37% in West Africa. It's estimated that 823,000 deaths of children could be prevented every year through optimal breastfeeding practices. However optimal breastfeeding practices is low in most setting of Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess optimal breastfeeding practices and associated factors in Worabe town., Method: A community-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from April 15th-25th, 2018. A systematic sampling technique was applied on 347 sampled mothers who had children greater than or equal to 2 years old. The data was entered into EpiData (version 3.1) and subsequently exported to SPSS Statistics (version 22) for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used for presenting summary data using tables and graph. Bivariate and multi variable logistic regression analysis to identify were used to identify associated factors. The statistical significance was declared at P<0.05., Result: Optimal breastfeeding was exhibited by 42.1% of mothers. Government employees (AOR = 8.0; 95% CI: 1.7, 36.4), families with a household income of 1,500-3,000 Ethiopian birr (AOR = 4.6; 95% CI: 1.0, 20.1), individuals knowledgeable about optimal breastfeeding practices (AOR: 5.5 95% CI: 1.6, 18.1), individuals counselled about breastfeeding practices during postnatal follow-ups (AOR = 4.940, 95% CI: 1.313, 10.195), and individuals that had a caesarean section delivery (AOR = 4.2, 95% CI: 1.2, 14.1) had a higher chance of practicing optimal breastfeeding. However, mothers who did not attend or have access to antenatal care follow-ups (AOR = 0.1, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.5) were less likely to practice optimal breastfeeding., Conclusions: Less than half of mothers breastfed their children optimally. Factors that influenced this included knowledge of optimal breastfeeding practices, total household income, the woman's occupation, access to breastfeeding counselling during postnatal care follow-ups, access to antenatal care follow-ups, and mode of delivery. It is strongly recommended that optimal breastfeeding awareness programs through health education be done in collaboration with health extension workers, and zonal health offices., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic to many parts of the world and has re-emerged in a number of endemic countries in recent years. Environmental changes, immune status of the host and treatment failure are the three most important risk factors associated with the re-emerging and spread of Leishmaniasis. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) ranges from localized, self-healing type to the disfiguring mucocutaneous and diffuse cutaneous type., Objective: To access the trend of CL patient flow in ALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia., Methods: Patients' clinical and laboratory records were collected retrospectively for 1651 leishmaniasis suspected individuals from ALERT Hospital, from January 1, 2007 to December 30, 2010., Results: From the suspected individuals, 234 cases were positive for Leishmania species with Giemsa stain and/or histopathology and confirmed for CL, of whom 30 (12.8%) were diagnosed in 2007, 29 (12.4%) in 2008, 75 (32.1%) in 2009, and 100 (42.7%) were in 2010., Conclusions and Recommendations: The overall proportion of cases with leishmaniasis among the suspected cases was 234/1651 (14.2%). The distribution of CL reports was higher for patients coming from Addis Ababa surrounding areas and Oromia region, 96/234 (41.03%) and 71/234 (30.34%), respectively. In general, the trend of leishmaniasis in and around Addis Ababa seems to be increasing, which calls for further detailed epidemiological studies, including vector and reservoir host studies, to help in the prevention and control of the disease.