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Background: The global surgery movement aims to provide equitable surgical care in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) and attempts to address a wide range of issues around the lack of access and poor‐quality. In response, the Lifebox McCaskey Safe Surgery Fellowship was established in Ethiopia to train a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals. We conducted this study to evaluate the outcome of this training program. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted to evaluate the implementations and outcomes of the first three cohorts of the McCaskey Fellowship. Interviews with fellows, mentors, and program staff reveal valuable insights into the program's strengths and challenges. Results: Key findings include positive feedback on the program's curriculum highlighting its multidisciplinary nature. Challenges were noted in maintaining schedules, communication with healthcare facilities, and budget constraints, suggesting the need for improved program management. The fellowship's impact was evident in altering participants' perceptions of teamwork and enhancing their research and leadership skills. Fellows initiated quality improvement projects impacting surgical practices positively. However, challenges, such as hospital resistance and the COVID‐19 pandemic, affected program implementation. Conclusion: Despite various challenges, the program's unique approach combining multidisciplinary training and local mentorship proves promising. It fosters a culture of teamwork, equips participants with essential skills, and encourages fellows to become advocates for safe surgery. As surgical quality champions emerge from this fellowship, there is optimism for lasting positive impacts on surgical care in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antifungal medications are vital in combatting fungal diseases that affect over a billion people annually. Antifungal medications for people and equids are scarce in Ethiopia, where lack of resources to treat fungal infection, in particular histoplasmosis, is a major health challenge. Histoplasmosis is endemic within the equine population in Ethiopia, where it is estimated that one in five horses are infected. This disease has far reaching impacts on equine welfare and the socio-economic wellbeing of families. The burden of histoplasmosis in people in Ethiopia is currently unknown, representing a blind spot in public health surveillance. Previous research has identified contact with wildlife, and domestic animal species as possible transmission pathways for histoplasmosis however, questions remain about the role of equids in human histoplasmosis. Given the close proximity of people and animals in this setting, the high level of endemic disease among equids, and the common sources of anti-fungals in Ethiopia, our study adopted a One-Health approach to examine how systemic issues affect access to, and use of antifungals to treat histoplasmosis among people and equids. A qualitative study was conducted in 6 urban regions of Oromia, Ethiopia in December 2018, incorporating semi-structured face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. Twenty-seven individual interviews were held with doctors (n = 7), pharmacists (n = 12), veterinarians (n = 5), para-veterinarians (n = 2) and an equid owner (n = 1). Eleven focus groups were conducted with equid owners (n = 42), 3 with veterinarians (n = 6), 1 with para-veterinarians (n = 2) and 1 with pharmacists (n = 2). Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis, and dimensions of key themes conceptualised and compared. Two overarching themes namely, 'Structural', and 'Human factors', summarised the main limitations to access to antifungal medications. 'Structural factors' included the national reliance on importation of medicines or pharmaceutical ingredients, inaccurate demand forecasting due to poor recording of the shortfall within the pharmaceutical supply chain, deficiencies in diagnostic capacity for fungal disease and, a healthcare system funded with a significant component of out-of-pocket expenditure. 'Human factors' that influenced access to antifungals included the perception of the expense of antifungals compared with competing needs such as food and education, the social stigma attached to histoplasmosis that could lead to delays in treatment seeking and, readily available home remedies or alternative treatment options. Furthermore, it was reported that trust in healthcare and veterinary provisions was undermined by a perceived lack of efficacious medications. Access to antifungals remains an urgent public health and animal welfare concern in Ethiopia. Key points within the supply and distribution chain that affect access to anti-fungals are identified, and policies that facilitate anti-fungal procurement and distribution should be reviewed. This paper highlights the structural, socio-economic and cultural factors influencing the management of infection with histoplasmosis, including how it is understood, identified and treated. This study identifies areas where further cross-sectorial work is needed to address these factors to improve disease control and clinical outcomes observed in human and animal histoplasmosis within Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychometric properties of scores on the Amharic version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-A) were explored with 551 students in Ethiopia. Results show strong correlations (r[62]≤.89) between the corresponding scores on State Anxiety (SA) and Trait Anxiety (TA) scales of the STAI-A and the original STAI. High levels of internal consistency reliabilities (αs≤.85) and moderately high median item-remainder correlations (rs≤.47) were found for scores on the two scales of STAI-A. As predicted, SA scores were higher on a hypothetical exam condition than on a normal condition. SA scores were also more strongly correlated with life event stress scores than were TA scores. TA scores, in turn, were more strongly related to global psychopathology scores than were SA scores. These findings suggest that scores on STAI-A have acceptable reliability and validity and that STAI-A can be used for clinical and research purposes in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the psychosocial, sexual context, and sociodemographic determinants of past and intended condom use among secondary school students in Ethiopia. Methods: Survey data were collected from 367 sexually active high school students in five major towns using questionnaires. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine the role of psychosocial, sexual context, and sociodemographic factors in influencing past and intended condom use. Results: Higher levels of positive attitudes toward and self-efficacy for condom use were associated with higher levels of both past and intended condom use. Knowledge of individuals who live with or have died of HIV/AIDS was also directly related to higher levels of intended condom use. In contrast, involvement in risky sexual behaviors and use of other contraceptive methods predicted higher levels of past condom use. Effects of reproductive health understanding and family socioeconomic status on past and intended condom use were indirect through their positive influence on psychosocial factors, particularly self-efficacy and attitudes. Overall, our psychosocial and contextual model accounted for 40 and 62 percent of the variance in past and intended use, respectively. Conclusion: Findings show that theory-based social psychological and contextual factors are causally linked to patterns of past and intended condom use among Ethiopian secondary school youth. Furthermore, the results provide evidence for the applicability of Western health behavior theories to explain and predict safer sexual behaviors among secondary school students in non-Western settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the perceptions of mental and physical illnesses in Ethiopia. Importance of various treatments for attitudes towards six, mental and physical illnesses; Dimensions of causal beliefs; Intercorrelations among illness causal beliefs, treatments and illness category.

Discusses the prevalence and risk factors associated with psychopathology in Ethiopian children. Measurement of psychopathology; Maternal psychopathology; Family stressors; Child disability; Demographic variables; Risk factors; Prevalence of psychopathology.

Background: In 2003, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH) started to implement a national antiretroviral treatment (ART) program. Using data in the monthly HIV/AIDS Updates issued by the MOH, this paper examines the spatial and temporal distribution of ART on a population basis for Ethiopian towns and administrative zones and regions for the period February to December 2006., Results: The 101 public ART hospitals treated 44,446 patients and the 91 ART health centers treated 1,599 patients in December 2006. The number of patients currently receiving ART doubled between February and December 2006 and the number of female patients aged 15 years and older surpassed male patients, apparently due to increased awareness and provision of free ART. Of 58,405 patients who ever started ART in December 2006, 46,045 (78.8%) were adhering to treatment during that month. Population coverage of ART was highest in the three urban administrative regions of Addis Ababa, Harari and Dire Dawa, in regional centers with referral hospitals, and in several small road side towns that had former mission or other NGO-operated hospitals. Hospitals in Addis Ababa had the largest patient loads (on average 850 patients) and those in SNNPR (Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples Republic) (212 patients) and Somali (130 patients) regions the fewest patients. In bivariate tests, number of patients receiving treatment was significantly correlated with population size of towns, urban population per zone, number of hospitals per zone, and duration of ART services in 2006 (all p < 0.001). The stronger relationship with urban than total zonal populations (p < 0.001 versus p = 0.014) and the positive correlation between distance from 44 health centers to the nearest ART hospital and patients receiving treatment at these health centers may be due to a combination of differential accessibility of ART sites, patient knowledge and health-seeking behavior., Conclusion: The sharp increase in ART uptake in 2006 is largely due to the rapid increase in the provision of free treatment at more sites. The marked variation in ART utilization patterns between urban and rural communities and among zones and regions requires further studies. Recommendations are made for further expansion and sustainability of the ART scale-up.