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Background: The impact of hospital care quality on patient outcomes in post-stroke aphasia remains unclear. We investigated the impact of nationally-endorsed acute stroke treatments on outcomes post-stroke, by aphasia status., Methods: Patient-level data from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (2009-2013) linked to national deaths, hospital emergency presentations and admissions data were used. Aphasia was identified for the index stroke event (ICD-10 diagnosis code R47.0). Impact of receiving an optimal stroke care bundle (stroke unit care, antihypertensive medication at discharge and discharge care plan) and an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) care bundle (stroke unit care, intravenous thrombolysis and aspirin within 48 h of admission) on outcomes were analysed using multivariable regression models with propensity score adjustment., Results: The study included 12,690 patients with a median age of 76, 54 % male, and 26 % with aphasia. Non-receipt of the optimal stroke care bundle was associated with worse survival, compared to optimal care, in people with aphasia (HR: 3.37; 95 % CI 2.10, 5.40; p < 0.05) and without aphasia (HR: 2.10; 95 % CI 1.19, 3.69; p < 0.05). Notably, the dose-response effect on survival was more pronounced in individuals with aphasia. In those who received the AIS care bundle, readmission within 12 months was greater in those without aphasia (vs aphasia, p-value interaction = 0.001), whereas survival was similar (p-value interaction = 0.731)., Conclusions: Survivors of stroke with aphasia who did not receive the optimal stroke care bundle, had worse survival at 12 months post-stroke. Ensuring eligible patients receive the optimal stroke care bundle is crucial for improving their 12-month survival., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest D.A.C is the current Data Custodian for the AuSCR. D.A.C reports receiving restricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Ipsen, Medtronic, and Shire outside the work presented today. M.F·K is a member of the AuSCR Management Committee and the Research Advisory Committee of the Stroke Foundation, reports receiving educational grants from Amgen Australia and GSK outside the submitted work. All other authors report no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: We prospectively determined incident cardiovascular events and their association with risk factors in rural India., Methods: We followed up with 7935 adults from the Rishi Valley Prospective Cohort Study to identify incident cardiovascular events. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for associations between potential risk factors and cardiovascular events. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) for risk factors were estimated using R ('averisk' package)., Results: Of the 4809 participants without prior cardiovascular disease, 57.7% were women and baseline mean age was 45.3 years. At follow-up (median of 4.9 years, 23,180 person-years [PYs]), 202 participants developed cardiovascular events, equating to an incidence of 8.7 cardiovascular events/1000 PYs. Incidence was greater in those with hypertension (hazard ratio [HR] [95% CI] 1.73 [1.21-2.49], adjusted PAF 18%), diabetes (1.96 [1.15-3.36], 4%) or central obesity (1.77 [1.23, 2.54], 9%) which together accounted for 31% of the PAF. Non-traditional risk factors such as night sleeping hours and number of children accounted for 16% of the PAF., Conclusions: Both traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors are important contributors to incident cardiovascular events in rural India. Interventions targeted to these factors could assist in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular events., (© 2024 The Authors Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: We compared the performance of cardiovascular risk prediction tools in rural India., Methods and Results: We applied the World Health Organization Risk Score (WHO-RS) tools, Australian Risk Score (ARS), and Global risk (Globorisk) prediction tools to participants aged 40-74 years, without prior cardiovascular disease, in the Rishi Valley Prospective Cohort Study, Andhra Pradesh, India. Cardiovascular events during the 5-year follow-up period were identified by verbal autopsy (fatal events) or self-report (non-fatal events). The predictive performance of each tool was assessed by discrimination and calibration. Sensitivity and specificity of each tool for identifying high-risk individuals were assessed using a risk score cut-off of 10% alone or this 10% cut-off plus clinical risk criteria of diabetes in those aged >60 years, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. Among 2333 participants (10 731 person-years of follow-up), 102 participants developed a cardiovascular event. The 5-year observed risk was 4.4% (95% confidence interval: 3.6-5.3). The WHO-RS tools underestimated cardiovascular risk but the ARS overestimated risk, particularly in men. Both the laboratory-based (C-statistic: 0.68 and χ2: 26.5, P = 0.003) and non-laboratory-based (C-statistic: 0.69 and χ2: 20.29, P = 0.003) Globorisk tools showed relatively good discrimination and agreement. Addition of clinical criteria to a 10% risk score cut-off improved the diagnostic accuracy of all tools., Conclusion: Cardiovascular risk prediction tools performed disparately in a setting of disadvantage in rural India, with the Globorisk performing best. Addition of clinical criteria to a 10% risk score cut-off aids assessment of risk of a cardiovascular event in rural India., Lay Summary: In a cohort of people without prior cardiovascular disease, tools used to predict the risk of cardiovascular events varied widely in their ability to accurately predict who would develop a cardiovascular event.The Globorisk, and to a lesser extent the ARS, tools could be appropriate for this setting in rural India.Adding clinical criteria, such as sustained high blood pressure, to a cut-off of 10% risk of a cardiovascular event within 5 years could improve identification of individuals who should be monitored closely and provided with appropriate preventive medications., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: none declared., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

The relative contributions of risk factors for cardiovascular events at a population level has received little attention in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) of risk factors associated with incident cardiovascular events in LMICs. We searched six databases for relevant articles, supplemented with a manual search of reference lists. Articles included in the meta-analyses were those based on prospective community-based cohorts and incorporating adjusted hazard ratios (HR) or relative risks with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for associations between risk factors and a composite cardiovascular and/or stroke endpoint. Pooled HRs and 95% CI were calculated using the random effects model. We assessed heterogeneity using the I 2 test and study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We calculated the PAF of each associated risk factor. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019122741). We identified 18 cohorts from LMICs with 1,125,846 participants, 77,045 composite cardiovascular events and 42,216 strokes. Substantial proportions of incident cardiovascular events were attributable to hypertension (HR [95% CI], 2.23 [2.01-2.48], PAF = 28%); current smoking (1.44 [1.31-1.58], PAF = 10%); and diabetes mellitus (1.93 [1.67-2.23], PAF = 8%). Other risk factors identified included number of children, depression, bone mineral density, and air pollution. A substantial proportion of incident cardiovascular events were linked to traditional metabolic and behavioural modifiable risk factors. However, other novel risk factors also appear to contribute. Targeting of these established and novel risk factors has the potential to reduce the burden of CVD in LMICs., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We compared the performance of laboratory-based cardiovascular risk prediction tools in a low-income and middle-income country setting, and estimated the use of antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications in those deemed at high risk of a cardiovascular event., Design: A cross-sectional study., Setting: The study population comprised adult residents (aged ≥18 years) of the Rishi Valley region located in Chittoor District, south-western Andhra Pradesh, India., Participants: 7935 participants were surveyed between 2012 and 2015. We computed the 10-year cardiovascular risk and undertook pair-to-pair analyses between various risk tools used to predict a fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular event (Framingham Risk Score (FRS), World Health Organization Risk Score (WHO-RS) and Australian Risk Score (ARS)), or a fatal cardiovascular event (Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE-high and SCORE-low)). Concordance was assessed by ordinary least-products (OLP) regression (for risk score) and quadratic weighted kappa (κ w , for risk category)., Results: Of participants aged 35-74 years, 3.5% had prior cardiovascular disease. The relationships between risk scores were quasi-linear with good agreement between the FRS and ARS (OLP slope=0.96, κ w =0.89). However, the WHO-RS underestimated cardiovascular risk compared with all other tools. Twenty per cent of participants had ≥20% risk of an event using the ARS; 5% greater than the FRS and nearly threefold greater than the WHO-RS. Similarly, 16% of participants had a risk score ≥5% using SCORE-high which was 6% greater than for SCORE-low. Overall, absolute cardiovascular risk increased with age and was greater in men than women. Only 9%-12% of those deemed 'high risk' were taking lipid-lowering or antihypertensive medication., Conclusions: Cardiovascular risk prediction tools perform disparately in this setting of disadvantage. Few deemed at high risk were receiving the recommended treatment., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Professor Thrift reports grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (GNT1042600, GNT1005740, GNT1040030, GNT1122455, GNT1171966, GNT1143155, and GNT1182017), Stroke Foundation Australia (SG1807), and Heart Foundation, Australia (VG102282) for this study and for other projects outside the submitted work., (© 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: The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive evidence on risk factors for transmission, disease severity and COVID-19 related deaths in Africa., Design: A systematic review has been conducted to synthesise existing evidence on risk factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes across Africa., Data Sources: Data were systematically searched from MEDLINE, Scopus, MedRxiv and BioRxiv., Eligibility Criteria: Studies for review were included if they were published in English and reported at least one risk factor and/or one health outcome. We included all relevant literature published up until 11 August 2020., Data Extraction and Synthesis: We performed a systematic narrative synthesis to describe the available studies for each outcome. Data were extracted using a standardised Joanna Briggs Institute data extraction form., Results: Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria of which four were exclusively on Africa and the remaining 11 papers had a global focus with some data from Africa. Higher rates of infection in Africa are associated with high population density, urbanisation, transport connectivity, high volume of tourism and international trade, and high level of economic and political openness. Limited or poor access to healthcare are also associated with higher COVID-19 infection rates. Older people and individuals with chronic conditions such as HIV, tuberculosis and anaemia experience severe forms COVID-19 leading to hospitalisation and death. Similarly, high burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, high prevalence of tobacco consumption and low levels of expenditure on health and low levels of global health security score contribute to COVID-19 related deaths., Conclusions: Demographic, institutional, ecological, health system and politico-economic factors influenced the spectrum of COVID-19 infection, severity and death. We recommend multidisciplinary and integrated approaches to mitigate the identified factors and strengthen effective prevention strategies., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: COVID-19 has caused a global public health crisis affecting most countries, including Ethiopia, in various ways. This study maps the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia., Methods: Thirty-eight potential indicators of vulnerability to COVID-19 infection, case severity and likelihood of death, identified based on a literature review and the availability of nationally representative data at a low geographic scale, were assembled from multiple sources for geospatial analysis. Geospatial analysis techniques were applied to produce maps showing the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death in Ethiopia at a spatial resolution of 1 km×1 km., Results: This study showed that vulnerability to COVID-19 infection is likely to be high across most parts of Ethiopia, particularly in the Somali, Afar, Amhara, Oromia and Tigray regions. The number of severe cases of COVID-19 infection requiring hospitalisation and intensive care unit admission is likely to be high across Amhara, most parts of Oromia and some parts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region. The risk of COVID-19-related death is high in the country's border regions, where public health preparedness for responding to COVID-19 is limited., Conclusion: This study revealed geographical differences in vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia. The study offers maps that can guide the targeted interventions necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Ethiopia., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Aim: To investigate the association between initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour after birth (TIBF) and maternal educational status, paternal educational status, household income, marital status, media exposure and parity in Ethiopia., Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, CINAHL and WHO Global health library databases. All studies were conducted in Ethiopia and published from 2000 to 2019 were included. To obtain the pooled odds ratio (OR), data were fitted in random-effects meta-analysis model. Statistical heterogeneity was quantified using Cochran's Q test, τ 2 and I 2 statistics. This meta-analytic review was reported in compliance with the PRISMA statement., Results: Out of 553 studies retrieved, 25 fulfilled our inclusion criteria. High maternal educational status (P < .001), paternal educational status (P = .001) and household income (P = .002), being married (P = .001) and multiparity (P = .01) were significantly associated with TIBF. There was no significant publication bias., Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed that TIBF was associated with high educational and economic status, being married and multiparity. This suggests that the meta-analysis detected small associations that many previous studies in Ethiopia have not been able to show. Our findings can be useful for comparisons with other countries., (© 2020 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Globally, the burden of stroke is increasing at an alarming rate. Factors associated with stroke among hypertensive patients are not consistent across different studies and there are limited studies particularly to hypertensive stroke in the particular setting. This study aimed to assess factors associated with stroke among patients with hypertension in Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia, in 2018., Methods: Hospital-based case-control study was conducted from February to April 2018. Cases were adult hypertensive patients with stroke and controls were adult hypertensive patients without a stroke. Cases and controls were identified from the patient's card review. Using a systematic random sampling technique 89 cases and 356 controls were included in this study. Record review, physical measurement, and interview techniques were used to collect data. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 23. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.25 in the bivariate logistic regression were selected for multivariable logistic regression. The adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were used to determine the association. P-value <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance., Results: The mean age of cases and controls were 56.3 years (SD±13.53) and 51.9 years (SD±12.67) respectively. Lost to follow-up (AOR = 2.474, 95%CI: 1.368-4.929), alcohol drinking (AOR = 2.440, 95%CI: 1.291-4.613), use of excessive salt in diet (AOR = 3.249, 95%CI: (1.544-6.837), medication non-adherence (AOR = 3.967, 95%CI: 2.256-6.973), uncontrolled systolic blood pressure, (AOR = 3.196, 95%CI: 1.60-6.382), uncontrolled diastolic blood pressure (AOR = 2.204, 95%CI: 1.130-4.297) and high cholesterol level (AOR = 2.413, 95%CI: 1.319-4.414) were found to be significant factors., Conclusion: Lost to follow-up, alcohol drinking, uses of excessive salt in diet, medication non-adherence, and uncontrolled systolic and diastolic blood pressure were associated with stroke. Health education on lifestyle practices and hypertension-related complications in each follow-up visit is very essential for improving the primary stroke prevention., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objective: Low neighbourhood socioeconomic status (NSES) has been linked to a higher risk of overweight/obesity, irrespective of the individual's own socioeconomic status. No meta-analysis study has been done on the association. Thus, this study was done to synthesise the existing evidence on the association of NSES with overweight, obesity and body mass index (BMI)., Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis., Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences and Google Scholar databases were searched for articles published until 25 September 2019., Eligibility Criteria: Epidemiological studies, both longitudinal and cross-sectional ones, which examined the link of NSES to overweight, obesity or BMI, were included., Data Extraction and Synthesis: Data extraction was done by two reviewers, working independently. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for the observational studies. The summary estimates of the relationships of NSES with overweight, obesity and BMI statuses were calculated with random-effects meta-analysis models. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran's Q and I 2 statistics. Subgroup analyses were done by age categories, continents, study designs and NSES measures. Publication bias was assessed by visual inspection of funnel plots and Egger's regression test., Result: A total of 21 observational studies, covering 1 244 438 individuals, were included in this meta-analysis. Low NSES, compared with high NSES, was found to be associated with a 31% higher odds of overweight (pooled OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.47, p<0.001), a 45% higher odds of obesity (pooled OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.74, p<0.001) and a 1.09 kg/m 2 increase in mean BMI (pooled beta=1.09, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.50, p<0.001)., Conclusion: NSES disparity might be contributing to the burden of overweight/obesity. Further studies are warranted, including whether addressing NSES disparity could reduce the risk of overweight/obesity., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42017063889., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide a national estimate of breast and complementary feeding practices and its predictors in Ethiopia., Methods: PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, CINHAL, Web of Science and WHO Global Health Library electronic databases were searched for all available literature published until April 2018. Observational studies including cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies were included. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of studies. Heterogeneity of studies was quantified using Cochran's Q χ 2 statistic and Higgins's method (I 2 ). A meta-analysis using a weighted inverse variance method was performed. Subgroup analysis was carried out based on region and study area., Results: In total, 70 studies that involved > 55,000 women from nine regions and two chartered cities in Ethiopia were included. The pooled national prevalence for timely initiation of breastfeeding (TIBF), exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and timely initiation of complementary feeding was 66.5%, 60.1% and 62.5%, respectively. Guidance and counselling on breastfeeding, vaginal delivery and health institution delivery significantly increased the odds of TIBF and EBF. In addition, TIBF significantly associated with high EBF practice. Maternal occupational status significantly associated with low EBF practice, but not TIBF., Conclusions: Based on the WHO standard, the current breast and complementary feeding practice in Ethiopia is good and improving. Integrated intervention is still required for further improvement and minimizing the effect of occupational status.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess magnitude of metabolic syndrome and its associated factors among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. A hospital based cross sectional study design was used. Binary logistic regression model was used., Result: A total of 419 respondents (208 males and 211 females) were enrolled; the mean age was 56.39 (SD 10.18), 51.1% of the respondents had metabolic syndrome according to international diabetes federation. Sex and age were statistically associated with metabolic syndrome with [AOR (95% CI) 1.93 (1.057, 3.533) and 1.04 (1.012, 1.072)] respectively. Regular physical exercise, overweight and obesity were statistically associated with metabolic syndrome with [AOR (95% CI) 1.84 (1.002, 3.362), 2.68 (1.518, 4.747) and 3.55 (1.254, 10.074)] respectively. To conclude, Magnitude of metabolic syndrome was high. The associated factors for metabolic syndrome are physical inactivity, inadequate intake of fruits, family history, overweight, and obesity.

Introduction: Childhood growth faltering remains a major public health problem in developing countries. We aimed to identify the distal, underlying, and proximal dietary and non-dietary factors associated with length-for-age (LFA) of infants and young children in Ethiopia., Methods: We used a nationally representative sample of 2,932 children aged 6-23 months from the Ethiopian demographic and health survey (EDHS) conducted in 2016. Hierarchical regression analysis was done to identify the factors associated with LFA., Findings: Pastoral residence (adjusted β (aβ) = -0.56, 95%CI = -0.82, -0.31, P<0.001) and poorest household wealth category (aβ = -0.57, 95%CI = -0.66, -0.48, P<0.001) were the basic factors negatively associated with LFA. Among underlying factors, maternal wasting (aβ = -0.43, 95%CI = -0.58, -0.28, P<0.001), and unimproved toilet facility (aβ = -0.48, 95%CI = -0.73, -0.23, P<0.001) were negatively associated with LFA. Proximal factors found positively associated with LFA were dietary diversity (aβ = 0.09, 95%CI = 0.043, 0.136, P<0.001), meal frequency (aβ = 0.04, 95%CI = 0.00, 0.08, P = 0.042), and vitamin A supplementation (aβ = 0.16, 95%CI = 0.03, 0.29, P = 0.020). Male sex (aβ = -0.26, 95%CI = -0.39, -0.14, P<0.001), age (aβ = -0.12, 95%CI = -0.13, -0.10, P = 0.001), small birth size (aβ = -0.45, 95%CI = -0.62, -0.29, P<0.001), and not currently breastfeeding (aβ = -0.29, 95%CI = -0.47, -0.11, P = 0.003) were negatively associated with LFA., Conclusion: LFA was associated with various influences at distal, underlying, and proximal levels. A multi-pronged approach, addressing the various factors comprehensively, would represent an important consideration to promote linear growth in early childhood in Ethiopia., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: Individuals living in poor neighbourhoods are at a higher risk of overweight/obesity. There is no systematic review and meta-analysis study on the association of neighbourhood socioeconomic status (NSES) with overweight/obesity. We aimed to systematically review and meta-analyse the existing evidence on the association of NSES with overweight/obesity., Methods and Analysis: Cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies published in English from inception to 15 May 2017 will be systematically searched using the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Sciences and Google Scholar. Selection, screening, reviewing and data extraction will be done by two reviewers, independently and in duplicate. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) will be used to assess the quality of evidence. Publication bias will be checked by visual inspection of funnel plots and Egger's regression test. Heterogeneity will be checked by Higgins's method (I 2 statistics). Meta-analysis will be done to estimate the pooled OR. Narrative synthesis will be performed if meta-analysis is not feasible due to high heterogeneity of studies., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical clearance is not required as we will be using data from published articles. Findings will be communicated through a publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presentations at professional conferences., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42017063889., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

Introduction: Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) is the cornerstone of infant and child survival, healthy growth and development, healthy future generations and national development. In spite of the importance of optimal nutrition in low- and middle-income countries, there has been no review conducted in Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to estimate the national coverage and identify the associated factors of IYCF practices in Ethiopia., Methods: PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, CINHAL, EBSCO, Web of Science and WHO Global Health Library databases will be searched for all available publications from 1 January 2000 to 30 September 2017. All published studies on the timely initiation of breast feeding, exclusive breast feeding and timely initiation of complementary feeding practice in Ethiopia will be screened, selected and reviewed. Bibliographies of identified articles and grey literature will be hand-searched as well. Heterogeneity of studies will be quantified using Higgins's method where I 2 statistic >80% indicates substantial heterogeneity. Funnel plots and Egger's regression test will be used to assess potential publication bias. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) will be used to assess the quality of evidence and risk of bias. Meta-analysis and meta-regression will be carried out to estimate the pooled national prevalence rate and an OR of each associated factor of IYCF practices. Narrative synthesis will be performed if meta-analysis is not feasible due to the substantial heterogeneity of studies., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical clearance is not required for this study because primary data will not be collected. The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at an (inter)national research symposium., Systematic Review Registration: This systematic review and meta-analysis has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), registration number CRD42017056768., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

Background: Around the world, more than three million newborns die in their first months of life every year. In Ethiopia during the last five years period; neonatal mortality is 37 deaths per 1000 live births. Even though there is an improvement compared to the past five years, there is still high home delivery 90 %, and high neonatal mortality about the Millennium Development Goal, which aims to be less than 32/1000 live births in Ethiopia. The purpose of this study is to assess maternal knowledge, practice and associated factors of essential newborn care at home in Gulomekada District Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia., Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study is conducted in 296 mothers from Gulomekada District by using simple random sampling technique. Data entry and analysis is carried out by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences-20. The magnitude of the association between different variables about the outcome variable is measured by odds ratio with 95 % confidence interval. A binary logistic regression analysis is made to obtain odds ratio and the confidence interval of statistical associations. The goodness of fit had tested by Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic and all variables with P-value greater than 0.05 are fitted to the multivariate model. Variables with P < 0.2 in the bivariate analysis are included in the final model, and statistical significance is declared at P < 0.05., Result: Eighty percent (80.4 %) study participants had good knowledge on essential new born care and 92.9 % had the good practice of essential new born care. About 60 % of mothers applied butter or oil on the cord stump for their last baby. Marital status and education are significantly associated with knowledge, whereas urban residence mothers with good knowledge on essential newborn care and employed mothers are significantly associated with mothers' practice of essential newborn care., Conclusion: Almost all mothers know and practice essential newborn care correctly except oil or butter application to the cord stump is highly practiced which should be avoided. Only marital status and educational status are significantly associated with mothers' knowledge.