Search

Background In recent years, much effort was made to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services (SRH) to adolescents and youths in Ethiopia particularly through establishment of youth friendly service (YFS) corners as part of the existing health care facilities. The existing evidences focused on investigating the utilization of SRH services at YFS established areas alone. There is a dearth of evidence which compares the SRH service use between the YFS implemented and non-implemented areas so that evidences can be drawn to suggest on the successes of the expansion of youth friendly corners. Methods A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted by employing a multistage cluster sampling method. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and the collected data were entered in to Epidata version 4.4.1 software and then exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. χ2 test was used to see a significant difference in SRH service utilization among adolescents from YFS implemented and non-implanted areas. The association between the SRH services utilization and the independent variables were examined using binary logistic regression. Finally, variables having p-value less than or equal to 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression model were considered as statistically significant. Results There were a significant difference in the rate of SRH service utilization between YFS implemented (33.8%) and YFS non- implemented (9.9%) areas (χ2 = 37.49, p Conclusion Compared with high schools from YFS implemented areas, the SRH service utilization was significantly lower among students from high schools where health facilities did not implement YFS. There is a need for enhancing efforts to establish YFS corners by the stakeholders at different hierarchies at places where the centers were not established so that SRH service uptake would be improved. In addition, it is better to promote open discussion with adolescents at the family level, and emphasis should be given for women education in the broad sense. Furthermore, wide-range awareness creation strategies should be used to address poor knowledge and negative attitude.

Eshetu Andarge Zeleke,1 Aderajew Nigussie T/Haymanot2 1School of Public Health, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Ethiopia; 2Department of Population and Family Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Oromiya Regional State, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Eshetu Andarge ZelekeSchool of Public Health, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box: 021, Arba Minch, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, EthiopiaTel +251-9-45-89-59-37Email andeshe7@gmail.comPurpose: Enrollment to antenatal care (ANC) is still not universal in Ethiopia. This study examines whether household food insecurity affects antenatal care attendance or not, as well as other factors associated with antenatal care. As optimal antenatal care is vital for the improvement of maternal and child health, the study will contribute to the efforts in improving maternal and child health.Patients and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 707 pregnant women at or above 3 months of self-reported pregnancy in Southern Ethiopia. Multi-stage sampling was employed to obtain the study units. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the independent factors associated with study outcome.Results: Out of a total of 707 study subjects, the majority (71%) of the study women visited a health facility for ANC service. The odds of ANC use was lower for women who were not in marital union (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.16– 0.97), and those from food insecure households (AOR=0.50, 95% CI=0.32– 0.79). ANC attendance was higher for women from high socio-economic status (AOR=2.62, 95% CI=1.29– 5.29), with planned pregnancy (AOR=1.82, 95% CI=1.16– 2.85) and a perceived risk from danger signs (AOR=4.32, 95% CI=1.60– 11.67).Conclusion: While the overall ANC use was high, women experiencing food insecurity and those with unplanned pregnancy were having lower odds of ANC attendance among others. Interventions targeting at enhancing women’s attendance to ANC service might be realized through commitment from the agriculture, economic, as well as health sectors by increasing productivity and providing special attention to women in the pre-pregnancy and pregnancy period. Moreover, educating women so that they can recognize that every pregnancy is risky and promotion of family planning to reduce unplanned pregnancy could improve attendance to the ANC service.Keywords: antenatal care, food insecurity, Arba Minch Zuria Woreda, South Ethiopia

Introduction Human Immune deficiency Virus or Acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a pandemic affecting millions around the world. The 2020 the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS report stated that the estimated number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) is 38 million globally by 2019. Ethiopia is among HIV high burden countries in Africa. By 2021, PLHIV in Ethiopia is estimated to be 754, 256. Globally out of 25.4 million PLHIV on ART, 41% reported virally non-suppressed. According to UNAIDS, the estimated viral non-suppression in Ethiopia is about 27%. Methodology A hospital based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 323 patients who were enrolled to ART from July 2016 to December 2020. The medical records of study participants were selected using simple random sampling technique & data was collected using data extraction checklist. The collected data was entered and cleaned using SPSS V.25. Kaplan–Meier is used to estimate the cumulative hazard of virological failure at different time points. During bivariate analysis variables with p Result The overall incidence rate of virological failure was 1.75 per 1000 months of observations. The mean survival time of virological failure was 14.80 months. Disclosure of sero-status (AHR = 0.038, 95% CI: 0.008–018), poor adherence (AHR = 4.24, 95% CI: 1.04–16), having OIs (Opportunistic infections) (AHR = 4.59, 95% CI: 1.17–18) and use of cotrimoxazole (CPT) prophylaxis (AHR = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.026–0.68) have shown statistically significant association with virological failure. Conclusion The incidence of virological failure among patients on first line ART in St. Paul’s hospital is low. Disclosure of sero-status, poor adherence, having OIs and use of CPT prophylaxis were associated with virological failure. Therefore, a due attention needs to be given to these factors in order to minimize virological failure in patients on ART.

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

The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ–A) has been used in a variety of forms and in a range of countries. This study involves a detailed examination of the PAQ–A to determine its applicability and effectiveness in an Ethiopian setting. We administered the scale to 110 Ethiopian adolescents on two occasions, 5 weeks apart. Data were inspected for features typical of the participants and analyzed to identify interitem correlations, the scale’s factor structure, and a range of descriptive statistics concerning composite scores. Most of the scale’s items were satisfactorily interrelated according to lenient criteria, and most items loaded on a single factor in exploratory factor analyses. However, a number of the scale’s properties were deficient according to stringent or conventionally accepted psychometric criteria. Close inspection of participants’ responses highlighted problems in the way the scale is worded, interpreted by participants, and scored. Although the scale does not capture PA as an homogeneous construct, we argue that this is not a problem and neither is its poor test–retest reliability. We make recommendations concerning presentation and scoring of the PAQ–A that are likely to enhance its validity beyond Ethiopia, and we provide a modified version of the scale.

Evidence from demographic and health surveys in various countries and Ethiopia too showed that more women are generally believed to justify intimate partner violence (IPV) than men do. An attitude that justifies IPV is one of the factors affecting victimization and perpetration from IPV. However, women’s justification about the violence and factors affecting the justification are not well documented, particularly by addressing household factors such as household food conditions. Therefore, the present study aims to fill this gap among married women of childbearing age so that evidence can be drawn for holistic interventions. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 696 currently married women of childbearing age (15–49) by using a multistage cluster sampling technique to obtain the women from 11 kebeles (the smallest administrative unit in the government structure of Ethiopia) of Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia. Data were collected using a pretested and structured questionnaire. Logistic regression was performed using IBM SPSS version 20. The odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was used to show the degree of association between the outcome variable and explanatory variables. Nearly two-thirds (59.5%) of the study women justified wife-beating in at least one of the five conditions. A higher odds of justification of wife-beating was observed among women whose marriage was arranged by any other person than the couples themselves, from food-insecure households, with a family size of 5 and above, in the age group of 30–39 years, and whose partner was in the age range of 31–39 years. In contrast, lower odds of justification of wife-beating was observed among women having an age difference of 10 or more years with their partner and those in a household wealth index of middle and higher category. Despite great efforts in realizing gender equality in the country, a higher proportion of women were having the attitude that justifies wife-beating in the five conditions specified to them. Interventions targeting the improvement of women’s attitude towards wife-beating should target against the traditional norms of arranged marriage, improve household food conditions, and decrease family size.

Eshetu Andarge,1 Teshale Fikadu,1 Rodas Temesgen,2 Mulugeta Shegaze,1 Tesfaye Feleke,1 Firehiwot Haile,1 Gisila Endashaw,3 Negussie Boti,1 Alemayehu Bekele,4 Mustefa Glagn1 1School of Public Health, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Ethiopia; 2Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Ethiopia; 3School of Nursing, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Ethiopia; 4Center for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Eshetu AndargeSchool of Public Health, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box: 021, Arba Minch, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, EthiopiaTel +251-9-45-89-59-37Email andeshe7@gmail.comPurpose: With prevention being the only and best available intervention, COVID-19 has recently become a global threat, having had and continuing to have enormous health, economic, and societal impacts. Evidence so far has documented a heightened risk of mortality to people with chronic conditions. There is a dearth of evidence regarding chronic disease patients’ intention and practice on the preventive measures. This study tried to fill this gap by assessing the intention to practice and practice on personal preventive measures (PPMs) among adults with chronic conditions.Materials and Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Southern Ethiopia among 806 adults with chronic conditions by employing a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS software version 25. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to identify factors associated with intention and practice. Level of statistical significance was declared at a P-value of less than 0.05.Results: The study showed that 52% (95% CI=47.61– 54.80) and 76.3% (95% CI=73.36– 79.24) of adults with chronic conditions were intending to practice and had ever practiced the personal preventive measures. Participants’ subjective norm (SN) (AOR=4.94; 95% CI=3.49– 6.96) and perceived behavioral control (PBC) (AOR=4.13; 95% CI=2.69– 6.34) were the factors associated with their intention. Good knowledge and a positive attitude were found to be significant factors associated with the participants’ actual practice of the PPMs among other independent factors.Conclusion: Around half of the participants were intending to practice PPMs, and three-quarters had good practice on the PPMs against COVID-19. Interventions targeted to improve intention and practice on the PPMs need to take into account improving knowledge and attitude, and build positive subjective norms and heighten the confidence to control the preventive behaviors.Keywords: intention, practice, theory of planned behavior, chronic conditions, South Ethiopia

Background: In recent years, much effort was made to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services (SRH) to adolescents and youths in Ethiopia particularly through establishment of youth friendly service (YFS) corners as part of the existing health care facilities. The existing evidences focused on the utilization of SRH services at YFS alone. There is a dearth of evidence which compares the SRH service use between the YFS implemented and non-implemented areas so that evidences can be drawn to suggest on the successes of the expansion of youth friendly corners. Methods: A school-based comparative cross-sectional study with multistage cluster sampling method was employed. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and the collected data were entered in to Epi data version 4.4.1 software and then exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. χ2 test was used to see significant difference in magnitude of SRH service utilization between YFS implemented and non-implanted areas. The association between the SRH services utilization and the independent variables was examined using binary logistic regression. Finally, variables having p-value less than or equal to 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression model were considered as statistically significant.Results: There was a significant difference in the rate of SRH service utilization between YFS implemented (33.8%) and YFS non- implemented (9.9%) areas (χ2=37.49, pConclusion: Compared with high schools from YFS implemented areas, the magnitude of utilization of SRH services was significantly lower among students from high schools where health facilities had not yet implemented YFS. There is a need for more efforts to scale up SRH services in YFS non implemented areas among stakeholders at different hierarchies. Such interventions should target on improving open discussion at family level, knowledge and attitude on SRH issues and women education at large.

Low birth weight is a global public health problem having various severe and life-threatening health effects. The World Health Organization is working to reduce the prevalence of low birth weight to 30% by the year 2025. Pinpointing the determinants of low birth weight at different scenarios is crucial to reduce the rate of low birth weight in low-income countries which consist of 96.5% of global low birth weight newborns. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess determinants of low birth weight in Sidama Zone public hospitals of South Ethiopia. An institution-based case-control study was conducted from March 1 to May 5, 2019, in Sidama Zone public hospitals. Data were collected from 354 mother-neonate samples with 118 of them having newborns with birth weight<2500 g (cases) and 236 of them having birth weight≥2500 g (controls) using a pretested, interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and medical record review. The odds of being rural dweller women was 3.51 times higher among cases (low birth weight babies) than among controls (normal birth weight babies) as compared to being urban dweller women (AOR=3.51, 95% CI (1.91-6.45)). The likelihood of initiating antenatal care late was 3.22 times more among cases than among controls when compared with timely initiation of antenatal care (AOR=3.22, 95% CI (1.47-7.14)). The probability of having pregnancy-induced hypertension was 4.49 times higher among mothers of the cases than among mothers of the controls as compared to not having pregnancy-induced hypertension (AOR=4.49, 95% CI (1.94-10.38)). The odds of not taking iron and folic acid during pregnancy was 3.92 times higher among mothers of the cases than mothers of the controls when compared with taking iron and folic acid (AOR=3.92, 95% CI (1.80-8.50)). The likelihood of having Mid-Upper Arm Circumference MUAC<23 cm was 4.27 times higher among mothers of the cases than among mothers of the controls as compared to having MUAC≥23 cm (AOR=4.27, 95% CI (2.24-8.12)). The probability of having inadequate dietary diversity was 3.75 times higher among cases than among controls as compared to having adequate dietary diversity (AOR=3.75, 95% CI (1.64-8.57)). Interventions targeting the aversion of low birth weight should focus on promotion of iron-folic acid supplementation and dietary diversification through timely initiation of antenatal care.

Background Meeting minimum standards of dietary quality in mothers and children is a challenge in many developing countries including Ethiopia. Emerging evidence suggests that maternal and child dietary diversity is associated but little is known about the associated factors of concordance of mother-child dietary diversity in Ethiopia and none is documented in the study area. This study examines the concordance between mother- child (6-23 months) dyads dietary diversity and the associated factors in Kucha district, Gamo Gofa zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 791 mother- child (6-23 months) pairs from 11 selected kebeles in March 6 to April 13, 2017. Multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select the study subjects. The sampling frame was obtained from family folder of health posts in each kebele. The mother-child pairs were selected by simple random sampling method. The 7 food groups of World Health Organization (WHO) for children and the 10 food groups of FANTA/FAO, 2016 for mothers were used to analyze the dietary diversity. Cohen’s kappa statistics was calculated to see the strength of concordance. Multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to determine factors affecting mother-child dietary diversity concordance. Result A good concordance was noted between mother- child dietary diversity scores (Kappa = 0.43). Only 56 (7.1%) of mothers were negative deviants and 133 (16.8%) of mothers were positive deviants in dietary diversity consumption. Rural residence (AOR =3.49; 95% CI: 1.90-6.41), mothers having no formal education (AOR= 1.8; 95% CI: 1.08-3.05, mothers who did not own milking cow (AOR= 1.7; 95% CI: 1.10-2.56),children with low diversity diversity(AOR= 8.23; 95% CI: 5.17-13.08) and mothers with low dietary diversity (AOR= 0.46; 95% CI: 0.29-0.74) were found to be factors associated with mother-child dietary diversity concordance. An increase in the percentage of children reaching the minimum dietary diversity was greater with successive increase in maternal dietary diversity. Conclusion Despite, interesting similarity between mothers and children dietary consumption, more than three quarter of concordants didn’t achieve the recommended dietary diversity score (were low concordants). Interventions targeting on rural women’s access to high school education, home based milking cow rearing and promote nutrition sensitive agriculture to meet the dietary requirements of mothers and children in a sustainable manner and public health efforts to improve child nutrition may be strengthened by promoting maternal dietary diversity due to its potential effect on the entire family.

Background Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) is a strategy to promote use of skilled maternal and neonatal care so that they can get timely skilled care, particularly during child birth. There is minimal evidence on the factors associated with BP/CR among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to assess the factors influencing BP/CR among pregnant women in Southern Ethiopia for the purpose of improving utilization of skilled attendant at birth. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 707 pregnant women in Southern Ethiopia in March 2015. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used. For the quantitative study, the study subjects were included in the study by employing multi-stage sampling. Data was entered into Epidata version 3.1 and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics 20. Level of statistical significance was declared at a p- value of = 4 (AOR = 4.52, 95% CI = 2.26, 9.02), who received advice on BP &CR (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.13, 3.01),and who were knowledgeable on labor and delivery(LAD) danger signs (AOR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.01, 3.44). However, it was lower among women with parity of 2 - 4(AOR = .0.51, 95% CI = 0.31, 0.84) and >4 (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.31, 0.84) than primiparous women. It was also lower among women from food insecure households (AOR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.42) than their counterparts. Lack of awareness on BP/CR, privacy and respect in health institutions were mentioned by the FGD discussants as barriers to women’s preparation for birth. Conclusions The study showed that BP/CR is inadequate among pregnant women in the study area. Improving socio-economic and food security status of women, strengthening community-based education on complete attendance of ANC, and conforming to professional ethical standards were recommended. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-017-1582-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Providing compassionate and respectful maternity services in order to bring satisfaction to service users is one of the health extension services packages in Ethiopia. Though the service utilization and its associated factors have been well documented so far, yet there is a dearth of information on client satisfaction; particularly among rural women who are mostly the target groups of health extension services within the Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess mothers' satisfaction with health extension services and the associated factors in the Gamo Goffa Zone, of Southern Ethiopia. Methods A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 478 women from February 1st to February 28th of 2018. A pre-tested and interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The study participants were selected using a systematic random sampling technique by allocating a proportion to each rural kebeles. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify associated factors. Odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was used to determine the degree of association. Level of statistical significance was set at a p-value of less than 0.05. Result The overall proportion of mothers who were satisfied with health extension services was 37.4% with 95% CI (33-44%). Mothers who had good family monthly income [AOR = 4.66 (95% CI: 1.1, 20.6)], whose husbands participated in the health extension program [AOR = 4.02 (95% CI: 2.0, 8.1)], who had recent participation in planning of health extension programs [AOR = 5.75 (95% CI: 2.0, 16.5)], who were recognized as a model family [AOR = 2.23 (95% CI: 1.1, 4.6)] had higher odds of satisfaction with health extension services. Conclusion Satisfaction with the health extension services was low among women in the study area. A better household monthly income, women's and their husbands' participation in health extension services and being a member of a model family were positively associated with their satisfaction. Interventions to enhance women's satisfaction in the health extension service need to focus on household-based involvement of them and their husbands in planning and implementing the services. Likewise, expansion of experiences of model families in the community would raise satisfaction levels.

BackgroundAccess to outpatient therapeutic feeding programs for all children who had uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in need is a global health priority. In Ethiopia SAM is treated in hospitals, health centers and health posts. Health extension workers (HEWs) manage SAM that is uncomplicated at the health posts through the outpatient therapeutic feeding programs (OTP). Identifying predictors that predict time-to-recovery of children on OTP is thus vital to optimizing therapeutic success. However, the factors affecting children's' recovery time at this peripheral health institutions were not well documented. Therefore, this study aimed to identify predictors of time-to-recovery from SAM among children treated at an OTP in health posts of Arba Minch Zuria woreda, Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted on 402 children enrolled in an OTP in the health posts of Arba Minch Zuria woreda based on data abstracted from their medical records. The study children were selected using systematic random sampling method using a list of their medical record numbers. Both descriptive and analytic analyses were performed. Median time of recovery was estimated by using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. Furthermore, bivariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to identify factors significantly associated with outcome variable.ResultThe median time-to-recovery from severe acute malnutrition among children was 49 days (Interquartile range [IQR]: 42-56). Among the participants, 70.40% with 95% CI: (74.2-85.0%) recovered from severe acute malnutrition. The Cox-proportional hazard analysis showed that children's age at admission (Adjusted hazards ratio [AHR] = 3.15; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.85, 5.03), diagnosis with edema (AHR = 1.75, 95%CI: (1.27, 2.43), co-morbidity of diarrhea (AHR = 0.22, 95% CI(0.13, 0.39), and anemia (AHR = 0.64, 95% CI:(0.42, 0.98) were found to be predictors of time to recovery from SAM.ConclusionsThe median time-to-recovery at the health posts in this study was in the accepted time period for the maximum Ethiopian standard protocol set for the management of SAM. However, the nutritional recovery rate was lower than the minimum acceptable threshold for the Sphere International Standards. Therefore, early screening of co-morbidity like diarrhea, anemia and edemaand timely intervention would increase the chance of recovery of children.

Globally, 53% of women in reproductive age group use modern methods of contraception, with less than one percent of which using implants. In Ethiopia and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, short-term contraceptive methods have been more utilized than long-acting methods like implants. Despite their effectiveness, implants have been underutilized due to various reasons. There is a dearth of stronger evidences on those factors in the country in general and the study area in particular. Therefore, this study aimed to identify determinants of implant utilization among married women of reproductive age at Chencha town, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. A community-based case-control study design was conducted among 324 women of reproductive age, 90 cases (users of implants) and 234 controls (users of short-acting contraceptives) from July to August 2017. Data were collected using a pretested, structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview. The data were entered and coded using Epi info 3.5.1 and then exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 for cleaning and analysis. Descriptive analysis was done to quantify proportions, means, and standard deviations of variables. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were done to identify the determinants of implant utilization. A total of 324 married women of reproductive age group were interviewed with response rate of 98%. In this study, the major determinants for implant utilization were desire to have 3–4 children {AOR = 0.104, 95% CI (0.03, 0.4)}, husband disproval {AOR = 0.11, 95% CI (0.038, 0.314)}, joint decision {AOR = 3.11, 95% CI (1.02, 9.48)}, and decision by other persons {AOR = 0.065, 95% CI (0.012, 0.352)}. This study found out that desire to have more children, husband disapproval, joint decision making, and decision by other persons were determinants of implant utilization among the target women. Implant utilization would improve through strengthening existing interventions targeting women with high fertility desire, transformation of gender norms in household decisions, and counseling for informed decisions.

Additional file 1.

BackgroundCompletion along continuum of care for maternal and newborn health(MNH) service like antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and postnatal care services is one of the currently recommended strategies to reduce both maternal and neonatal mortality to achieve the global target of ending preventable maternal and under five children’s mortality. Although studies on factors affecting each segment of MNH services were well documented in Ethiopia, there is a dearth of evidence on the level of continuum of care and factors associated with it. Thus, this study tries to fill this gap in the country in general and in the study area in particular.MethodsA community-based cross sectional study was conducted among 438 postnatal women who gave births in the last one year in Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance Site. The sample women were selected by using computer generated random numbers from the list of women who gone at least six-weeks after birth. A pre-tested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was entered and coded in Epi-data and analysed using SPSS software version 23. Binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with the outcome variable.ResultsThe overall completion along the continuum of care was 42(9.7%). The factors significantly associated with continuum of care completion were early antenatal booking (before 16 weeks) [AOR: 10.751, CI (5.095, 22.688], birth preparedness and complication readiness [AOR: 2.934, CI (1.414, 6.087), pre-pregnancy contraception utilization [AOR: 3.963, CI: 1.429,10.990], employed women [AOR: 2.586, CI: ((1.245, 5.371))], and planned pregnancy [AOR: 3.494 CI :(1.068, 11.425)].ConclusionCompletion along continuum of care was low in the study area. Thus, efforts in improving completion of the cares should focus on early booking during antenatal period, reducing unplanned pregnancy, and improvement on birth preparedness and complication readiness interventions.

BackgroundCompletion along continuum of care for maternal and newborn health (MNH) services like antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and postnatal care services is advantageous over each segment of services. It is one of the currently recommended strategies to reduce both maternal and neonatal mortality and achieve the global target of ending preventable maternal and under-five children's mortality. Although studies on factors affecting each segment of MNH services have been well documented in Ethiopia, there is a dearth of evidence about the level of continuum of care and factors associated with it. This study was intended to fill this gap in evidence in the study area so that interventions could be taken to improve maternal and newborn health.MethodsA community-basedcross-sectional study was conducted among 432 postnatal women who gave birth in the previous year in Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site. Women were selected by computer generated random numbers from a list of women who stayed at least 6 weeks after birth. A pre-tested, structured, and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were entered and coded in Epi-data and analyzed using SPSS software version 23. Binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with the dependent variable. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were fitted in steps to select candidate variables for multivariable analysis and to control for potential confounding effect respectively.ResultsThe overall completion along the continuum of care was 42(9.7%). The factors significantly associated with completion of care along the continuumwere timely initiation of antenatalcare (before16weeks) [AOR: 10.7, CI (5.1, 22.7], birth preparedness and complication readiness [AOR: 2.9, CI (1.4, 6.1), pre-pregnancy contraception utilization [AOR: 3.9, CI: 1.4, 11.0], being employed [AOR: 2.6 CI:(1.3, 5.4)], and having a planned pregnancy [AOR:3.5 CI: (1.1, 11.4)].Conclusion and recommendationCompletion along the continuum of care for MNH services was low in the study area. Thus, efforts to improve the completion of care should focus on interventions that enhance early initiation of antenatal care, planned pregnancy, and birth preparedness and complication readiness.

Background. Evidence shows that services for youths are poorly coordinated and uneven in quality. There is a lack of evidence which informs the level of youth-friendly service quality in the study area. So, this study fills the information gaps and recommends practical solutions. Objective. The main aim of the study was to assess youth-friendly service quality and associated factors at public health facilities in Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia. Methods. Facility-based quantitative cross-sectional study supplemented with the qualitative design was conducted from September to December 2017 at two public health centers in Arba Minch town. Sample sizes of 403 young clients were included in the study using a systematic sampling technique. Data was collected by using an interview-administered questionnaire and observation checklist. Quantitative data analysis was made using SPSS version 20.0 to identify the association between the dependent and independent variables. Qualitative findings were coded and analyzed by using content analysis in Microsoft Excel. Finally, results are presented using narrations, tables, and figures. Results. A total of 403 youth-friendly service clients participated in the study. The overall score input, process, and youth clients’ satisfaction was 54.41%, 42.0%, and 49.1%, respectively. Age (15-19) [AOR (95% CI) = 3.2 (1.4-7.8)], employment [AOR (95% CI) = 6.4 (2-17)], place of YFS [AOR (95% CI) = 0.35 (0.1-0.8)], frequency of visit [AOR (95% CI) = 0.03 (0.0-0.3)], waiting time [AOR (95% CI) = 0.02 (0.0-0.09)], and comfort with providers’ sex [AOR (95% CI) = 0.07 (0.02-0.2)] were factors which are significantly associated with client satisfaction in this study. Conclusion and Recommendation. The study revealed that the overall quality of youth-friendly health service is below-set criteria (not good quality) in its all components, i.e., structural, process, and output. So, improvement of facility setup, client-provider interaction, and service sensitivity to all young groups and waiting time of services is essential.

Community based newborn care is a means of bringing life-saving care to mothers and newborns at the community level. However, the practice is challenging within the Ethiopian health system. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of community based newborn care practices and associated factors among women who gave birth at home in Amaro Woreda, southern Ethiopia, 2019. Across-sectional study design and simple random sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Data was collected through face-to-face interview; EpiData version 3.1 and SPSS version 20 software were used for analysis. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression was employed to analyze the associated factors. In this study 29% practiced community based essential newborn care. Educational status of father (AOR = 2.28; 95% CI: 1.07-4.84), last delivery assisted by relative (AOR = 3.58; 95% CI: 1.66-7.73), having awareness about community based newborn care (AOR = 3.49; 95% CI: 2.11-5.77), awareness about newborn danger sign (AOR = 2.18; 95% CI: 1.29-3.68) were some of identified factors associated with community based newborn care practice. In conclusion, community based newborn care practice was low. Therefore, promotion of information at community level, women empowerment, and strengthening health extension program were recommending.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and food insecurity are an ever growing public health concerns in Ethiopia. However, the connection between the two is not yet well investigated. Therefore, this study compares IPV by household food security status and examines the association between IPV and food insecurity and among currently married women in childbearing age in Arba Minch town, South Ethiopia. A community based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 696 currently married women (15-49). A quantitative data was collected using a pretested and structured questionnaire on randomly selected women. Logistic regression was done using IBM SPSS version 20. Statistical significance was declared at p-value of less than 0.05 and odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was used to show the degree of association. Lifetime and current IPV were 62.4% and 50%, respectively. Sixty-three (23.6%) and 285 (66.4%) women who experienced current IPV were from food secured and insecure households, respectively (P-value