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BackgroundFertility rates are key indicators of population health and demographic change, influencing economic development, healthcare planning, and social policies. Understanding subnational variation in fertility rate is important for effective geographical targeting and policy prioritization. This study aimed to identify geographic variation, trends, and determinants of fertility rates in Ethiopia over the past two decades.MethodsWe estimated total fertility rates (TFRs) and age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) using five nationally representative cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys collected in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2019. ASFRs represent the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 during the 3 years before each survey, while TFRs indicate the average number of children a woman would have by the end of her reproductive years, calculated as the sum of ASFRs over five-year intervals. We developed model-based geostatistics by incorporating demographic and healthcare access data with spatial random fields to produce high-resolution fertility rate maps. These results were then aggregated to produce fertility rate estimates at local, sub-national, and national levels in Ethiopia.ResultsThe national TFR gradually declined from 4.8 live births in 2000 to 4.2 live births in 2019, but it is still above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. There were sub-national and local variations in TFR, ranging from 5.7 live births in Somalia and 5.3 Oromia regions to 2.7 live births in Addis Ababa and 3.6 live births Dire Dawa cities. Geographical areas with high TFR were mostly associated with a high proportion of Muslim women and low access to health facilities.ConclusionDespite a decline in fertility rates among women of reproductive age over the past two decades, marked spatial variation persists at sub-national and local levels in Ethiopia, with demographic factors determining the spatial distribution and rate of decline, highlighting the need for tailored programs and strategies in high-fertility areas to increase access to family planning.

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), which is the only member of the Morbillivirus caprinae species and belongs to the genus Morbillivirus within the Paramyxoviridae family, causes the highly contagious viral sickness “Peste des petits ruminants (PPR).” PPR is of serious economic significance for small ruminant production, particularly in Africa. Control of this critical disease depends highly on successful vaccination against the PPRV. An in-depth understanding of the genetic evolution of the live-attenuated PPR vaccine Nigeria 75/1 strain used in Africa is essential for the successful eradication of this disease by 2030. Therefore, this study investigated the possible genetic evolution of the PPR vaccine produced by various African laboratories compared with the master seed available at AU-PANVAC. RT-PCR was performed to amplify a segment of the hypervariable C-terminal part of the nucleoprotein (N) from commercial batches of PPR vaccine Nigeria 75/1 strain. The sequences were analyzed, and 100% nucleotide sequence identity was observed between the master seed and vaccines produced. The results of this study indicate the genetic stability of the PPR vaccine from the Nigeria 75/1 strain over decades and that the vaccine production process used by different manufacturers did not contribute to the emergence of mutations in the vaccine strain.

Keflie Yohannes Gebresilassie,1 Alemakef Wagnew Melesse,2 Tilahun Yemanu Birhan,2 Asefa Adimasu Taddese3 1Midwifery Directorate, College of Medicine and Health Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Medicine and Health Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Health Informatics /Biostatistics/, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Keflie Yohannes Gebresilassie, Email yohanneskifle43@gmail.comBackground: Violence Against Women (VAW) becomes a serious public health issue as unnecessary morbidity and mortalities affect women and girls. Women who experience violence had the possibility of another of violence. Although gender-based violence (GBV) is a common problem in Ethiopia, the burden is not well studied.Objective: This study determines the magnitude of Gender-Based Violence among women receiving Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in a Specialized Hospital.Methods: Institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital among gender-based violence (GBV) service users from January 2017 to January 2022. Data were collected from register logbooks and also medical records for some variables, using a tool prepared by refereeing literature and adapting locally available resources and researchers experiences. Epi-info 7 was used to enter the data and exported it to SPSS V-23 for analysis. Descriptive statistics like frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations are computed for all variables.Results: The lifetime proportion of sexual and physical violence was found to be 81% and 5%, respectively, while 3% of women experienced both sexual and physical violence. One hundred seventy (29.4%) of the incidents were done by an intimate-partners (boyfriend/husband). The majority (86%) had extra genital injuries. After genital examination, about one-fourth (25%) of survivors had fresh hymenal tears. About three-fourths (75.1%) of the survivors visit the health facility within threes day after the incident.Conclusion: The study found that GBV is common in Northwest Ethiopia. Future research should involve sensitive methods and grounded approaches to explore survivors’ experiences and views on local gender cultures and other contextual factors. Establishing One-stop-center could improve the quality of the services provided to the women.Keywords: Gender, Sexual, Physical, Violence, Women, Health, Ethiopia

Bisrat Misganew Geremew, Kassahun Alemu Gelaye, Alemakef Wagnew Melesse, Temesgen Yihunie Akalu, Adhanom Gebreegziabher Baraki Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Temesgen Yihunie AkaluUniversity of Gondar, Gondar 196, EthiopiaTel +251929390709Email temesgenyihunie@gmail.comPurpose: Even though remarkable declines in under-five mortality rates noticed globally, nearly 5.6 million children still die annually before celebrating their fifth birthday. The 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) report revealed that 67 children per 1000 live births died before the fifth birthday. This study aimed at determining factors affecting under-five mortality in Ethiopia using EDHS, 2016.Materials and Methods: The data were retrieved from the EDHS 2016, and a total weighted number of 11,023 under-five children were included. Descriptive statistics were reported using tables, graphs, and texts. A multilevel negative binomial regression model was fitted, and adjusted incidence rate (ARR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a p-value < 0.05 were reported. The deviance test was used to check the goodness of fit.Results: Mother attained higher education (ARR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.10– 0.66), female-headed household (ARR=1.32, 95% CI: 1.05– 1.66), age of household head (AIRR=1.07, 95% CI: 1.03,1.11), preceding birth interval ≥ 48 months (ARR=0.51, 95% CI: 0.42– 0.61), child who had history of diarrhea (ARR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.08– 1.41), multiple birth type (ARR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.34– 2.42), mothers who delivered in health facility (ARR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.73,0.94), residents of Addis Ababa (ARR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.28– 0.98), and Amhara region (ARR=1.43, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.88) were statistically significant with the number of under-five mortality.Conclusion: In this study, under-five mortality remains a public health problem in Ethiopia. Educational status of the mother, women delivered at health institution, preceding birth interval 24– 35 and ≥ 48, and residents of Addis Ababa reduced the incidence of under-five mortality. On the other hand, being a female household head, age of mother at first giving birth, being employed, having multiple births, and childhood diarrhea were associated with a higher incidence of under-five mortality. This finding suggests that enhancing opportunities to female education, addressing regional disparities, and encouraging mothers to deliver at health institutions will help to reduce the burden of under-five mortality.Keywords: under-five mortality, negative binomial, multilevel analysis, Ethiopia

Nuhamin Zeru,1 Destaw Fetene,2 Demiss Mulatu Geberu,3 Alemakef Wagnew Melesse,2 Asmamaw Atnafu3 1University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Health Systems and Policy, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Asmamaw AtnafuUniversity of Gondar, P.O. Box 196, Gondar, EthiopiaTel +251-918776945Email asme2002@gmail.comPurpose: Self-medication is the use of medicines by individuals to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms without any medical supervision. Such practices may cause antimicrobial resistance, which causes treatment failure, economic loss, serious health hazards, missed diagnosis, delayed appropriate treatment, drug dependency, and adverse drug effects. However, empirical evidence is limited to the current status of its practices and associated factors among university students. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and associated factors of self-medication practices among medicine and health science students at the University of Gondar.Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed from February to March 2017. A total of 792 randomly selected students were surveyed with a self-administered structured questionnaire. Epi Info version 7 and SPSS version 20 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed. In multivariable analysis, P-value < 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to identify associated factors.Results: Self-medication practice was found to be 52.4% (95% CI: (49%, 56%)) among university students. For most students, the major reason for using self-medication was taking the illness as less serious (71.1%). Females (AOR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.08– 2.01), income category (USD 44.01– 175.87) (AOR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.29– 0.78), sixth year students (AOR: 8.71; 95% CI: 4.04– 18.77) and health officer students (AOR: 2.36; 95% CI: 1.20– 4.63) were found to be significantly associated with self-medication practice.Conclusion: More than half of the students practiced self-medication, which is moderately higher than other findings. Gender, income, year of study, and field of study were the major factors that affected self-medication. Therefore, interventions that can halt the high magnitude of self-medication and factors associated with it are crucial. Special attention should be given to students who stay in the university for longer years.Keywords: self-medication, university students, College of Medicine and Health Science

The study aimed to investigate the effect of computer simulation and animation-integrated instruction on preservice science teacher trainees' conceptual understanding and retention of acid-base chemistry and stoichiometry. A quantitative approach with a pretest-posttest-delayed test quasi-experimental design was used. In the study area, there were only two sections of first-year trainees in the natural science department. So a comprehensive sampling technique of the two intact sections was employed. The two intact classes were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG) and a comparison group (CG). Data was collected using Acid-Base Chemistry and Stoichiometry Conceptual Understanding of a two-tier multiple-choice Test (ABSCUT). Parametric statistics (independent sample t-test and ANCOVA) were used for the data analysis. The independent sample t-test was used for the pre-test analysis to examine the prerequisite experiences of trainees in the two groups and male and female trainees in the IG before the intervention. The result showed no significant difference between the mean score of the CG and IG. The result also showed no significant difference in the mean score of male and female trainees in the IG. The ANCOVA was used for post-test and delayed test analysis after the intervention. The result indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups on conceptual understanding, F(1,49)=5.07, p=0.029, partial eta squared=0.094, in favor of IG. This tends to imply the concepts of the trainees who received the intervention outperformed the comparison group. The ANCOVA result also indicated that gender difference has no statistically significant difference in the IG, F(1,24)=3.68, p=0.067. The delayed-test analysis showed that the IG has higher retention than the CG. Based on the results, this study recommended that policymakers, chemistry curriculum experts, chemistry curricular material developers, and practitioners alike consider the application of computer simulation-integrated chemistry instruction to enhance learners' conceptual understanding and retention.

This systematic review aims to provide evidence-based literature on the impacts of technology-based instruction on students' academic achievements, attitude, and recalling capacity. The review was made based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) review methodology. To achieve this aim, 583 prior studies from 2013 to 2022 from ERIC and Google Scholar databases were collected. After the exclusion of some studies using PRISMA criteria, 16 studies were included for analysis. Content analysis was employed on the selected literature. The review revealed that technology-integrated teaching positively affected students' academic achievement, attitude toward chemistry, and retention capacity. The review result also confirmed that similar benefits were observed from both male and female students in technology-based instruction. This systematic literature review highlights the existing research gaps observed in the field of the impacts of technology-integrated teaching on students' achievement, attitude, and retaining chemistry content. Thus, it is likely to conclude that technology-integrated chemistry instruction improves students' academic achievement, attitude, and retention capacity. It is also possible to conclude that technology-based instruction is gender-friendly. Most of the research has been done in high school using a quasi-experimental design, the researchers recommended that further research in middle schools on different chemistry topics using different research designs (e.g., Design-Based Research) in doing research in this area.

This study's main objective was to use structural equation modeling to examine the direct effects of teachers' amotivation, identified regulation, external regulation, introjected regulation, and intrinsic motivation on PLC development in Ethiopia's Awi administrative zone's primary and middle schools. For this purpose, a correlational quantitative study design was used. The arbitrarily selected 342 primary and middle school teachers were the major data sources through a questionnaire. The findings of this study confirmed that unlike identified regulation, introjected regulation, and amotivation, teachers' intrinsic motivation for continuous professional development and external regulation has a significantly positive and strong direct effect on building a professional learning community in schools. Besides, teacher intrinsic motivation fully mediated the influence of introjected regulation and identified regulation on enhancing professional learning communities, but amotivation and external regulation did not. In conclusion, the study underscores the critical role of intrinsic motivation in fostering PLC development in schools. Educational stakeholders should prioritize initiatives that promote teachers' intrinsic motivation, autonomy, and sense of purpose to cultivate vibrant learning communities.

This study determined how chemistry instruction using technology affected student achievement and retention. To achieve the goal of the study, Solomon's four-group quasi-experimental research design was used. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent sample t-test were used to statistically examine the data. A one-way ANOVA analysis revealed that, for achievement and retention, respectively, the mean scores of both trial groups showed statistically significant differences from the mean scores of comparison groups F (3.161)=88.568, p<0.05 and F (3.161)=14.75, p<0.05). The independent samples t-test on the achievement and retention post-test mean score of the experimental and comparison groups respectively, was statistically significant (t (163)=16.05, p<0.05 and t (162.09)=7.61, p<0.05). Independent sample t-test shows that male and female students' post-test scores for achievement or retention in the experimental group results was (t (42)=1.53; p>0.05 and t (38)=-0.465; p>0.05, respectively. This intervention has no statistically significant gender related impact on students' achievement and retention. Thus, it is conceivable to draw the conclusion that chemistry instruction that incorporates technology enhances student achievement and retention, but its effect is gender neutral. According to recent studies, chemistry teachers and teacher training programs should use technology-integrated lessons to help students acquire and recall chemical bonding concepts.

Urban land use plans (ULUPs) contribute to the efficient use of resources for sustainable urban development. However, the metered contribution of Bahir Dar’s ULUPs to the efficient use of resources has not yet been known. Bahir Dar is the capital of the Amhara Region and a scenic city on the southern shore of Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest lake and the source of the Blue Nile. It attracts many visitors from inside and outside the country. This study evaluates the effectiveness of ULUPs in Bahir Dar to achieve efficient use of resources such as water, energy, and food. Thus, the study developed criteria to assess the effectiveness of ULUPs based on the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The results show that its ULUPs were not resource efficient in terms of food production, water quality and yield, and transport energy usage.

The purpose of this paper was to review practitioners' conception and involvement in the curriculum development and implementation process. Different empirical works done in Ethiopia and reflections of lived experiences of the researchers were used as sources of this review. The results revealed that the dominant curriculum conceptualization of the practitioners was found to be consistent with the technical procedural curriculum conception. The participation of practitioners in Ethiopia faced varied challenges including academic qualification, power imposition, and failure to consider curriculum as a practical and a phenomenological study. Finally, the researchers forwarded relevant recommendations as detailed in the text.

This study sought to examine the direct and indirect influences of school climate characteristics and the mediating role of teacher professional identity to the development of teachers' professional capital using data from 302 primary and middle school teachers of Banja "woreda," Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Results of Structural Equation Modeling analysis revealed teachers' perception of school climate had a statistically significant and strong direct influence on their professional identity development but did not have a significant direct influence on their professional capital development. Mediation analysis has shown that school climate had a statistically significant and strong indirect influence on professional capital development, i.e. teachers' perceived professional identity fully mediated the effect of school climate on their professional capital development. The SEM analysis also disclosed the direct effect of school climate on teachers' professional identity and professional capital development and the direct effect of professional identity on teachers' professional capital development.

This paper deals with the numerical investigation of a singularly perturbed parabolic differential-difference equation with a time lag. The proposed method comprises the θ method (θ=1) and the non-standard finite difference methods for temporal and spatial variable discretization, respectively. Besides, the Richardson extrapolation technique is employed to boost the accuracy and order of convergence of the scheme. The applicability of the proposed approach is confirmed through some numerical examples. Furthermore, we have improved the convergence from almost first to almost second order.

Study region: Surface water supply source of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, relies primarily on the small reservoirs in Gefersa and Legedadi water supply systems located upstream of Little and Big Akaki rivers. Thus, Gefersa and Legedadi are the study watersheds of this research. Study focus: This study evaluates the impacts of land use and climate changes on surface water availability and the benefits of nature-based solutions (NbS) to enhance the water supply and the life of the dams in the Gefersa and Legedadi small watersheds that supply water to Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia. Several land use and climate change scenarios have been developed and integrated into baseline hydrological model to assess their impact on water balance components and sediment yield. Extreme climate change scenarios were developed using the combination of the 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles of future precipitation and temperature changes. New hydrological insights for the region: The results of the land use change analysis revealed a shift between 2012, 2022 and 2042, with a significant expansion of urban settlements and a decline in forestland and vegetation cover. Under climate change scenario, the simulations project that drier seasons become drier and wet seasons become wetter. Overall, this study highlights the potential benefits of NbS in enhancing water availability, particularly during the dry season, promoting dry season farming and increasing the water supply to meet the water demand. The approach followed in this study can be adapted to other watersheds with access to more recent and good quality datasets for future research.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the status of curriculum development and implementation practices in the Ethiopian education system through the lens of Schwab's Signs of Crisis in the Curriculum Field. In 1969, Schwab identified three important ideas about the curriculum field in the American education system. First, he notified that the curriculum is moribund; second, the curriculum reached unexamined and mistaken reliance on theory, and third, the field needs a renaissance to contribute to the quality of education. The case-study method was used in this article. The case study aims to bring out unique characteristics and differences in the situation. It also involves a comprehensive analysis of a situation concerning subjects in organizations. This study was analyzed qualitatively through narration/description based on data-driven themes. The data were collected from primary sources. Primary sources included education policy documents of Ethiopia like ESDPs, curriculum framework, and ETP. In addition, educational articles, research reports, and ENLA examination result analysis were the major data sources in this study. The analysis confirmed that Schwab's signs of crises in the curriculum field were prevalent and the resolutions made by the predominant view followers as a response to Schwab's signs of crisis in the curriculum field were not in place in the curriculum development and implementation practices of the Ethiopian education system. It can be concluded that in the Ethiopian modern education system the past and the current systems remain unproductive in cultivating good citizenship and in revealing the societal and cultural values for the socioeconomic development of the country. Finally, the researchers recommended that curriculum specialists should exert unreserved effort to save the curriculum field from its gloomy occasion in the Ethiopian education system and thereby assure a renaissance for the quality of education.