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Hayelom Berhe,1 Wanzahun Godana,2 Negussie Boti Sidamo,2,3 Gebremaryam Temesgen Birgoda,4 Lielt Gebresillasie,5 Sultan Hussen,2 Selamawit Gebeyehu2 1Department of Nursing, Hossana College of Health Science, Hossana, Ethiopia; 2School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 3Department of Public Health, PHARMA College, Wolaita Sodo Campus, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia; 4Departments of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 5Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Gebremaryam Temesgen Birgoda; Negussie Boti Sidamo, Email degnesh31@gmail.com; Hanehalid@gmail.comBackground: HIV/AIDS remains one of the world’s serious public health challenges. Patients with limited support from their family and community often experience social damage, poor adherence, compliance and are prone to additional psychosocial problems. This study aimed to assess the level of perceived social support and factors among adults living with HIV/AIDS.Methods: Facility-based mixed study (sequential explanatory) design was conducted among 423 adults living with HIV/AIDS attending chronic care follow-up at public hospitals in Gamo zone, southern Ethiopia. Respondents were selected by systematic sampling technique. The bivariable and multivariable ordinal logistic regression was used to determine associated factors. All assumptions applied to ordinal logistic regression including multicollinearity, proportional odds, model fitness and pseudo R2 were checked. Level of significance was declared at p-values < 0.05 and 95% CI.Results: Proportion of perceived social support of participants was 128 (30.7%), 197 (47.2%) and 92 (22.1%) with low, moderate and high levels of perceived social support, respectively. Females [(APOR = 2.42, 95% CI:(1.63– 3.58), P < 0.001)], no formal education [(AOR = 0.49, 95% CI: (0.30– 0.789), P = 0.004)], fair adherence [(APOR = 2.07, 95% CI: (1.17– 3.49), P = 0.006)], no comprehensive knowledge about HIV [(APOR = 0.40, 95% CI: (0.26– 0.62), P < 0.001)], and no disclosure status [(APOR = 0.64, 95% CI: (0.43– 0.95), P = 0.028] were significantly associated with perceived social support. Qualitative findings revealed that disclosure and adherences involving income generation activities are beneficial to perceived social support.Conclusion: This study showed that one from three of the participants had low perceived social support. Low perceived social support was associated with adherence, disclosure status of individual, educational status and knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Family, friends, health care providers and significant others should provide necessary support and inform people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) about social support.Keywords: perceived social support, HIV/AIDS, adults, adherence

This study was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning (BIMF) in an Ethiopian context. Data were obtained from 202 women with a child less than 1 year of age. Narrow standard deviations characterized responses to most BIMF items, but a handful of items had wider standard deviations associated with bimodality. Most interitem correlations were|.15|, and 13 of the 20 BIMF items did not load satisfactorily on any factor in exploratory factor analyses. Two factors emerged from the remaining items, one with three items and the other with four. Although poor reliability results relating to internal (interitem) and temporal consistency could be attributed to limited variability in the data, a number of concerns are raised about the BIMF itself, including its content validity, instructions, response options, and usefulness in healthcare settings. Suggestions are made for improving the assessment of maternal functioning in Ethiopia and other contexts. More generally, this research demonstrates that researchers should not assume that the psychometric properties and appropriateness of scales will remain robust when those scales are used in contexts that differ from the contexts in which they were created.

Negussie Boti,1 Sultan Hussen,1 Gistane Ayele,1 Abera Mersha,2 Selamawit Gebeyehu,1 Mekidm Kassa,1 Tesfaye Feleke,1 Gebremaryam Temesgen3 1School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 2School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 3Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Negussie Boti Tel +251-920-997-752Email Hanehalid@gmail.comBackground: Mental health disorders have identified as being one of the public health issues throughout the world. Recent evidence reveals that more than 21 million people diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, there is little information about community perception and attitude towards people with Schizophrenia in Ethiopia.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the community perception and attitude towards people with Schizophrenia among residents of Arba Minch Zuria Districts, Southern Ethiopia.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 617 randomly selected adults. Interviewer-administered standard tool was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics like frequency, mean, and median computed. A binary logistic regression model used to identify factors affecting community perception and attitude towards people with schizophrenia.Results: Of the study population, 469 (76%) of respondents had good perception and 390 (63.2%) had positive attitudes towards people with schizophrenia. The study participants identified talkativeness and self-neglect behaviors as the most common manifestations of schizophrenia. Besides, this study identified substance misuse and head injury as the perceived cause and spiritual or traditional methods as a preferred treatment for people with schizophrenia. Moreover, the study participants preferred spiritual or traditional methods for the treatment of schizophrenia. Young age [AOR=2.03, 95% CI: 1.21, 3.40], females [AOR=2.32, 95% CI: 1.58, 3.41], good perception towards people with schizophrenia [AOR=4.95, 95% CI: 3.25, 7.54] and no formal educational status [AOR=2.75, 95% CI: 1.33, 5.70], and primary education [AOR=3.72, 95% CI: 1.87, 7.39] were significantly associated with the attitude towards people with schizophrenia.Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that approximately one-third of the residents had unfavorable attitudes towards people with schizophrenia. Therefore, giving special attention to male, elders and those who were educated, and individuals who have poor perceptions of people with schizophrenia is crucial.Keywords: perception, attitude, schizophrenia, Arba Minch Zuria District, Southern Ethiopia

BackgroundThe functional status of mothers after childbirth has implications for maternal, child, and family health. There is a lack of adequate reliable and valid instruments in Ethiopia for assessing women’s postpartum functional status.ObjectiveThis study was intended to reveal the psychometric properties of the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning (BIMF) for assessing Ethiopian mothers’ functional status.MethodStructured interviews were used to obtain BIMF data from 202 women who had a child less than 1 year of age. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the BIMF items; internal consistency was assessed with interitem correlations and coefficient alphas; construct validity was examined through exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) after face and content validities had been confirmed; and test–retest reliability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs).ResultsNarrow standard deviations and significant skewness and kurtosis characterized most of the individual BIMF items. Most interitem correlations were < |.15| and 13 of the 20 BIMF items did not load satisfactorily on any factor in exploratory factor analyses. Two factors emerged from the remaining items, one with three items and the other with four. Coefficient alphas were .54 for the first of these factors, .48 for the second, and .58 for all 20 items. The ICCs for test– retest reliability were < .40.ConclusionsBIMF data from the sample of Ethiopian women in this study exhibited unusually low levels of variability and high levels of skewness and kurtosis. Furthermore, in the context of this study, the BIMF could not be regarded as reliable either in terms of internal (interitem) consistency or temporal (test–retest) consistency. Researchers using the BIMF in Ethiopian contexts are advised to examine the nature of their data carefully, identify the factor structure of their samples’ data, and consider ways in which the index might be improved, or replaced.

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

Background Delays in care have been recognized as a significant contributor to maternal mortality in low-resource settings. The non-pneumatic antishock garment is a low-cost first-aid device that can help women with obstetric haemorrhage survive these delays without long-term adverse effects. Extending professionals skills and the establishment of new technologies in basic healthcare facilities could harvest the enhancements in maternal outcomes necessary to meet the sustainable development goals. Thus, this study aims to assess utilization of non-pneumatic anti-shock garment to control complications of post-partum hemorrhage and associated factors among obstetric care providers in public health institutions of Southern Ethiopia, 2020. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 412 obstetric health care providers from March 15 –June 30, 2020. A simple random sampling method was used to select the study participants. The data were collected through a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify determinants for the utilization of non-pneumatic antishock garment. STATA version 16 was used for data analysis. A P-value of < 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. Results Overall, 48.5% (95%CI: 43.73, 53.48%) of the obstetric care providers had utilized Non pneumatic antishock garment for management of complications from postpartum hemorrhage. Training on Non pneumatic antishock garment (AOR = 2.92; 95% CI: 1.74, 4.92), working at hospital (AOR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.16), good knowledge about NASG (AOR = 1.997; 95%CI: 1.16, 3.42) and disagreed and neutral attitude on Non pneumatic antishock garment (AOR = 0.41; 95%CI: 0.24, 0.68), and (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.73), respectively were significantly associated with obstetric care provider’s utilization of Non-pneumatic antishock garment. Conclusions In the current study, roughly half of the providers are using Non-pneumatic antishock garment for preventing complications from postpartum hemorrhage. Strategies and program initiatives should focus on strengthening in-service and continuous professional development training, thereby filling the knowledge and attitude gap among obstetric care providers. Health centers should be targeted in future programs for accessibility and utilization of non-pneumatic antishock garment.

BACKGROUND: Negative perception and attitude of community prevents many people with depression and their caregivers from seeking help and receiving adequate treatment due to fear of social reaction and may try to hide the illness. The reasons for negative attitudes are not consistent across communities or cultures. Therefore, understanding the level of community perception and attitude towards people with depression is important to develop an intervention to reduce the impact of mental illness.METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 617 randomly selected adults. The data was collected using structured, pre-tested, and interviewer-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics like frequency, mean, and median were performed. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the factors that affect the community attitude towards people with depression.RESULTS: Of the study population, 325(52.7%) had a good perception and 246(39.9%) had a positive attitude towards people with depression. The majority of study participants frequently identified as the perceived cause of depression was substance misuse, loss of loved one, and conflict within a family. In addition, psychosocial treatment was the most preferred treatment for people with depression in the study area. Marital status and educational status were significantly associated with the community attitude towards people with depressionCONCLUSION: Giving special attention to people with substance misuse, loss of loved one, and conflict within a family is very vital for the prevention of depression. In addition, future mental health promotion activities should focus on cause and common manifestation of depression to improve the attitude toward people with depression.

A significant proportion of infant and young child mortality can be prevented by the provision of a diverse diet. Globally, an estimated 45% of deaths of children under the age of 5 are because of malnutrition. More than two-thirds of these deaths are associated with inappropriate child-feeding practices. This situation is the worst in Ethiopia. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the status of dietary diversity and identify relevant variables. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 335 randomly selected mothers/caregivers who had infants and young children aged between 6 and 23 months. Data were collected by interview with a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS Version 23. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with dietary diversity practices and statistical significance was declared at p < 0.05 . Only 12.6% (95% CI; 9.2, 16.6) of children aged 6 to 23 months had adequate dietary diversity. Having a backyard garden and primary education were associated with adequate dietary diversity practices. In this study, the status of adequate dietary diversity feeding practice is low. Therefore, interventions targeting dietary diversity should encourage households to have backyard gardens, and strengthening counseling of mothers/caregivers attending antenatal care and postnatal care is proposed for achieving adequate dietary diversity practices.

Questionnaire for the study.

BackgroundMental disorders are one of the public health issues throughout the worldwide. Among people with mental disorders, more than 21 million people have schizophrenia. However, there is scarcity of information about perception and attitude of the community toward people with schizophrenia in Ethiopia including the study area.ObjectiveTo assess the community perception and attitude towards people with schizophrenia among residents of Arba Minch Zuria District, Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance System sites (AM-HDSS), Southern EthiopiaMethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 617 randomly selected residents of Arba Minch Zuria District, AM-HDSS Site. The data was collected using structured, pre-tested and interviewer-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics including frequencies, means, and median were performed. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors affecting community attitude.ResultsThe finding of this study showed that, among study participants 469(76%) have a good perception towards people with schizophrenia and 390(63.2%) of respondents have positive attitudes towards people living with schizophrenia. Talkativeness and self-neglect behaviors were the most commonly mentioned manifestation of schizophrenia. Substance misuse and head injury were the most perceived cause of schizophrenia. Spiritual/traditional methods were preferred place for the treatment of schizophrenia. Age of respondents, sex of respondent; educational status and perception toward people with schizophrenia were significantly associated with positive attitude towards people with schizophrenia.ConclusionsAmong our rural adults nearly half of the study participants have a negative attitude towards people with schizophrenia. Therefore, giving special attention to females, youths, uneducated and individuals who have poor perception toward people living with schizophrenia is crucial. Also, future mental health promotion activities should focus on cause and common manifestation of schizophrenia to improve the community attitude toward people with schizophrenia