Determinants of malaria treatment delay in northwestern zone of Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia, 2018.

BACKGROUND: Globally malaria affects 212 million people and causes 438,000 deaths each year. Ensuring early and timely treatment of malaria is important for preventing and controlling of life-threatening complications and further transmission. Even though malaria treatment is widely available in Ethiopia, 47-84% of patients present after 24 h of onset of first symptoms. This study assessed the determinants of delay for malaria treatment in Tigray, Ethiopia. METHODS: A health facility-based case-control study design in northwestern zone of Tigray was conducted from September 2018 to January 2019. All the study participants enrolled were confirmed malaria patients (by microscopy or rapid diagnostic test) and who sought treatment. Cases were defined as malaria patients who sought treatment after 24 h of the onset of the first symptom and control were those who sought treatment within 24 h onset of symptom. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the determinants of malaria treatment delay. Data were entered into EpiInfo 7.0 and exported to SPSS 20.0 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was computed to identify predictors of delay for malaria treatment. RESULTS: In total 161 cases and 161 controls were identified. Being residents of Tahtay Adyabo district (AOR = 2.84, 95% CI 1.29-6.27), having no formal education (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.09-5.22), the decisions to seek health care being taken by the patient (AOR = 2.38 95% CI 1.09-5.2), the decisions to seek health care being taken by their fathers (AOR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.13-5.62), and having good knowledge about malaria symptoms (AOR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.21-3.39) were found determinants of delay for malaria treatment. CONCLUSION: In this study, delays in obtaining treatment for malaria were associated with having no formal education, knowing about the signs and symptoms of malaria, living in Tahtay Adyabo district, and decision-making on seeking malaria treatment. The results suggests having treatment commenced at sites closer to the community and strengthened awareness-raising activity about the importance of early seeking for all with malaria-like symptoms, especially for household heads would contribute to improved treatment and reduced complications from malaria.

Magnitude of Overweight and Obesity and Associated Factors Among Public and Private Secondary School Adolescent Students in Mekelle City, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, 2019: Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity emerged as one of the most serious public health concerns in adolescents. Overweight and obesity are problems of not only high income but also low-middle income countries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude and associated factors of overweight and obesity among public and private secondary school adolescents in Mekelle city, Tigray, Ethiopia, 2019. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Mekelle city, from April to May 2019. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 858 participants. Chi-square test was checked before bivariate logistic regression analyses. All variables at a p-value <0.25 in bivariate logistic regression were entered into a multivariable logistic regression to determine the association between a set of independent variables with the dependent variable. Finally, statistical significance was declared at a p-value <0.05. RESULTS: The magnitude of overweight and obesity in private and public schools were 11.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Consuming dinner not daily [AOR=5.3:95% CI=1.93-14.6] and working moderate-intensity sports at least 10 minutes/day continuously [AOR=0.19:95% CI=0.04-0.9] were associated factors of overweight and obesity in public school adolescent students. Being female [AOR=2.03:95% CI=1.08-3.8], time taken from home to public physical activities ≤15 minutes [AOR=3.6:95% CI=1.13-11.51], using transport from school to home [AOR=2.2:95% CI=1.06-4.18] and good knowledgeable adolescents [AOR=0.5:95% CI=0.27-0.9] were associated factors of overweight and obesity in private schools. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of overweight and obesity was higher among private schools. Consuming dinner not daily and working moderate-intensity sports at least 10 minutes/day continuously were the associated factors for the occurrence of overweight and obesity in public school adolescent students. Being female, time taken from home to public physical activity facilities ≤15 minutes, using transport from school to home, and nutritional knowledge status of adolescents were associated factors for overweight and obesity in private school adolescent students.

Malaria outbreak investigation in Tanquae Abergelle district, Tigray region of Ethiopia: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated this outbreak to describe the magnitude and associated risk factors due to the malaria outbreak in Tanquae Abergelle district, Tigray, Ethiopia, in 2017. RESULT: Case fatality rate of this study was zero. Among the 62 cases and 124 controls, the presence of mosquito breeding sites [OR = 6.56 CI (2.09-20.58) P value = 0.001], sleeping outside a home [OR = 5.06 CI (1.75-14.61) P-value = 0.003] and having unscreened window [OR = 14.89 CI (1.87-118.25) P-value = 0.011] were associated with illness in multivariate analysis.