Health professional assisted Kangaroo mother care practice in Ethiopian health care facilities: evidence from the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, 15 million children born prematurely every year and over one million of them died because of prematurity caused complications. However, three-fourths of deaths from preterm related complications are preventable by using Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). The Ethiopian government has been implementing a guideline that declares putting all low birth weight neonates at KMC. The aim of this study was to assess health professionals' assisted KMC practice and its associated factors among Ethiopian mothers who gave birth at health facilities. METHODOLOGY: This study used the 2016Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data (EDHS). The 2016EDHS used a stratified two stage sampling method to select a representative sample using validated questioner. The sample we used in this study after cleaning the children's data set from the 2016EDHS was 2,960. Logistic regression model was used to assess the association of health professional assisted KMC practice and predictor variables. RESULTS: Mothers who gave birth in health facilities and practiced kangaroo mother care were 1808(62.1%). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, women from poorest (AOR, (95%CI)), (0.60, (0.43, 0.81)) and poorer (0.62, (0.46, 0.86)) socio-economic status were not practicing KMC. CONCLUSIONS: The coverage of health professional assisted KMC practice was far lower than the expectation for mothers who gave birth in health facilities (100%). Low socio-economic status was associated with not practicing KMC. A further study on why mothers from low wealth index did not practicing KMC while they were in health facilities may be needed.

Potential determinant factors of under-five mortality in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Even though child mortality decreased greatly (44%, since 1990), children in developing countries are eight times more likely to die before they attain their five years birthday. When comparing under-five mortality around the world, the African including Ethiopia and Southeast Asian regions showed an uneven child death rate. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify the potential determinant factors of under-five mortality in the Amhara regional state of Ethiopia. METHODS: Statistics from a national representative cross-sectional survey of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) of the year 2016 were used. Data was collected from the population of all under-five children in randomly selected enumeration areas of the Amhara region of Ethiopia. To investigate the relationship between the dependent variable (under-five mortality) and various independent factors, inferential statistics such as binary logistic regression and multiple logistic regressions were used. In multivariable analysis, statistically significant variables in binary logistic regression analysis, i.e. (p-value 0.250), were entered, and P-value 0.050 was considered significant at 95% CI. RESULTS: The survey was included 977 children under the age of five and more than half of children in the family (68%) were ≤ 4. The findings showed that children whose mothers had no formal education were 2.59 times more likely to die than children whose mothers had formal education [AOR: 2.59(1.12-5.99)]. Similarly, children who did not receive breastfeeding from their mothers were 3.61 times more likely to die than children who received breastfeeding from their mothers [AOR: 3.61(1.83-6.19)]. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The number of children in the family, as well as the mother's educational status and current breastfeeding status, were all found to be important factors in under-five mortality in the study area. As a result, the potential determinants of under-five mortality should be addressed as part of a program targeted at lowering childhood mortality.

Modern contraceptive utilization and associated factors among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia: evidence from 2016 Ethiopia demographic and health survey.

BACKGROUND: Modern contraceptive methods enable couples to enjoy sexual intercourse without fear of the risk of pregnancy at any desired time. The evidence from different studies done in Ethiopia on modern contraceptive method utilization was highly varied and not conclusive. Therefore, the current study aims to study the magnitude of modern contraceptive utilization and associated factors among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia based on 2016 EDHS data. METHOD: A nationally representative 2016 EDHS data collected between January 18/ 2016 to June 27/2016 were used. Descriptive studies and logistic regression models were used to summarize descriptive data and measure statistical association respectively. Adjusted odds ratio and confidence interval were respectively used to measure association and its statistical significance. Finally, statistical significance was declared using a confidence interval. RESULT: In the current study, the overall modern contraceptive utilization among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia was 3203 (20.42%). The injectable contraceptive method was the most commonly used modern contraceptive method, 1886(58.88%) followed by implant/Norplant, 779 (24.32%). The results of multivariable logistic regression showed that age, residence, region, woman's occupation, number of living children, husband's education, age at first sexual intercourse, husband's desire for more children, wealth index and watching TV were independently associated to modern contraceptive utilization among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia. CONCLUSIONS: The magnitude of modern contraceptive utilization among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia in the current study is unexpectedly low. Age, residence, region, woman's occupation, number of living children, husband's education, age at first sexual intercourse, husband's desire for more children, wealth index and watching TV were independent predictors of modern contraceptive use among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia. Any intervention strategy that promotes modern contraceptive method utilization should consider these factors for its better success.

Male circumcision uptake and its predictors among sexually active men aged 15-59 years living in the highest HIV prevalence region of Ethiopia: evidence from 2016 Ethiopia demographic and health survey.

BACKGROUND: Pieces of evidence showed that the Gambella region of Ethiopia has remained HIV hotspot area for successive years. However, the magnitude of male circumcision uptake and its associated factors are not well studied in this region. Hence, the aim of the current study is to assess the magnitude of male circumcision uptake and its predictors among sexually active men in the region using the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey Data. METHOD: Data on 868 sexually active men residing in the Gambella region were extracted from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and health Survey. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were respectively used to summarize descriptive data and measure the statistical associations. Adjusted odds ratio and confidence intervals were respectively used to measure statistical associations between variables and their statistical significances. RESULTS: The current study revealed that the overall prevalence of male circumcision uptake in the Gambella region was 61.2% (95% CI: 57.96,64.44). The results of multivariable logistic regression revealed that being Muslim (AOR = 9.54, 95% CI: 6.765.13.88), being Orthodox Christian (AOR = 8.5, 95%CI: 5.00-14.45), being from Poor household (AOR = 0.11, 95%CI: 0.06, 0.22), being from medium-income household (AOR = .33, 95%CI: 0.15, 0.73), listening to radio (AOR = .29, 95%CI: .16, .54), having comprehensive HIV knowledge (AOR = .44, 95%CI: .27, .71) and ever been tested for HIV (AOR = .27, 95%CI: .16,.46) were independently associated with male circumcision uptake. CONCLUSION: Despite all efforts made by different stakeholders to promote the provision of male circumcision in the Gambella region, its magnitude of uptake is still unacceptably low. The federal HIV prevention and Control Office and other stakeholders working on HIV prevention and control should give due emphasis to promoting HIV-related knowledge through community-based education and through religious leaders. Integrating and streamlining HIV-related education in the academic curricula, and expanding mass media coverage should also be given due consideration by the federal government and other stakeholders. The stakeholders should also give emphasis to strengthening and empowering poor sexually active men residing in the Gambella region.