Effects of antenatal care service utilization on maternal near miss in Gamo Gofa zone, southern Ethiopia: retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal care (ANC) provides an opportunity to prevent, identify and intervene maternal health problems. Maternal near miss (MNM), as an indicator of maternal health, is increasingly gaining global attention to measure these problems. However, little has been done to measure the effect of ANC on MNM in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the effect of ANC on MNM and its associated predictors at Gamo Gofa zone, southern Ethiopia. METHODS: Employing a retrospective cohort study design, 3 years data of 1440 pregnant mothers (480 ANC attendant and 960 non-attendant) were collected from all hospitals in the zone. Taking ANC visit as an exposure variable; we used a pretested checklist to extract relevant information from the study participants' medical records. Characteristics of study participants, their ANC attendance status, MNM rates and associated predictors were determined. RESULTS: Twenty-five (5.2%) ANC attendant and seventy-one (7.4%) non-attendant mothers experienced MNM, (X2 = 2,46, df = 2, p = 0.12). The incidence rates were 59.6 (95% CI: 40.6-88.2) and 86.1 (95%CI: 67.3-107.2)/1000 person-years for the ANC attendant and non-attendant mothers, respectively. Mothers who were living in rural areas had higher hazard ratio of experiencing MNM than those who were living in urban areas, with an adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) of 1.68 (95% CI, 1.01, 2.78). CONCLUSION: ANC attendance tended to reduce MNM. However, late initiation and loss to follow-up were higher in the current study. Therefore, on time initiation and consistent utilization of ANC are required.

Cost-effectiveness of childhood pneumococcal vaccination program in Ethiopia: results from a quasi-experimental evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia was among the 15 countries that, together accounted for 64% of the world's severe episodes of pneumonia among children below the age of 5 in 2011. To reduce this burden, the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV 10) was introduced into the general childhood national immunization program in Ethiopia in 2011. However, there is little evidence on its cost-effectiveness, and the aim of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the introduction of PCV 10 vaccination in the Ethiopian setting. METHODS: The cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out based on a quasi-experimental evaluation of implementing PCV 10 at the Butajira rural health program site in Ethiopia. The intervention and the control groups consisted 876 and 1010 children, respectively. Using data from program site's surveillance system database as a framework, health outcome and vaccination data were collected from medical records, immunization registration books and reports. Disability- Adjusted Life Year (DALY) was a main health outcome metric complimented by incidence of acute lower respiratory infection/1000-person years. Vaccination and treatment costs were collected by document review and cross-sectional household survey. RESULTS: In the intervention cohort, 626 of 876 (71.5%) children received PCV 10 vaccination. Until the first year of life, the incidence of acute lower respiratory infection was higher in the intervention group. After the first year of life, the incidence rate was 35.2 per 1000-person years in the intervention group compared to 60.4 per 1000-person years in the control group. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per averted DALY for the intervention group during the total follow-up period was (2013 US$) 394.3 (undiscounted) and 413.8 (discounted). The ICER per averted DALY excluding the first year of life was (2013 US$) 225 (undiscounted) and 292.7 (discounted). CONCLUSION: Compared to the WHO's suggested cost-effectiveness threshold value, the results indicate that the general childhood PCV 10 vaccination was a cost-effective intervention in the Butajira rural health program site.