Assessment of Prevalence and Factors Associated with Malnutrition Among Under-Five Children in Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is a deficiency or improper intake of energy and nutrients. It includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight, and mineral and vitamin-related malnutrition) and overnutrition. PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence and identify the risk factors for undernutrition among under-five children in Debre Berhan Town, North Shewa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Debre Berhan Town, from October 07, 2019 to January 24, 2020. Three hundred and eighty-five under-five children who were selected using systematic random sampling technique were included in this study. To collect data, a structured questionnaire and anthropometrical measurements were used. Data entry was done through Epi data 4.21, and for data analysis statistical package for social sciences version 20.0 was employed. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with malnutrition. The statistical significance was stated at p value <0.05 with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: In the overall sample the total prevalence of undernutrition in below age-5 children was 61 (15.8%), the corresponding figures for underweight, stunted, and wasting were 26%, 41%, and 33%, respectively. Factors that contributed to under-five undernutrition were maternal illiteracy, not breastfeeding exclusively, preterm birth, absence of antenatal care, exposure to infectious diseases and diarrhea. CONCLUSION: There was a higher prevalence of stunting (41%), wasting (33%), and being underweight (26%) in Debre Berhan town than the national (Ethiopia) or regional (Amhara) malnutrition prevalence. Mothers' educational status should be improved by teaching them that proper nutrition is important for their child's growth and development. Antenatal care for all pregnant women, education on child care, infection prevention, and child feeding should be provided and further strengthened.

Determinants of knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to HIV/AIDS and other STIs among people with disabilities in North-Shewa zone, Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: People with disabilities face socioeconomic disadvantages and they have limited access to sexual and reproductive health information. They are highly vulnerable to sexual abuse which places them at increased risk of HIV and STI infection. At present, however, little is known about the knowledge, attitude and practice of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Ethiopia. This study aimed to identify which individual factors best predict knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to HIV/AIDS and other STIs among people with disabilities in North-shewa zone, Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to October 2019. A total of 397 respondents were interviewed using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. A systematic sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the data. A significant association was declared at a p-value of less than 0.05. RESULTS: Nearly half of the study participants were knowledgeable in relation to HIV/AIDS (47.3%) and STIs (46.9%). Sixty-two percent of respondents had good attitude towards evidence of HIV/AIDS while sixty-nine percent of participants had good attitude towards helpful facts of STIs. Twenty-three percent of study participants had been ever tested for HIV infections. Being married (AOR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.92, 10.72) was associated with having good knowledge of STI. Males were 1.6 times more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than females (AOR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.21, 9.12). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of people with disabilities in relation to HIV/AIDS and other STIs were relatively low. This is clear evidence that HIV programs need to ensure that people with disabilities can access basic knowledge about HIV/AIDS and STIs.

Level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of family planning and associated factors among disabled persons, north-shewa zone, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: In Ethiopia, people with disabilities face socioeconomic disadvantages and they have a limited access to sexual and reproductive health information including family planning service. At present, however, there is a scarcity of research on the association between disability and family planning, and only limited data is available for disabled people in Ethiopia. Hence, this study assessed the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of family planning and associated factors among disabled persons in North-shewa zone, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from June to October 2019. A total of 397 study participants were interviewed using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. A multistage systematic sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Data were entered into Epi data and exported into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 for analysis. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the data. A significant association was declared at a p-value of less than 0.05. RESULTS: Forty-six percent of study participants were knowledgeable about family planning methods. The injectable was the most known method of modern contraception (74.8%) while withdrawal (18.1%) was the least known traditional family planning method. Fifty-five percent of our study participants had a good attitude about family planning methods and one-fourth (24.5%) of disabled persons currently utilized any method of family planning. Those having a good knowledge of family planning were 1.6 times more likely to utilize family planning methods than those having poor knowledge of family planning methods (AOR = 1.61, CI = 1.27, 16.24). Moreover, participants who completed college education were 7 times more likely to have a good knowledge of family planning methods than uneducated participants (AOR = 7.23; 95% CI = 2.28, 22.06). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the knowledge, attitude, and practice of disabled people about family planning methods were relatively low. Due attention should be given to ensure that disabled people are well informed about family planning methods through information, education, and communication activities.

Self-reported physical activity status among adolescents in Debre Birhan town, Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Regular physical activity reduces the risk of ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and breast and colon cancer. But, adolescents are insufficiently physically active. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess self- reported physical activity status and associated factors among adolescents in Debre Birhan town, Ethiopia. METHODS: School based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 20 to May 10/2019 in Debre Berhan town Secondary schools. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 580 study participants from three secondary schools. Physical activity was assessed using questions adopted from recreation, sport, and leisure-time physical activity assessment section of international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). Adolescents who have done moderate to vigorous exercise for 60 minutes per day for at least three days in the last seven days were categorized as physically active. Descriptive statistics, bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was done. Probability value less than 0.05 was used as a cut of point to determined statistically significant association. RESULT: A total of 580 students participated in this study. Less than 1 in 5 (17.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 14.13%-20.27%) students were physically active. Male student (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.63, 95%CI = 1.5-4.59), age less than or equal to 16 (AOR: 2.04, 95% CI = 1.12-3.71) and access to sports center (gymnasium) (AOR: 2.09, 95% CI = 1.12-3.89 were positively associated with physical activity. CONCLUSION: Physical activity status was very low. Therefore, the local, regional and national administrators in collaboration with sport and health offices administrators should make facilities accessible.

Immunization coverage of 12-23 months old children and its associated factors in Minjar-Shenkora district, Ethiopia: a community-based study.

BACKGROUND: Childhood vaccinations have been shown to be effective in protecting children against vaccine-preventable diseases. The systematic investigation of the causes of incomplete immunization is critical for the full immunization and develop health system interventions to improve immunization coverage. To date, no community-based immunization coverage assessment study was conducted in Minjar-shenkora district. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the immunization coverage and its factors among 12-23 months old children in Minjar-shenkora district, Ethiopia. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2017. A total of 566 children aged 12-23 months and their mothers/caregivers were successfully interviewed using structured and pre-tested questionnaire. A stratified sampling technique was employed. Study participants were selected systematically. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and exported into SPSS version 21 for analysis. Logistic regression analyses were done. A significant association was declared at a p-value less than 0.05. RESULTS: Three fourth (75.6%) of 12-23 months old children were fully vaccinated. Incorrect appointment date (46.4%), the experience of child sickness with previous vaccination (35.2%) and disrespectful behavior of health professionals (14.3%) were the most common reasons cited by mothers/caregivers for incomplete vaccination of children. Being unmarried (AOR = 3.52, CI = 2.61, 9.15), not being a member of health development army (AOR = 3.31, CI = 2.01, 11.65) and traveling time greater than two hours on foot (AOR = 2.46, CI = 5.01, 17.18) were predictors of incomplete immunization. CONCLUSIONS: Child immunization coverage was still below the governmental plan of 90% in 2020. Being unmarried, not being a member of health development army and traveling time greater than two hours on foot were predictors of incomplete immunization. Strengthen health development army programmatic interventions in the community will improve child vaccination completion in the district. The issue of long travel time should be addressed by increasing the number of new vaccination sites/clusters in the district.

The effects of kangaroo mother care on the time to breastfeeding initiation among preterm and LBW infants: a meta-analysis of published studies.

Background: Kangaroo mother care is a comprehensive intervention given for all newborns especially for premature and low birthweight infants. It is the most feasible and preferred intervention for decreasing neonatal morbidity and mortality. Even though time to initiating breastfeeding has been examined by randomized controlled trials, varying findings have been reported. Therefore, the main objective of this meta-analysis was to estimate the pooled mean time to initiate breastfeeding among preterm and low birthweight infants. Methods: The authors searched for randomized controlled trial studies conducted on the effects of kangaroo mother care on the time to breastfeeding initiation among preterm and low birthweight infants. Published articles were identified through a computerized search of electronic databases that includes MEDLINE via PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL. The search terms were kangaroo mother care or (skin to skin), or conventional care, newborns, preterm infants, low birthweight infants and randomized controlled trial. A total of 467 eligible titles were identified and eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The extracted data were entered and analyzed using Cochrane Review Manager-5-3 software. Heterogeneity across studies was evaluated by Chi2 test and inconsistency index (I2). Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot. The random effect model was applied to estimate the pooled mean time to initiate breastfeeding with 95% confidence interval. Results: In this meta-analysis, the overall pooled mean time to initiate breastfeeding was 2.6 days (95% CI 1.23, 3.96). Preterm and low birthweight infants receiving kangaroo mother care intervention initiated breastfeeding 2 days 14 h 24 min earlier than conventional care of radiant warmer/incubator method. Conclusions: Kangaroo mother care promotes early initiation of breastfeeding as compared to conventional care method. Therefore, health facilities need to implement the kangaroo mother care for preterm and low birthweight infants.