School Feeding and Nutritional Status of Students in Dubti District, Afar, Northeast Ethiopia: Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Providing food to the school children is an important means of compacting malnutrition especially in high food insecure areas. Our study was conducted to evaluate the association between school feeding and nutritional status among students in primary schools of Dubti district in Afar region. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was employed on 936 primary school students from March 15-31/2021. For data collection, structured questionnaire was administered by the interviewer. Descriptive statistics as well as logistic regression was conducted. WHO Anthro-plus software was used to compute anthropometric data. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI was calculated to identify the level of association. Variables with p-value <0.05 were taken as statistical level of significance. Results: A total of 936 primary school students, with 100% response rate, were included in the current study. The prevalence of stunting in school fed and non-school fed students was 13.7% 95% CI (11, 17) and 21.6% 95% CI (18, 25), respectively. The prevalence of thinness in school fed and non-school fed students was 4.9% 95% CI (3, 7) and 13.9% 95% CI (11, 17), respectively. Even though no record of overweight and obesity were found in non-school fed students, 5.4% 95% CI (3, 7) among school fed students was overweight/obese. Grade level, diet information source, media source availability, maternal age, the critical time for hand washing, and nutrition education were found to be predictors of malnutrition in both groups of students. Conclusion: The magnitude of stunting and thinness in school fed students is found to be lower, but overnutrition is higher than non-school fed. Grade level of students and diet selection information were determinants that affected the nutritional status of students. Coordinated education regarding good feeding practice, and personal as well as environmental hygiene should be given to the students and their families.

Community's Perception and Attitude towards People with Epilepsy in Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Most people with epilepsy suffer from a dual burden. In one hand, they struggle with the symptoms and disabilities on the other hand from misconceptions and stigma associated with it. But there are no recent studies which assess the community's perception and attitude. OBJECTIVE: To assess the perception and attitude of the community towards people with epilepsy and identify associated factors. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in South Ethiopia from a total of 701 participants. Data were collected with face to face interview using a structured questionnaire developed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM). Data were presented with frequencies, tables, and figures. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression was done to identify significantly important variables. The presence of association was presented by odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Ethical clearance was obtained from Wolaita Sodo University. RESULTS: The most frequently mentioned perceived causes for epilepsy were stress (91%), substance use (61.8%), and bad spirit (49.8%) while loss of consciousness and falling (80.7%) and sleep problems (78%) were considered symptoms of epilepsy. Only 13.1% of the participants think that they may be susceptible for epilepsy. Six hundred sixty (94.2%) participants will not employ a person with epilepsy while only 47 (6.7%) of the participants will allow a family member to marry a person with epilepsy. In multivariable analysis, understanding the illness as a medical problem was associated with perceived susceptibility and perceived benefit of modern treatment was significantly associated with having a current medical problem. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge about the cause, possible susceptibility, better treatment options, and attitude of the participants were similar to other low-income settings. The negative attitude was high and multidimensional. All stakeholders must work to increase awareness about the cause, symptoms, and treatment options for epilepsy and to decrease the negative attitude of the community.

Survival Status and Its Determinants among Under-Five Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition Admitted to Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centers in South Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Under nutrition is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in under-five children in developing countries including Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, many children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) are treated at inpatient therapeutic feeding centers. However, the survival status and its determinants are not well understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the survival status and its determinants among under-five children with severe acute malnutrition admitted to inpatient therapeutic feeding centers (ITFCs). METHODS: A record review was conducted on 414 under-five children who were admitted with severe acute malnutrition to ITFCs in South Wollo Zone, northeast Ethiopia, between September 11, 2014, and January 9, 2016. Data were entered into Epi-Info version 7.2 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Life table analysis was used to estimate cumulative proportion of survival. The relationship between time to recovery and covariates was determined using Cox-proportional hazards regression model. p < 0.05 was used to declare presence of significant association between recovery time and covariates. RESULTS: Of the total children recorded, 75.4% of children were recovered and discharged, 10.3% were defaulters, 3.4% died, 7.4% were nonresponders, and 3.4% were unknown. The mean (±standard deviation) time to recovery was 12 (±5.26) days, whereas the median time to recovery was 11 (interquartile range of 8-15) days. Children's breastfeeding status at admission (AHR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.83) and children without comorbidities at admission (AHR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.03, 2.00) had statistically significant effect on time to recovery from SAM. CONCLUSION: All treatment responses in this study were within the recommended and acceptable range of global standards. Policy makers, health facilities, and care providers may need to focus on the importance of breastfeeding especially for those under two years of age and give emphasis for cases with comorbidities.