ABSTRACT
Background: Anemia has a negative impact on school children, including poor physical growth and reduced mental performance. Children show poor attentiveness, behavior, and memory and reduced school performance. There is limited evidence of the magnitude of anemia and associated factors in school-age children in Ethiopia, including the study area. Objective: To assess the magnitude of anemia and associated factors among public elementary school children in Asella Town, Southeast Ethiopia, in 2022. Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Asella Town from April 5 to May 5, 2022. A total of 442 school children aged 7-14 years were included in the study using the multistage sampling method. Data were collected using a pretested and semistructured questionnaire through a face-to-face interview technique. The hemoglobin concentration was determined by using the HemoCue 301+ analyzer. Anthropometric data and stool examinations were collected from participants. Data were entered into EpiData version 4.6, transported, and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out. Adjusted odds ratios along with their 95% confidence interval were used, and a p value of ≤0.05 was used for declaring statistical significance. Results: A total of 435 students with a mean age and standard deviation of 10.77 ± 2.21 years participated in the study. The magnitude of anemia was 78 (17.9%), with a 95% CI (14.3, 21.47). Of the participants, 63 (14.5%) were mild anemic and 15 (3.4%) were moderately anemic. Children whose mothers have no formal education (AOR = 3.94, 95% CI: 1.89, 8.21), underweight children (AOR = 3.83, 95% CI: 1.98, 7.40), and parasites in their stool (AOR = 3.72, 95% CI: 1.50, 9.20) were significantly associated with anemia in school-age children. Conclusion: Anemia among school-age children was found to be a mild public health problem. Uneducated mothers, intestinal parasite infections, and underweight children were found to be determinants of anemia among school-age children. Health professionals should provide health education for mothers about child-feeding practices and the consumption of dietary sources of iron.
ABSTRACT
Background: The utilization of an immediate postpartum intrauterine device (IPPIUD) during the postpartum period helps women to realize their desire for birth spacing and prevent unplanned pregnancies. However, many postpartum mothers do not undergo immediate postpartum family planning in developing countries, including Ethiopia, which consequently increases the risk of unplanned pregnancies and pregnancy-related complications. Objective: To assess the utilization of an IPPIUD and its associated factors among women who gave birth in public hospitals in the West Wollega Zone in 2022. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 605 postpartum mothers who delivered their baby between 15 April and 15 May 2022 at public hospitals in the West Wollega Zone, Ethiopia. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study subjects, and the data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire, which was then entered into EpiData Entry version 4.6 and exported to the Statistical Package for Social Science version 26 for analysis. The variable with a p-value of ≤ 0.05 with an adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals was used to declare statistically significant association. Result: The prevalence of the utilization of the IPPIUD among respondents who gave birth in West Wollega public hospitals within 48 h was 27.2% (95% CI, 23.7-30.9). Age ranging between 25 and 34 years (AOR = 4.27, 95%CI:1.68-10.85), early initiation of antenatal care (ANC; AOR = 1.91, 95%CI: 2.8-10.01), adequate knowledge of IPPIUD (AOR = 4.71, 95%CI: 2.63-6.63), favorable attitude toward family planning (AOR = 3.35, 95%CI: 2.07-5.44), planning of pregnancy (AOR = 2.21, 95%CI: 1.37-4.11), and counseling (AOR = 4.14, 95%CI: 2.60-6.68) were factors that were significantly associated with the utilization of IPPIUD. Conclusion: According to the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (mini EDHS 2019), the utilization of an immediate postpartum intrauterine device was low, that is, 35%. Age of respondents, early initiation of antenatal care, favorable attitude toward, planning of pregnancy, adequate knowledge of, and counseling on IPPIUD utilization were significantly associated with the mother's utilization of immediate postpartum intrauterine device. Thus, the zonal health office and health professionals should work toward encouraging all the women who gave birth at public hospitals to the utilization of immediate postpartum intrauterine devices by improving awareness among the women in that specific zone through counseling to increase the uptake of IPPIUD.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective global public health interventions to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality. Defaulters to full vaccination can put children at greater risk of acquiring vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. The reason for not receiving full vaccination is not well explored, and hence, there is limited evidence about defaulters of vaccination in Ethiopia. OBJECTIVES: To identify determinants of defaulter to full vaccination among children aged 12-23 months in Siraro District, West Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based unmatched case-control study was conducted among children aged 12-23 months from March 20 to April 30, 2022, with a total sample size of 444 (148 cases and 296 controls). Cases were children aged 12-23 months who had missed at least one routine vaccination dose, while controls were children who had received all of the recommended routine vaccinations. Consecutive sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to select representative cases and controls respectively. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, entered into Epi-data version 4.6, and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26 for analysis. Logistic regression was used to identify determinants of the defaulter to full vaccination and the variables with p-value < 0.25 were recruited for multivariable analysis, and an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value of ≤ 0.05 was used to declare the statistical significance of the association. RESULT: Of the assessed determinants of the defaulter to full vaccination; inadequate knowledge of mothers/caretakers (AOR = 4.32, 95% CI:2.78-6.70), educational status of a father unable to read and write (AOR = 3.66, 95% CI:1.29-10.39), time to reach health facility ≥ 30 minutes (AOR = 2.45, 95% CI:1.51-3.97), not told about the type of vaccine received (AOR = 2.37, 95% CI;1.27-4.45), no parents discussion on vaccination (AOR = 2.16, 95% CI:1.24-3.79), home delivery (AOR = 2.43, 95% CI:1.39-4.25) and not participated in pregnant mother conference (AOR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.35-4.49) were the identified determinants of the defaulter to full vaccination. CONCLUSION: Mother's' knowledge, father's education, place of delivery, time to reach a health facility, health workers who told the type of vaccine received, participation in pregnant mother conference, and parents' discussion on vaccination were the determinants of the defaulter to full vaccination status. Thus, the district health office should work on defaulters of vaccination by strengthening immunization service delivery and improving maternal knowledge on vaccination through pregnant mother conference participation.
Subject(s)
Parents , Vaccination , Female , Pregnancy , Humans , Child , Case-Control Studies , Ethiopia , MothersABSTRACT
Background: Childhood immunization is one of the most effective global public health interventions to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality. However, some children remain not fully vaccinated in developing countries due to defaulting from full vaccination, which can put them at risk of acquiring vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. The barriers to full vaccination were well explored in Ethiopia using a qualitative approach. The study aimed to explore barriers to full childhood vaccination in Siraro District, West Arsi Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Siraro District through 15 key informant health workers interviews and 6 in-depth interviews with children's mothers from April 20 to May 15, 2022. Data were collected by semi-structured questionnaires and captured using audio tape recorders and field note-taking. A heterogeneous purposive sampling technique was used to select representative study participants. Data transcription and translation were done according to the respondents' verbatim from the local language to English. Data coding and key categories were identified and analyzed using thematic analysis. Finally, data were presented in narrative forms using respondents' own words as an illustration. Result: Twenty-one study participants were interviewed and included in this study. Of the explored barriers to full childhood vaccination, the evidence from the respondents was integrated from subcategories and presented as a whole within each thematic area. Five thematic areas emerged from interviews of the participants through thematic analysis of the data. The identified barriers were forgetting the next vaccination schedule, migration of parents, work overload, lack of knowledge and awareness, rumors, and misinformation. Additionally, vaccination service delivery-related barriers such as vaccine vials not being opened for a few children, fear of vaccine side effects, closed health posts during visits by mothers for vaccination, and absence of health extension workers at health posts were the key barriers to full childhood vaccination. Conclusion: Forgetting vaccination schedule, migration of parents, work overload, rumors, and misinformation, fear of vaccine side effects, vaccine vial not opened for few children, closed health posts during visiting by mothers, absence of health extension workers from health posts were the key barriers to the full vaccination status of children. Thus, the district health office should work on barriers to full vaccination by strengthening vaccination service delivery and improving vaccination awareness through a health extension program.