Behavior change intervention to sustain iodide salt utilization in households in Ethiopia and study of the effect of iodine status on the growth of young children: community trial.

Background: Monitoring systems in a broad range of countries are a notable effort to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs). This study aimed to gather data on the amount of iodide present in table salt and how household consumption patterns affect children's iodine status and its effect on their growth. Methods: A single treatment arm community trial study design was designed. Lower community units (LCUs) were chosen at random from districts assigned either intervention or control. From a list of LCUs, 834 mothers and their paired children were chosen randomly. Urine and table salt samples were collected and examined in the national food and nutrition laboratory. The deference between arms was determined using a t test, and the generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to forecast parameters. Results: The mean iodide content in the table salt samples of 164 (98.1%) was 45.3 ppm and a standard deviation (SD) of 14.87, which were above or equal to the recommended parts per million (ppm). Between the baseline survey and the end-line survey, the mean urine iodine concentration (UIC) was 107.7 µg/L (+/- 8.64 SD) and 260.9 µg/L (+/- 149 SD). Children's urine iodine excretion (UIE) had inadequate iodine in 127 (15.2%) children at the beginning of the study, but only 11 (2.6%) of the intervention group still had inadequate iodine at the end. The childrens' mean height (Ht) was 83.1 cm (+/-10 SD) at baseline and 136.4 cm (+/-14 SD) at the end of the survey. Mothers knew a lot (72%) about adding iodized salt to food at the end of cooking, and 183 (21.9%) of them did so regularly and purposefully. A total of 40.5% of children in the intervention group had stunted growth at baseline, which decreased to 15.1% at the end of the study but increased in the control group to 51.1%. The mean difference (MD) of urine iodine concentration (UIC) between intervention and control groups was 97.56 µg/L, with a standard error (SE) of 9.83 (p = 0.001). The end-line Ht of children in the intervention group was increased by 7.93 cm (ß = 7.93, p = 0.005) compared to the control group. Conclusions: Our research has shown that mothers who embraced healthy eating habits had perceived improvements in both the iodine status and height growth of their children. In addition to managing and using iodine salt, it has also introduced options for other healthy eating habits that will also play a significant role in their children's future development. This sort of knowledge transfer intervention is essential for the sustainability of society's health. Therefore, this trial's implications revealed that the intervention group's iodine status and growth could essentially be improved while the control group continued to experience negative effects. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT048460 1.

Diversified dietary intake and associated factors among pregnant mothers attending antenatal care follow-up in public health facilities of Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia.

Poor diversity dietary intake has great significance to women, pregnancy outcome and on her fetus or the growing and development of their baby collectively. Uncertainty of studies to examine whether pregnant women have been utilizing diversity dietary in their frequent intake and this has changed nutritional status. Therefore, this study aims to assess diversified dietary intake and associated factors among pregnant mothers attending antenatal care follow-up in public health facilities of Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 453 pregnant mothers randomly selected from the antenatal care unit at public health facilities from November 1-30/2020. Study subjects were selected with a systematic random sampling method from randomly selected antenatal care unity of health facilities in Dire Dawa Administration. A structured questionnaire and anthropometric measurements were used to collect data. Data were entered with kobo software and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science statistical software version 20 for analysis. Binary and multiple logistic regression models were used to declare the significance of independent variables at P<0.05. This study shows 55% (95% CI = (50-59.5) were inadequate diversified dietary intake. Having lower monthly income (Adjusted Odds Raito [AOR] = 4.4, Confident interval [95%CI] = 1.3-14.6), elementary educational status of mothers (AOR = 3.8, 95%CI = 1.5-9.9), consumption of two meals per day (AOR = 16.6, 95% CI = 2.04-135.8), didn't get antenatal care counseling (AOR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.1-2.8) were significantly associated with diversified dietary. The result revealed that around 55% of respondents had inadequate dietary diversity. low household income, had less maternal education level and, consuming two meals per day, and no information about dietary diversity has contributed to inadequate dietary diversity. Accordingly, go forward in the right side of those variables were the core recommendation of this study.

An evaluation of collaboration in the TB and HIV control programme in Oromia Region, Ethiopia: Seven years of retrospective data.

BACKGROUND: Globally, HIV and tuberculosis (TB) are a leading cause of death if they occur as co-morbidities in affected individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the collaboration between TB and HIV control activities by determining the co-morbidity rate in Oromia Region, Ethiopia, during the period 2009-2015. METHODS: A retrospective health facility-based study was conducted. Data were collected from health facilities implementing the directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS) strategy in the region. A structured World Health Organization (WHO) reporting format was used as the data collection tool. Pre-antiretroviral therapy (ART)/voluntary counselling and testing for HIV (VCT) and TB unit registers were considered as the data sources. Data were collected quarterly and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. The odds ratio was used to assess statistical differences among variables. RESULTS: A total of 115268 TB patients were counselled and tested for HIV during the study period. Among the patients tested, 60086 (52.1%) were male, of whom 13680 (11.8%) were found to have an HIV infection. Among TB patients who were co-infected with HIV, there were slightly higher odds of HIV infection in females than in males (odds ratio 1.13, 95% confidence interval 1.09-1.17). Between 2009 and 2013, about 56% of TB and HIV co-morbid patients were put on co-trimoxazole preventive therapy (CPT) and 35% on ART. HIV infection occurred predominantly within the age group of 25-34 years (31%). On the other hand, 197152 HIV-infected patients were screened for TB symptoms and 8.4% were found to have active TB. The odds of having TB among males who were initially infected with HIV were higher as compared to females (odds ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval 1.27-1.37). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of TB and HIV co-morbidity was 11.8% at TB clinics in the region. Low proportions of co-infected patients were put on CPT and ART. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen the WHO recommended TB and HIV collaborative activities in the region to reduce the burden of co-morbidity and mortality.

The prevalence of malnutrition and its associated risk factors among women of reproductive age in Ziway Dugda district, Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVES: Adequate nutrition is an important factor to determine the health and well-being of women, children and society as a whole. Although various nutritional policies were formulated and aimed at reducing malnutrition at the global level, the magnitude of malnutrition (body mass index [BMI] <18.5 kg/m2) among women remained between 10% and 40% in most low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and to identify the associated risk factors among women of reproductive age. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ziway Dugda district in Ethiopia among 430 women of reproductive age between September 20 and November 21, 2015. METHODS: A systematic sampling method was used to select the study participants. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and to identify associated independent risk factors such as women's age, housing conditions, drinking water sources, habits of hand washing, dietary intake and food insecurity. RESULTS: The mean values of weight, height and BMI of the study participants were 51 kg, 157 cm and 18.1 kg/m2, respectively. Prevalence of malnutrition (BMI <18.5 kg/m2) among women of reproductive age was found to be 48.6%. Being in the age group of 26-35 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.26-0.84), thatched housing conditions (AOR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.16-2.89), unprotected sources of drinking water (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.06-2.57), lack of habit of hand wash after using the toilet (AOR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.06-2.47), consumption of fish (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.12-3.99), consumption of dairy products (AOR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.42-4.03) and food insecurity (AOR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.50-3.95) were considered as independent predictors of risk for having malnutrition among women of the same age group compared to women from food secured households. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of malnutrition (48.6%) was observed among women of reproductive age. Although nutrient-rich foods were available, their consumption appears insufficient. Hence, it is strongly recommended to have behavioural change communication for enhancing adequate intake of a diversified diet and to promote environmental and hygienic conditions of women through improving their socio-economic status.