Factors associated with food insecurity among pregnant women in Gedeo zone public hospitals, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Food insecurity refers to a lack of consistent access to sufficient food for active, better health. Around two billion people worldwide suffer from food insecurity and hidden hunger. This study focuses on food insecurity and associated factors among pregnant women in Gedeo Zone Public Hospitals, Southern Ethiopia. Method: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women in Gedeo zone public hospitals from May to June 2021. Primary data of 506 pregnant women were collected using interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select study participants. The household food insecurity access scale of the questionnaire was used and a woman was considered as food insecure when it has any of the food insecurity conditions mild, moderate, or severe food insecure, otherwise, it was classified as food secure. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) determined the association between various factors and outcomes. Results: Of all study participants, 67.39% of the women were food insecure, and the remaining 32.6% had food security. The pregnant women from rural areas [AOR = 0.532, 95% CI: 0.285, 0.994], married [AOR = 0.232, 95% CI: 0.072, 0.750], had a secondary education [AOR = 0.356, 95%CI: 0.154, 0.822], and be employed [AOR = 0.453, 95% CI: 0.236, 0.872], the wealth index middle [AOR = 0.441, 95% CI: 0.246, 0.793] and rich [AOR = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.128, 0.449] were factors associated with food insecurity. Conclusion: The study area had a high prevalence of food insecurity. Food insecurity was reduced in those who lived in rural areas, were married, had a secondary education, were employed, and had a wealth index of middle and rich.

Food taboos practice and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Doctor Bogalech Gebre memorial general hospital, Durame town, Southern Ethiopia, 2022.

Background: Food taboos are customs that prevent certain foods and beverages from being consumed within a society for religious and cultural reasons. Due to the restriction of essential foods and beverages, it has a significant negative health impact on pregnant women and offspring. However, there is a lack of data regarding Ethiopian food taboos practices in general and in this study area particularly. Objective: To assess the magnitude of food taboos practice and associated factors among pregnant women in Dr. Bogalech Gebre memorial general Hospital, Durame Town, Southern Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 pregnant women from August 1 to 30, 2022 by using systematic sampling techniques. Data were entered into epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 26 for further analysis. Statistical significance was declared at a P-value < 0.05 with a 95% Confidence level. Results: From the total 422 pregnant mothers, 54.5% (95% CI 49.90-59.20) of them encounter food taboos practice at least for one food item. The age group of pregnant mothers was 25-34 years [AOR = 0.48, 95% CI (0.28-0.84)]; the number of family size was 4-6 were [AOR = 0.42, 95% CI (0.19-0.88)]. Previous antenatal care [AOR = 1.64, 95% CI (1.02-2.66)], change feeding habit [AOR = 1.52, 95% CI (1.02-2.33)], and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy [AOR = 1.83, 95% CI (1.16-2.91)] were significantly associated with food taboos practice. Conclusion: The magnitude of food taboos practice among pregnant women was public health problems. Age, family size, previous antenatal care follow-up, changing feeding habits, and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy were found to be factors affecting food taboos practice.

Awareness, Acceptance, and Associated Factors of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine among Parents of Daughters in Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Human papillomavirus infections are the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease among women worldwide. Cervical cancer is the second-most frequent disease worldwide in terms of incidence and mortality, and it is primarily responsible for fatalities in low- to middle-income nations, including Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To assess awareness, acceptance, and associated factors of the human papillomavirus vaccine among parents of daughters in the Hadiya zone, southern Ethiopia. METHODS: From November to December 2021, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Hadiya zone among parents with daughters in the zone. The study respondents were chosen using a two-stage sampling technique from parents with a 9-14-year-old daughter. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. For analysis, the data were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25. Variables with a p-value less than 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were transferred to multivariable analysis. A logistic regression model was applied to forecast the association between the predictor and outcome variables. Statistical significance was considered at a 0.05 p-value. RESULTS: The study showed that the overall acceptance of parents to vaccinate their daughters with HPV vaccination was 450 (84.9%). Parents of daughters of male sex (AOR: 0.407; 95%CI: 0.221, 0.748), who had only one daughter (AOR: 2.122; 95%CI: 1.221, 3.685), whose daughter(s) attended a government school (AOR: 0.476; 95%CI: 0.263, 0.861), who had poor knowledge (AOR: 0.532; 95%CI: 0.293, 0.969) and who had a negative attitude (AOR: 0.540; 95%CI: 0.299, 0.977) were discovered to have a strong correlation. CONCLUSION: This study found that there was a high level of parental acceptance; attitudes and knowledge about the HPV vaccine are significant in determining their intentions to vaccinate their daughter. Authorities in high-risk areas for cervical cancer incidence should plan and implement strategies by providing health information regarding human papillomavirus vaccination with an emphasis on raising community awareness.

Menstrual abnormality, maternal illiteracy, and household factors as main predictors of anemia among adolescent girls in Ethiopia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent girls are more likely to develop anemia as a result of physical and physiological changes that place a greater strain on their nutritional needs. Primary studies, on the other hand, may not be sufficient to provide a complete picture of anemia in adolescent girls and its major risk factors. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to describe the pooled prevalence of adolescent girls' anemia and the factors that contribute. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of observational studies using the databases CINAHL (EBSCO), PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of the articles, and studies of fair to good quality were included. We pooled anemia prevalence among adolescents and odds ratio estimates for risk factors. Subgroup analysis employing sample size and study setup was computed to determine the source of heterogeneity, and the I2 test was used to identify the existence or absence of substantial heterogeneity during subgroup analysis. The pooled prevalence of adolescent girls' anemia was calculated using a random-effects meta-analysis model. RESULTS: The overall pooled prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls in Ethiopia was 23.03% (95% confidence interval: 17.07, 28.98). Low dietary diversity (odds ratio: 1.56; 95% confidence interval: 1.05, 2.32), illiterate mothers (odds ratio: 1.45; 95% confidence interval: 1.13, 1.86), household size greater than five (odds ratio: 1.65; 95% confidence interval: 1.14, 2.38), food-insecure households (odds ratio: 1.48; 95% confidence interval: 1.21, 1.82), and menstrual blood flow more than 5 days (odds ratio: 6.21; 95% confidence interval: 1.67, 23.12) were the identified factors associated with anemia among adolescent girls. CONCLUSION: The pooled prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls in Ethiopia was moderately high. Therefore, to combat the burden of anemia among adolescent girls offering nutritional education is crucial. Iron supplementation is also recommended for adolescent females who have a menstrual cycle that lasts longer than 5 days.