NEWSPAPER-REPORTING ON SUICIDES DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN IN PAKISTAN: A CONTENT ANALYSIS.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a social relevant issue and a leading cause of deaths in the world; it has been reported that COVID-19 has significantly increased the rate of suicide worldwide. This study aimed to review media reporting on suicide cases occurred in Pakistan during the COVID-19 lockdown. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A content analysis has been performed considering the electronic version of the daily Kawish newspaper reporting suicide cases from March to August 2020 in Pakistan. RESULTS: A total of 213 news regarding suicide in Pakistan during the lockdown period were identified. Suicide committers reported age ranging 19-30 years old, and the majority of them were males (74%). Suicide methods ranged as following: harmful practices (79%) > hanging (37%) > self-poisoning (28%). Factors associated to the risk of suicide were: familial discords (36%), poverty (21%) and joblessness (14%). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study have shown that pandemic lockdown in Pakistan have increased the number of factors, such as family issues, unemployment and poverty, leading to suicide especially in young males. The report of suicides may have an impact on the public general opinion and a responsible news-reporting is needed by press agencies and media.

Cultural malpractice during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period and its associated factors among women who gave birth once in Dire Dawa city administration, Eastern Ethiopia, in 2021.

Background: Cultural practices are any experiences or beliefs that are socially shared views and behaviors practiced in a certain society at a certain time. Cultural malpractices are defined as socially shared views and traditionally accepted behaviors experienced in a certain society that harm maternal health. Worldwide, the period of pregnancy, labor, and delivery is embedded with different beliefs, customs, and rituals in different societies that contribute a lot to maternal death. They are responsible for the annual deaths of 303,000 mothers and 2.7 million newborns globally. In developing countries, it accounts for approximately 5%-15% of maternal deaths. In Ethiopia, approximately 18% of infant deaths occur due to cultural malpractice, and 52% of pregnant mothers give birth at home following cultural customs in Dire Dawa city. The objective of this study was to assess cultural malpractices during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period and its associated factors among women who gave birth once in Dire Dawa City in 2021. Methods: Community-based mixed study was conducted. A total of 624 study participants were selected through a systematic random sampling technique, and a purposive sampling method was used for qualitative data. The study was conducted in the randomly selected Kebeles of Dire Dawa City, Eastern Ethiopia, from November 1 to December 30, 2021. Data were entered into Epi Data version 4.1 and exported to SPSS version 24 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were done, and the degree of association was measured by using the odds ratio with 95% CI and significance was declared at a p-value of <0.05. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically using ATLAS-ti version 7. Results: The overall prevalence of cultural malpractice during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period was 74.6% [95% CI: 70.59%, 77.49%]. Women over the age of 35 were two times more likely [AOR 2.61, 95% CI, 1.45-4.72] to commit cultural malpractice than women aged 15-24 and 25-34. Those with no antenatal care (ANC) follow-up were three times more likely to commit cultural malpractice [AOR 3.57, 95% CI, 1.72-7.40], those who were absent from health education were nearly two times more likely to commit cultural malpractice [AOR 1.83, 95%CI, 1.25-2.67], and women whose culture allows harmful traditional practices were nearly two times more likely to commit cultural malpractices than their counterparts [AOR 1.69, 95%CI, 1.29-2.54]. Conclusion: In this study, nearly three-fourths of participants were involved in cultural malpractices. Therefore, strengthening community education and behavioral change messages on the importance of ANC and avoiding unhealthy care during pregnancy, childbirth, postnatal and neonatal periods, especially with pregnancy at old age (age > 35), may help to reduce cultural malpractices.

Knowledge, Attitude and Associated Factors Towards Vasectomy Among Married Men in Arba Minch Town, Southern Ethiopia, 2021; A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Vasectomy is a safe and effective permanent contraceptive method. In Ethiopia, this method underutilized since the focus has been on contraceptive methods available for women rather than men. Few studies have examined this method in Ethiopia so far, so it is important to note that there is a lack of data about the method in the study area regarding married men's knowledge and attitudes toward vasectomy. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study conducted from May 2 to June 2, 2021, at Arba Minch town. A simple random sampling technique used to select 624 study participants. Data collected via the face-to-face interview technique using a semi-structured and pretested questionnaire. Data entered in EpiData 3.1, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 25.0. Descriptive statistics and bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI and a p-value < 0.05 estimated to identify statistically significant variables associated with knowledge and attitude towards vasectomy. Results: From the total of 624 study subjects, 600 had completed the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 96.2%. From those who heard about vasectomy (36.8%), only 60.6% of men had good knowledge, and 48.4% had a positive attitude towards vasectomy. Men's knowledge of vasectomy was significantly associated with college or university attendance (AOR = 4.05, 95% CI: 1.720-9.521), age 31-40 years (AOR = 2.308, 95% CI: 1.081-4.929), and age ≥41 years (AOR = 2.671, 95% CI: 1.159-6.156). Age ≥41 years (AOR=4.735 95% CI 2.015-11.129), age of last child (AOR=3.868 CI 1.554-9.632) and discussing family planning with wife (AOR=2.821 95% CI 1.559-5.105) were significantly associated with attitude of men towards vasectomy. Conclusion: In this study area, six out of ten and half of the married men had good knowledge and a positive attitude towards vasectomy, respectively.