Stunting and its associated factors among children living with HIV/AIDS: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Growth failure is a common feature of children living with HIV/AIDS. This study was intended to assess the level of stunting and its associated factors among children living with HIV/AIDS. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 218 children living with HIV/AIDS. An interviewer-administered data collection tools and anthropometric measurements were used to collect data. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent variables. Adjusted odds ratio with a 95% CI at a P value of 0.05, which was considered to declare statistical significance. Result: The level of stunting among children infected with HIV/AIDS in selected northwest comprehensive specialized hospitals in western Amhara was 56.9%. Poor anti-retroviral therapy (ART) adherence [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=6.15, 95% CI, (3.88-9.69)], lack of co-trimoxazole prophylaxis [AOR=2.0, 95% CI, (1.88-2.98)], opportunistic infection [AOR=4.66, 95% CI, (3.24-6.11), and feeding twice [AOR=3.88, 95% CI, (1.94-5.14)] and feeding three times [AOR=1.52, 95% CI, (1.23-3.89)] were significantly associated with stunting. Conclusion: Stunting among HIV/AIDS-infected children was very high. Poor ART adherence, lack of co-trimoxazole prophylaxis, opportunistic infection, and low feeding frequency were significantly associated to stunting among HIV/AIDS-infected children. Strategies need to be devised to address factors amenable to modification to improve the growth of children living with HIV/AIDS.

Living in a large family and low daily water consumption substantially expose for human scabies in rural Ethiopia: a matched analysis.

BACKGROUND: Scabies has been added to the neglected tropical diseases portfolio for large-scale disease control action since 2017 and is part of the WHO roadmap for NTDs 2021-2030, targeted at ending the neglect to achieve the sustainable development goals. Previous studies have not fitted matched analysis to identify predictors of scabies infestation in Ethiopia. Information is also scarce about predictors of scabies infestation in this area. Therefore, this study aimed to identify predictors of scabies infestation in rural Aneded District, northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based matched case-control study involving 183 cases and 549 controls was undertaken from March 1 to May 31, 2021, in rural Aneded District. A two-stage sampling technique with a house-to-house census for the screening of scabies cases was employed. A structured questionnaire with questions on sociodemographics, behavior, water supply, sanitation, and hygiene, and delivery of scabies-specific interventions was used. Pretesting, training of data collectors and supervisors, and supervision were applied to keep the data quality. A multivariable conditional logistic regression model was fitted to identify predictors of scabies. RESULTS: Unmarried individuals or those in separated families (adjusted matched odds ratio (AmOR = 2.71; 95% CI 1.30-5.65); those unable to read and write or in illiterate families (AmOR = 5.10; 95% CI 1.81-14.36); those in large families (AmOR = 6.67; 95% CI 2.83-15.73); households that had longer travel times for water collection (AmOR = 2.27; 95% CI 1.08-4.76); those that had low daily water consumption (AmOR = 6.69; 95% CI 2.91-15.37); households that disposed of solid wastes in open fields (AmOR = 5.60; 95% CI 2.53-12.40); and households that did not receive scabies-specific interventions (AmOR = 2.98; 95% CI 1.39-6.39) had increased odds of scabies. CONCLUSIONS: Being unmarried, illiteracy, large family, long travel time for water collection, low daily water consumption, open dumping of solid wastes, and inaccessibility of scabies-specific interventions are predictors of scabies. This information is instrumental for redesigning improved scabies-specific interventions that consider educational status, marital status, family size, water collection time, daily water consumption, solid waste disposal, and equity and optimization in delivering existing interventions in rural Ethiopia.

Determinants of Trachomatous Inflammation-Follicular Among Children Aged 1 to 9 Years Old in a Rural Area of Gozamn District, Northwestern Ethiopia: A Matched Case-Control Study.

Background: Approximately 1.9 million people worldwide are blind or visually impaired due to trachoma, and trachoma remains endemic in 44 countries. Amhara in Ethiopia has the highest burden of trachoma in the world. A key indicator of whether active trachoma requires public health intervention is the incidence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular in children aged 1 to 9 years. However, limited study has been conducted on the determinants in rural communities. This study therefore aimed to fill this gap by identifying determinants in the Gozamn district of northwestern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based case-control study was carried out between March 15 and April 30, 2021. Five or more follicles on the epitaxial conjunctivae that are larger than 0.5 mm were considered a case. Controls were free of any sign of trachoma. A semi-structured questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to gather the data, and STATA version 14 was used for the analysis. Using a 95% confidence interval, both bivariable and multivariable conditional logistic regression was performed. Results: A total of 726 mothers/caregivers participated in this study, with a participation rate of 98.4%. Children from poor families (mAOR = 4.68; CI: 2.80-6.21), households where the water source is far from home (>30 minutes) (mAOR = 4.91; KI: 1.37-12.56), mean daily water consumption (<20 l/c/d) (mAOR = 4.42; CI:1.71-11.39), face washing frequency less than once a day (mAOR = 10.64; CI: 2.58-18.84), cloth washing frequency once a month or less (mAOR = 9.18; CI: 2.20-18.62), and mothers or caregivers with poor knowledge of active trachoma (mAOR = 3.88; CI: 1.47-10.22) were determinants of trachomatous inflammation-follicular. Conclusions: We conclude that infrequent faces and clothes washing; unavailability of water, children in poor families, and poor knowledge of mothers/caregivers were risk factors. Health education initiatives about active trachoma, its prevention, and control methods focusing on personal hygiene are so required.