Knowledge, Attitude and Associated Factors of Monkeypox Infection Among Healthcare Workers in Injibara General Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Fighting health threats, especially the rise of new infectious diseases, is one of the main responsibilities of healthcare workers. However, their knowledge and attitudes toward monkeypox have not yet been assessed. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and factors associated with monkeypox infection among healthcare workers at Injibara General Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 1-30, 2022. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. A simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were computed. The degree of association was interpreted using an odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value < 0.05. Results: Among the 200 healthcare workers who participated, 38.5% (95% CI: 32.5%-45%) and 62% (95% CI: 55-68.5%) had good knowledge and positive attitudes regarding monkeypox respectively. Having a master's degree or above (AOR = 11.25: 95% CI: 2.03-62.33), being vaccinated against COVID-19 (AOR = 2.60: 95% CI: 1.37-4.94), and having access to information about monkeypox (AOR = 3.37: 95% CI: 1.33-8.50) were the factors associated with good knowledge. Furthermore, a positive attitude was significantly associated with being 30 years of age or older (AOR = 2.95: 95% CI: 1.55-5.60) and having access to information about monkeypox (AOR = 4.14: 95% CI: 2.06, 8.30). Conclusion: Both good knowledge and positive attitudes were relatively low among healthcare workers. Factors such as age, education level, COVID-19 vaccination status, and access to information about monkeypox were significantly associated with the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers. To enhance the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers, hospitals should consider offering educational upgrades, hosting educational events like seminars, conferences, webinars, and campaigns, and ensuring comprehensive coverage of the topic in medical curricula.

Prevalence and predictors of gender-based violence among Wolkite University female students, southwest Ethiopia, 2021: Cross-sectional study.

Background: Gender-based violence is an important topic that needs to be taken into account when identifying gender-related gaps and disadvantages that a person might face because of their gender. Violence against women could result in psychological and physical adverse outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence and predictors of gender-based violence among female students at Wolkite University, southwest Ethiopia, 2021. Method: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 female students and the students were selected by using a systematic sampling method. Data were checked for completeness and entered into EpiData version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 23 for further analysis. Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to determine the prevalence and predictors of gender-based violence. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) at a p-value of ≤0.05 was used to check statistical association. Result: In this study, the overall prevalence of gender-based violence among female students was 46.2%. The prevalence of physical violence and sexual violence was 56.1% and 47.0%, respectively. Factors that were significantly associated with gender-based violence among female university students were: being a 2nd-year student or having a lower educational level [AOR = 2.56 (95% CI, 1.06-6.17)], being married or living with a male partner [AOR = 3.35 (95% CI, 1.07-10.5], having a father with no formal education [AOR = 15.46 (95% CI, 5.204-45.39)], having a drinking habit [AOR = 2.53 (95% CI, 1.21-6.30)] and not being able to freely discuss issues with their families [AOR = 2.48 (95% CI, 1.27-4.84)]. Conclusions and recommendations: The result of this study showed that more than one-third of the participants were exposed to gender-based violence. Thus, gender-based violence is an important topic deserving of more consideration; further investigations are important to decrease gender-based violence among university students.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice towards ante natal exercise among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Health centers of Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, 2020.

BACKGROUND: If pregnant mothers have no medical or obstetrical complications, they are encouraged to maintain active lifestyles during their pregnancies. Benefits of exercise during pregnancy include; prevention of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and reduced low back pain. Therefore this study is done to assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards antenatal exercise among pregnant women who are attending antenatal care at health centers of Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia. METHOD: For this study cross-sectional study design was used. It was conducted from October 2019 up to January 2020 among 255 pregnant women who are attending antenatal care at selected health centers of Mekelle city. After the data were collected it was entered into epi-data 4.2.0 and was analyzed by using SPSS version 23. RESULT: Among the study participants of pregnant women 51%, 56% and 16.6% had good knowledge, positive attitude and practice towards antenatal exercise respectively. Among those 38.8%, 45.9% and 49.8% were expressed as antenatal exercise can decrease back pain, prevents excessive weight gain and increase energy and stamina during pregnancy respectively. Among those who practiced antenatal exercise, 95% and 83.4% was practicing with frequency ≥ three times per week and ≥20 minutes of the duration of exercise per session respectively. DISCUSSION: Generally, this study showed that the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of pregnant mothers regarding antenatal exercise is poor. Therefore, health care providers who work on maternal health (Gynecologists, Midwives, Nurses, Health extension workers and other community workers) should provide counseling and health education on antenatal exercise.

Minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: The health and growth of children less than two years of age can be affected by the poor quality of complementary foods and poor feeding practices even with optimal breastfeeding. In Ethiopia, empirical evidence on the minimum acceptable diet and its associated factors is limited. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the level of minimum acceptable diet and its associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based Cross-sectional study was conducted among a total of 575 mother-child pairs. A simple random sampling technique was used to recruit participants. For infant and young child feeding practices, the data collection tools were adapted from world health organizations' standardized questionnaire which is developed in 2007. Data entry and analysis were performed using EPI data version 3.1 and SPSS version 20 respectively. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine predictor variables. Statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05. RESULT: In this study, the level of minimum acceptable diet was found to be 74.6%.. About 90.6 and 80.2% of the children received minimum meal frequency and dietary diversity respectively. Having a husband secondary and above educational level [AOR = 4.789(95%CI:1.917-11.967)], being a housewife [AOR = 0.351(95% CI: 0.150-0.819)], having a history of more than three postnatal follow-ups [AOR = 2.616(95%CI:1.120-6.111], Having mothers age between 25 and 34 years [AOR = 2.051(95%CI:1.267-3.320)], being male child [AOR = 1.585(95%CI:1.052-2.388)] and having children age between 18 and 23 months [AOR = 3.026(95%CI:1.786-5.128)] were some of the factors significantly associated with a minimum acceptable diet. CONCLUSION: In this study, the minimum acceptable diet among children aged 6-23 months was significantly associated with the educational status of the husband, mother's occupation, history of postnatal follow-up, age of the mother, sex of the child, and age of the child. Thus, attention should be given to educating the father, empowering mothers to have a job, promoting gender equality of feeding, and counseling on the benefit of postnatal care visits. In addition, the ministry of health should work on educating and advocating the benefit of feeding the recommended minimum acceptable diet to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.

Knowledge of breastfeeding practice and associated factors among fathers whose wife delivered in last one year in Gurage Zone, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts. It confers short-term and long-term benefits for both child and mother, including helping to protect children against a variety of acute and chronic disorders. In mothers, breastfeeding (BF) reduces postpartum bleeding, enhances accelerated involution of the uterus, and plays a crucial role in child spacing. Fathers have an important but often neglected role in the promotion of healthy breastfeeding practices. Evidence shows that mothers who have a supportive and encouraging partner are more likely to plan to breastfeed for a longer duration. So, this study was aimed to assess knowledge and associated factors towards breastfeeding practice among fathers. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gurage Zone among 597 fathers. One stage cluster sampling technique was used to select study participants. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data and it was checked for consistency and completeness and entered into epi data and exported to SPSS for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to identify independent predictors. P-value < 0.05 was considered to declare a result as statistically significant. RESULT: In this study, a total of 585 participants were involved making a response rate of 98%. The overall knowledge status of participants was 341 (58.3%). The mean age of participants was 29.5 (SD±4.5). Urban residence, educational status, exposure to media, having more than one baby at home, and accompany his wife during health-seeking were independent predictors of knowledge status. CONCLUSION: This study has shown the level of knowledge of fathers towards breastfeeding in the study area was low (58.3%). Residence, two or more babies at home, accompany during ANC, and indexed infant illness was independent predictors of knowledge status of fathers towards breastfeeding. Policymakers and possible stack holders should better focus on the improvement of knowledge because the knowledge determines the overall condition of the family including the psychological development of the children that affect their life especially in a country like Ethiopia in which most of the decisions are made by them. Other researchers focus on the interaction of parents and the child and feeding disorders.

Predictors of stillbirth among women who had given birth in Southern Ethiopia, 2020: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Although the rate of stillbirth has decreased globally, it remains unacceptably high in low- and middle-income countries. Only ten countries including Ethiopia attribute more than 65% of global burden of still birth. Ethiopia has the 7th highest still birth rate in the world. Identifying the predictors of stillbirth is critical for developing successful interventions and monitoring public health programs. Although certain studies have assessed the predictors of stillbirth, they failed in identify the proximate predictors of stillbirth. In addition, the inconsistent findings in identify the predictors of stillbirth, and the methodological limitations in previously published works are some of the gaps. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the predictors of stillbirth among mothers who gave birth in six referral hospitals in Southern, Ethiopia. METHODS: A hospital-based unmatched case-control study was conducted in six referral hospitals in Southern, Ethiopia from October 2019 to June 2020. Consecutive sampling techniques and simple random techniques were used to recruit cases and controls respectively. A structured standard tool was used to identify the predictors of stillbirth. Data were entered into Epi Info 7 and exported to SPSS 23 for analysis. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the independent predictors of stillbirth. The goodness of fit was tested using the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness-of-fit. In this study P-value < 0.05 was considered to declare a result as a statistically significant association. RESULTS: In this study 138 stillbirth cases and 269 controls were included. Women with multiple pregnancy [AOR = 2.98, 95%CI: 1.39-6.36], having preterm birth [AOR = 2.83, 95%CI: 1.58-508], having cesarean mode of delivery [AOR = 3.19, 95%CI: 1.87-5.44], having no ANC visit [AOR = 4.17, 95%CI: 2.38-7.33], and being hypertensive during pregnancy [AOR = 3.43, 95%CI: 1.93-6.06] were significantly associated with stillbirth. CONCLUSIONS: The predictors of stillbirth identified are manageable and can be amenable to interventions. Therefore, strengthening maternal antenatal care utilization should be encouraged by providing appropriate information to the mothers. There is a need to identify, screen, and critically follow high-risk mothers: those who have different complications during pregnancy, and those undergoing cesarean section due to different indications.

Determinant Factors of Neonatal Near Miss Among Neonates in Gurage Zone Hospitals, Ethiopia: A Case-Control Study.

INTRODUCTION: It is highly economical and commendable to identify the determinants of neonatal near miss which will be utilized as proxy determinants of neonatal mortality rate. However, neither determinants of neonatal mortality rate nor a determinant of a neonatal near miss are adequately investigated specifically within the study area. Therefore, this study is aimed to identify the determinants of neonatal near-miss among neonates admitted in hospitals of the Gurage zone, Southern Ethiopia. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Unmatched case-control study was conducted to identify factors associated with neonatal near-miss among neonates admitted in Gurage zone hospitals. A pre-tested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Besides, data related to the clinical diagnosis of neonates and managements given were extracted from patient records. In this study, a total of 105 cases and 209 controls have participated. To recruit cases and controls consecutive sampling methods and simple random sampling techniques were used respectively. Data were entered using Epi Data software and exported to SPPS for analysis. To identify the determinate factors of the outcome variable binary and multivariable logistic regression were employed. RESULTS: The determinate factors of the outcome variable include a history of abortion with AOR 3.9 [95%C1 3.53-10.15], referred from other health care institution AOR 7.53[95% CI 3.99-14.22], severe maternal morbidity during pregnancy AOR 4.57[95% CI 1.77-11.79], cesarean section mode of delivery 4.45[95% CI 1.76-11.25], and good essential newborn care knowledge AOR 3.33[95% CI 1.54-7.19]. CONCLUSION: In this study, easily modifiable/preventable maternal and health service utilization-related factors are increasing the menace of a neonatal near-miss in the Gurage zone. It is the signal that shows the primary health care program needs to be further enhanced to bring more desirable health outcomes and/or effectiveness of health policies needs to be examined to introduce more impactful strategies.