High prevalence of active trachoma and associated factors among school-aged children in Southwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Active trachoma is a highly contagious ongoing stage of trachoma that predominantly occurs during childhood in an endemic area. This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with active trachoma among school-aged children. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A community-based analytical cross-sectional study was done from March 1st to June 30th, 2021, in Southwest Ethiopia's people's regional state. A total of 1292 school-aged children were surveyed. The quantitative data were collected using a pre-tested, structured interview-based questionnaire and observation check list. The World health organization (WHO) simplified trachoma grading system was used to assess stages of trachoma. In this study, the prevalence of active trachoma was 570(44.1%), 95% CI (41.4, 46.9). Also, age group 6-10; being female; flies at household (HH), flies on child's face, improved water source, improved sanitation, presence of ocular discharge, presence of nasal discharge, and unclean faces of the child were significantly associated with active trachoma. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The very high prevalence of active trachoma in the study area is significantly associated with; age group 6-10, female gender, presence of flies in household and on child's face, presence of ocular and nasal discharge, unclean faces, improved water source, improved sanitation in the household. Thus, environmental sanitation and facial cleans trachoma elimination strategy should be intensified in the study area.

Determinants of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Aged 30-49 Years Old in Four African Countries: A Cross-Sectional Secondary Data Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Early-stage cervical cancer screening is essential for providing women with a better chance of receiving effective treatment for precancerous and cancer stages. Delay in cervical cancer screening results in late presentation and cancer metastasis. National-level cervical cancer screening in resource-limited countries was scarce and not well studied in Africa based on national data specifically in Kenya, Cameroon, Nambia, and Zimbabwe. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and determinants of cervical cancer screening among eligible women in Kenya, Cameroon, Nambia, and Zimbabwe. METHODS: This study analyzed demographic and health survey data from Kenya, Cameroon, Nambia, and Zimbabwe. The data were extracted and analyzed by STATA version 15 and further analysis was done. Intraclass correlation coefficient, median odds ratio, and proportional change in variance were calculated to check the appropriateness of multilevel analysis. Variables with P-value < .25 were selected for multivariable multilevel logistic regression analysis. Finally, statistical significance between dependent and independent variables was assessed by odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The prevalence of cervical cancer screening in 4 African countries (Nambia, Kenya, Cameroon, and Zimbabwe) was 23.4 [95%CI: 22.8-24.1]. The determinants identified in this study were women of age 41-50 years [AOR = 1.47; 95% CI 1.24, 1.73], rural residence [AOR = .67; 95% CI .55, .81], women who have their own work [AOR = 1.1; 95% CI 1.0, 1.37], smoking status [AOR = 1.89; 95% CI 1.17, 3.0], age at first birth >=35 [AOR = 5.27; 95% CI 1.29-21.52], condom use [AOR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.46,2.19], husbands having worked [AOR = 1.5; 95% CI 1.08,2.11], rich household wealth [AOR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.13,1.8], and having health insurance [AOR = 2.2; 95% CI 1.8,2.7]. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of cervical cancer screening in Kenya, Cameroon, Nambia, and Zimbabwe was low as compared to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Age, residence, work status, smoking status, women's age at first birth, condom use, husbands having work, wealth status, and health insurance were the identified determinants of cervical cancer screening. Programme and policy interventions could address younger, rural residence women, poor wealth status women, women without work, and those who never use health insurance for the uptake of cervical cancer screening.

Awareness of prostate cancer and its associated factors among men 40 years of age and older in Mizan Aman town, Bench Sheko zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, South West Ethiopia, 2019.

Background: Prostate cancer is a common cause of morbidity and mortality among men aged 40 years and older. Evidence has shown that awareness of prostate cancer plays a greater role in the early detection of prostate cancer. However, there is a paucity of information regarding prostate cancer awareness levels in Ethiopia in general and in Mizan Aman town in particular. Objectives: To assess the awareness of prostate cancer and its associated factors among men aged 40 years and older in Mizan Aman, Bench Sheko zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, South West Ethiopia, 2019. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 to 30 April 2021 in Mizan Aman town. A total of 322 study subjects were selected from a total population of 1,242 in Mizan Aman town by using the simple random sampling method. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Science version 20. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize sociodemographic characteristics and personal history. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to explore further variables that were associated with the level of awareness. Significant associations were declared at a p-value of <0.05. The results were presented in text, tables, and charts. Results: The magnitude of prostate cancer awareness was 64%. Participants who were between 40 and 55 years of age (adjusted odd ratio = 6.16, 95% confidence interval = 2.62-14.47), who were government employees (adjusted odd ratio = 4.684, 95% confidence interval = 1.56-13.97), and whose monthly income level is greater than 5,000 birr (adjusted odd ratio = 12.45, 95% confidence interval = 3.2-47.77) were significantly associated with the level of awareness. Conclusion and recommendation: This study revealed that more than half of the men residing in Mizan Aman town had a high level of prostate cancer awareness. First-category age, better economic status, and employment were significantly associated with awareness of prostate cancer. This indicates the need for a collective effort to enhance the awareness of men regarding prostate cancer.

Factors Associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 Prevention Practices in Three Zones of Southwest Ethiopia: Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and related deaths are increasing exponentially in Ethiopia. Prevention is currently available effective management, and its implementation has not been assessed adequately. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with COVID-19 prevention practices in three zones of southwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Bench Sheko, Kafa, and West Omo zones. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 845 study participants. The data collection tool was adapted from the WHO resources and related literature. Independent factors were identified using binary logistic regression and a p-value less than 0.05 was used to declare the level of statistical significance. RESULTS: In this study, 803 participants participated. About two-thirds (64.7%) of the respondents had a history of going to crowded places, while only 30.3% of the participants had a history of wearing a mask when leaving home. Two-thirds of the respondents had a history of maintaining their distance at 2 meters (64.4%) and washing their hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers (64.8%). Generally, less than two-thirds (59.4%) of study participants had a good prevention practices of COVID-19. Urban residence (AOR [adjusted odds ratio] =2.34; 95% CI=1.39, 3.94), highest family size (AOR=2.95; 95% CI=1.56, 5.57), good knowledge (AOR=1.74; 95% CI=1.10, 2.77), positive attitude (AOR=1.86; 95% CI=1.27, 2.73), intention to seek care (AOR=1.73; 95% CI=1.13, 2.63), and perceived mortality (AOR=2.20; 95% CI=1.50, 3.08) were positively associated with good prevention practices. CONCLUSION: The proportion of individuals who had good COVID-19 prevention practices was inadequate. For such highly infectious diseases, prevention should be the priority intervention, and improving its implementation needs further effort. Community-based interventions such as risk communication and mass education should center on scaling up community knowledge and practice by prioritizing vulnerable groups such as rural residents.

Prevalence and factors associated with substance use among street children in Jimma town, Oromiya national regional state, Ethiopia: a community based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Street children constitute a marginalized population in most urban centers of the world. According to UN sources, there are up to 150 million street children in the world today. The estimated number of children who live on the streets in Ethiopia was 150,000, of which about 60,000 of them in Addis Ababa. However, aid agencies estimate that the problem may be far more serious, with nearly 600,000 street children country-wide and over 100,000 in Addis Ababa. World Health Organization estimates that globally, 25-90% of street children indulge in substance use. Even if substance use has become a common problem in Ethiopia, most of the studies done mainly focused among schools, college and university students. Research on street children and their substance use habits in Ethiopia was limited and specifically non in Jimma town. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with substance use among street children in Jimma town of Ethiopia in 2019. METHODS: Cross sectional study was undertaken from March 1-31, 2019. Complete enumeration of study subjects was done and all 312 children of the streets were included. Interviewer administered structured questionnaires was used to collect the data. Bivariable logistic regression was carried out to select candidate for multiple logistic regression analysis with p-value < 0.25 at 95% confidence. Multiple logistic regression was carried out with those candidate variables using backward method and the associations predictors to the response variable was declared with p value of < 0.05 at 95% confidence level. RESULT: Three hundred twelve street children were included in the study. The prevalence of substance use was 30.8% with 95% CI [25-36.2]. Age > 14 [AOR: 1.97 95%CI:1.00-3.889], attending grade 1-4th [AOR: 0.33 95%CI:0.151-0.737], attending 5th grade and above [AOR: 0.27 CI:0.093-0.756], child whose mother used substances [AOR: 7.78 95%CI:3.00-20.11], child did not know his maternal substance use status [AOR:5.1 95%CI: 2.19-11.81], child whose sibling use substance [AOR: 2.23 95%CI:1.254-5.63], best friend substance use [AOR: 11.01 95%CI:5.47-25.04] and staying 12-60 months on the street [AOR:3.00 95%CI:1.511-5.96] and staying > 5 years on the street [AOR:4.6 95%CI:1.06-19.7] were significantly associated with substance use. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The prevalence of substance use among street children in Jimma town was high. Mothers and siblings have crucial roles in determining substance use behavior of the children. Stakeholders who are working on the improvement in the life of children of the street should try to satisfy the need of the children by intervening at individual level, at family or community level and at levels beyond community to lessen the problem to some extent. Researchers should do similar researches in more detail on these vulnerable but neglected groups of children to fully understand about the problem so the findings will be used as inputs for concerned bodies.