COVID - 19 related knowledge and preventive practices early in the outbreak among health care workers in selected public health facilities of Illu aba Bor and Buno Bedelle zones, Southwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Novel-coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease is currently a worldwide health risk and public health emergency concern. The virus is transmitted from an infected person to another person through close contact and droplets. Frontline health care workers are the most at risk of infection, and so a WHO interim guidance document was issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) which underscores the importance of proper sanitation and waste management practices for COVID- 19 in health-care settings. This study aimed at assessing knowledge and preventive practices towards Covid-19 among health care providers in selected health facilities of Illu Aba Bor and Buno Bedele zones, Southwest Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2020 among 330 health workers in selected health facilities of Illu Aba Bor and Buno-Bedelle Zones, Southwest Ethiopia. Data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The collected data were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of preventive practices towards Covid-19. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value of < 0.05. RESULT: The majority of respondents (93.3%) demonstrated good knowledge of COVID-19, and the mean (SD) knowledge score was 9.04 ± 1.06. Nearly two-thirds (64.2%) of the study participants had good infection prevention practices. Being male (AOR = 3.65, 95% CI: (1.96, 6.80)), education level (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI (1.02, 3.22)), profession (AOR = 3.17, 95% CI (1.08, 9.33)), service year (5-10 years) (AOR = 2.00 (1.02, 3.92)) and more than 10 years (AOR = 3.14 (1.51, 6.52)), availability of personal protective equipment (AOR = 1.96 (1.06, 3.61)) and Knowledge level (AOR = 2.61 (1.48, 4.62)) were independent predictors of COVID-19 preventive practices. CONCLUSION: The overall level of knowledge of HCWs was good. However, the practice was relatively low. Gender, educational status, profession, year of service, knowledge towards COVID-19, and availability of personal protective equipment were independent predictors of good infection prevention practices. Optimizing the infection prevention and control loop of the health facilities is recommended.

Knowledge on cervical cancer, attitude toward its screening, and associated factors among reproductive age women in Metu Town, Ilu Aba Bor, South West Ethiopia, 2018: community-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is one of the major public health problems worldwide. Lack of awareness and unavailability of screening services are the major factors that contribute to the problem of cervical cancer in Ethiopia. The community-based study conducted regarding the knowledge and attitude toward cervical cancer among women of reproductive age group is not enough to indicate the problem. AIM: To assess the knowledge on cervical cancer, attitude toward its screening, and associated factors among women of reproductive age. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study with a mixed approach method was conducted from April to May 2018. The sample size calculated for this study was 420. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the association between the covariate and the dependent variable. RESULT: Of all participants, 31% have good knowledge of cervical cancer, and 57.8% have a positive attitude toward cervical cancer screening. In a multivariable analysis, educational status, occupation, visiting health facilities, and parity were significantly associated with knowledge and attitude toward cervical cancer screening. CONCLUSION: This study suggests increasing women's awareness, health education on cervical cancer in the community, and health institutions should be strengthened. PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Female health workers were involved in the data collection process. Educated women and women who are community health leaders were involved as Interviewees for the qualitative part of the study. However, they have no direct contributions to authorship.