Prevalence of child marriage and associated factors among reproductive age women in Harari regional state, eastern Ethiopia, 2022: a community-based study.

INTRODUCTION: Child marriage is a union before the age of 18 and a violation of human right. Around 21% of young women in the world married before reaching the age of 18. Every year, 10 million girls under the age of 18 are married. Child marriage causes lifetime suffering, and its abolition was one component of the Sustainable Development Goal to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls. However; abolition of child marriage by 2030 will not happen because its prevalence in the community has remained stable. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of child marriage and its associated factors among reproductive-age women from March 7 to April 5, 2022 in Harari Regional State, eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 7 to April 5, 2022 among the reproductive age group in the Harari Region state, Eastern Ethiopia. A systematic random sampling technique was used to find study participants. Data were obtained by face-to-face interview using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, input into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using Stata version 16. The proportion with 95% confidence interval (CI) and the summery measure were used to report the prevalence. A multivariable logistic regression analysis model was used to examine associated factors, and the results were provided as an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval. RESULT: In this study 986 were responded to the interview, making response rate of 99.6%. The median age of study participants was 22 years. The prevalence of child marriage was 33.7% [95% CI: 30.8-36.7] in this study. Being a Muslim (AOR = 2.30, 95% CI = 1.26, 4.19), diploma or higher level of education (AOR = 0.26, 95%CI = .10, 0.70), rural residence (AOR = 5.39, 95% CI = 3.71, 7.82), a marriage arranged by others (AOR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.49, 4.82) and not knowing legal age of marriage (AOR = 4.49, 95% CI = 2.57, 7.85) were significantly associated with child marriage. CONCLUSION: According to this report, nearly one out of every three women engages in child marriage. The practice was more common among those with lower educational attainment, those who lived in rural areas, people who were unaware of the legal age of marriage, and those whose engagement was decided by others. Focusing on strategies that allow for intervention in these factors is beneficial in ending child marriage, which has a direct and indirect impact on women's health and educational achievement.

Suicidal ideation, attempt and associated factor among secondary school students in Harari regional state, Eastern Ethiopia. A multi-center cross-sectional study.

Background: Suicide is a major public health issue across the globe. It is the second leading cause of death in adolescents. Even though the rate of suicide has increased, no study has been conducted to investigate the determinants of suicide in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and its associated factors among secondary school students in the Harari regional state of Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 1,666 secondary school students. A structured-self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to assess suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) was also used to assess depression, anxiety, and stress. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and exported to Stata version 14.0 for the analysis. A logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between the outcome and independent variables and the statistical significance was declared at a p-value of < 0.05. Result: The overall magnitude of suicidal ideation and attempts was 13.82% at 95% confidence interval (CI): 12.16-15.66 and 7.61% at 95% CI: 6.37-9.07, respectively. Suicidal ideations and suicide attempts were significantly associated with undergoing depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.08-2.19 and AOR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.46-3.86, respectively), experiencing anxiety symptoms (AOR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.25-2.59 and AOR: 1.89; 95% CI: 2.14-10.65, respectively), being exposed to sexual violence (AOR: 3.36; 95% CI: 1.65-6.84), and having a family history of suicidal attempts (AOR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.21-3.69 and AOR: 4.74; 95% CI: 2.14-10.65, respectively), whereas living in a rural residence (AOR: 1.65 95%, CI: 1.08-2.55) was significantly associated only with suicide attempts. Conclusion and recommendations: Nearly one in six secondary school students had both suicidal ideation and attempted to take their own life. Suicide is one of the psychiatric emergencies that need immediate action. Therefore, the concerned body from either a governmental or a non-governmental organization should work in setting strategies to minimize sexual violence as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms.