Incomplete immunization and associated factors among children 12-23 months in Aletawondo district, Sidama zone, South Ethiopia: Across-sectional study.

Immunization is one of the most cost-effective and commonly used public health strategies for preventing child mortality. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of incomplete immunization and associated variables in children aged 12-23 months in the Aleta Wondo district of Southern Ethiopia. The researchers utilized a community-based cross-sectional study approach. A modified World Health Organization-Expanded Program on Immunization cluster sampling method was used to choose 634 mothers/caregivers of children aged 12-23 months. Data were collected by trained data collectors between March and April 2019. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were done. In this study, 138 (21.8%) of children were not completed their immunization. Mothers who were literate [AOR = 2.1; (95% CI: 1.1, 4.2)]. Home birth [AOR = 2.9; (95% CI: 1.7, 5.3)], walking time from home to vaccination site [AOR = 1.95; (95% CI: 1.1,3.3)], inconvenience times for vaccination service [AOR = 2.4; (95% CI: 1.3,4.5)], postponing vaccination session schedule [AOR = 2.4; (95% CI:1.1,5.4)], households not visited by health extension workers [AOR = 4.1; (95% CI: 2.2,7.4)], poorer knowledge about child immunization [AOR = 4; (95% CI:2.2,7.5)] were factors associated with incomplete immunization. Incomplete immunization was higher compared to the national target. It is necessary to strengthen the program by enhancing the number of outreach sites considering the size of the target group.

Balneotherapy for Musculoskeletal Pain Management of Hot Spring Water in Southern Ethiopia: Perceived Improvements.

Background: Balneotherapy and hydrotherapy offer interesting treatment alternatives and are commonly used as additional interventions in the management of musculoskeletal disorders and pain management. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of balneotherapy on musculoskeletal disorder pain and its perceived improvement among users of hot spring water in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A single-arm cohort study and convenient sampling method were used to select 1337 study participants from four hot springs in Southern Ethiopia. A structured questionnaire, a physical examination, and laboratory blood tests were used to collect data. Data were entered using Epi data and transferred to SPSS 25 for cleaning and analysis. Descriptive analysis was made. Results: A total of 1279 participants were included in the study, giving a response rate of 96%. The majority of these patients have multiple health problems. Of all, 1137 (88.9%) of the patients were visiting the hot springs for joint pain followed by muscle pain 669 (52.2). Out of all cases of joint pain, 132 (11.6%) were clinically diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and 5.3% were confirmed as having the disease based on a laboratory test. Of the total number of study participants, 1064 (83.2%) reported complete relief from the complaints they had at the start of the bath. Conclusions: Hot spring baths for three and more days have significant therapeutic effects on patients with musculoskeletal disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis. Physicians who are currently working in the area of diagnosis and treatment of patients in government and public facilities of the southern region should consider hot spring bath treatment for those patients with complaints of musculoskeletal pain, nonspecific arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. A hot spring bath is beneficial for everyone because it is a natural treatment with few side effects and a low cost.

Community Acceptance and Utilization of Maternal and Community-Based Neonatal Care Services Provided by Health Extension Workers in Rural Sidama Zone: Barriers and Enablers: A Qualitative Study.

PURPOSE: This study assessed the community acceptance and utilization of maternal and community-based neonatal care services, its barriers, and enablers in southern Ethiopia, 2019. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted among mothers, health extension workers, their supervisors and coordinators in four districts of Sidama Zone, Hawassa University Demographic Surveillance Site. An in-depth interview has been carried out with eight health extension workers and eight program coordinators and supervisors, while four focus group discussions were held with eligible mothers. Digital recording was applied to record the interview and discussion followed by transcription and thematic analysis through open code. RESULTS: Study findings reveal that services provided by health extension workers at community level for mothers and their children are highly appreciated and recognized by the community. Most of the communities are free from wrong perception regarding the practices. Their performance was better in focused antenatal care, but postnatal care and community-based neonatal care were reported to be insignificant. Knowledge and skills of HEWs was based on their extended experiences. The challenges and opportunities include workload, road inaccessibility, poor supervision, inadequate drugs and equipment supply, shortage of man power and budget at health posts, distance and topography factors of homes from health posts making the visits more difficult, etc. To improve uptake of the services, increasing the number of health extension workers in the heath post, supportive supervision, continuous essential drugsm and medical supplies were suggested by participants. CONCLUSION: This study shows that services provided by health extension workers for mothers and their neonates are highly appreciated by the community, and there is better change in focused antenatal care services, but postnatal care and sick newborn care are still low. Therefore, maternal and neonatal programs should focus on the postnatal home visits and sick newborn care through solving identified barriers.