Dietary Supplements Intake During Pregnancy Among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia.

Introduction: Pregnant women are expected to take one or more dietary supplements (DS) like iron, folic acid, zinc, calcium, magnesium, prenatal vitamins, etc. for maternal and child health during pregnancy. Despite its growing use in Ethiopia, data concerning currently marketed maternal DS products have not been intensively investigated so far. Taking into consideration the existing problem, this study was set out to assess the prevalence and commonly used DS during pregnancy in a referral hospital in Ethiopia. Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was employed to conduct this study from November 2020 to January 2021. The sample size was obtained by using the single population proportion formula and participants were selected and approached by using a systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected through a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were used to describe continuous and categorical variables and multivariate logistic regression was used to observe the association of the independent variables to the dependent variable. Results: The overall prevalence of DS use was 84.2% and the most used product was Fefol (iron and folate supplement) (62.4%). A majority (87.8%) of DS products were obtained by prescription. In multivariate regression analysis, DS use during pregnancy was significant among nulliparous women and women who went to college and above [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 8.142, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.298-51.070)] and [AOR: 9.259, 95% CI (1.998-42.906)], respectively. Conclusion: Even though the prevalence of DS practice showed improvement among the study participants, the duration of the DS intake is less than that recommended by the WHO. Pregnant women who did not have birth before and who went to college or above showed significant association with the use of DS.

Role of community pharmacists in educating asthmatic patients: A multi-centered cross-sectional study in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Effective asthma management requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes; the physician, the patient, and the patient's family. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to assess the roles played by community pharmacists toward asthma control together with the barriers hindering their practice and possible strategies to overcome those barriers. METHODS: A multi-centered cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from previously conducted studies and customized to fit with the current study setup. The collected data was cleaned, coded, and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 for analysis. Descriptive analysis of the collected data was conducted and the results were presented using frequency tables and graphs. RESULTS: A total of 122 community pharmacy professionals; 63 from Gondar, 26 from Bahir Dar, 15 from Debre Markos, 14 from Woldia, and 4 from Debre birhan participated in the study. About 96 (78.7%) of the participants reported that they teach their patients the basic facts about asthma. More than two-thirds of the participants 85 (69.7%) also reported that they were able to identify and manage the triggering factors of asthma for their patients. Lack of pharmacist time was reported by 78 (63.9%) of the study participants as a major reason for the inadequacy of the counseling service provided. CONCLUSION: It appears evident that there is a need for continuing professional education and pharmacists to receive additional training to improve their ability to go beyond identifying a problem and suggesting therapeutic options.

Health Professionals Oral Health Knowledge and Practice: Unleashing the Hidden Challenges.

OBJECTIVE: Dental disease is one of the major prevalent preventable public health challenges that resulted in a significant burden on children and adults. The aim of the current study was to identify oral health-related knowledge and practice among Bahir Dar community health care providers and the perceived barriers to oral health care services. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used for data collection, and SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. A chi-square test was used to determine the association between study variables, and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance. RESULTS: A total of 281 interviews were conducted. Doctors had the highest mean knowledge score value of 4.67 followed by dentists with a mean score of 4.5. The majority of the study participants (59.4%) reported that they use a toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste for brushing their teeth, and a statistically significant difference was observed between different types of health professionals. The majority of the study participants (80.1 and 70.8%) reported limited finances and lack of adequate health/dental insurance as a barrier to oral health care services, respectively. CONCLUSION: Oral health-related knowledge of health professionals in Bahir Dar city is low. Oral health topics must be incorporated into the health care professionals training programs and continuing medical education. Health professionals should master basic oral health-related knowledge, and they should practice basic oral health care practices to become role models for their patients.