Congenital anomalies and risk factors in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pooled prevalence and identify risk factors of congenital anomalies among neonates in Africa. METHODS: The pooled birth prevalence of congenital anomalies was the first outcome of this review, and the pooled measure of association between congenital anomalies and related risk factors in Africa was the second. We conducted a thorough search of the databases PubMed/ Medline, PubMed Central, Hinary, Google, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online, Web of Science and Google Scholar up to 31 January 2023. The JBI appraisal checklist was used to evaluate the studies. STATA V.17 was used for the analysis. The I2 test and Eggers and Beggs tests were used to measure study heterogeneity and publication bias respectively. The pooled prevalence of congenital anomalies was calculated using DerSimonian and Laird random-effect model. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis and meta-regression were also performed. RESULT: This systematic review and meta-analysis includes 32 studies with a total of 626 983 participants. The pooled prevalence of congenital anomalies was 23.5 (95% CI 20 to 26.9) per 1000 newborns. Not taking folic acid (pooled OR=2.67; 95% CI (1.42 to 5.00)), history of maternal illness (pooled OR=2.44, 95% CI (1.2 to 4.94)), history of drug use (pooled OR=2.74, 95% CI (1.29 to 5.81)), maternal age (>35 years.) (Pooled OR=1.97, 95% CI (1.15 to 3.37)), drinking alcohol (pooled OR=3.15, 95% CI (1.4 to 7.04)), kchat chewing (pooled OR=3.34, 5% CI (1.68 to 6.65)) and urban residence (pooled OR=0.58, 95% CI (0.36 to 0.95)) were had significant association with congenital anomalies. CONCLUSION: The pooled prevalence of congenital abnormalities in Africa was found to be substantial, with significant regional variation. Appropriate folate supplementation during pregnancy, proper management of maternal sickness, proper antenatal care, referring healthcare personnel before using drugs, avoiding alcohol intake and kchat chewing are all important in lowering the occurrence of congenital abnormalities among newborns in Africa.

Levels of Burnout and Its Determinant Factors Among Nurses in Private Hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ethiopia, 2020. A Multi Central Institutional Based Cross Sectional Study.

Background: Burnout among nurses is a significant problem in healthcare establishments and has negative implications on clinical outcomes. International studies have shown the prevalence of burnout ranged from 10 to 70%. However, this is unknown among nurses in private hospitals in Addis Ababa. The study was intended to assess the levels of burnout and the associated factors among nurses working in private hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2020. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was used. A probability sampling, specifically, a simple random sampling technique was employed to collect data, and the Maslach burnout inventory human services survey (MBI-HSS) instrument was adapted to measure the levels of burnout. The data obtained was edited manually and entered into EPI-data version 4.6 and then exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Logistic regression was used to identify the association between the dependent and independent variables and variables with p < 0.25 on bivariate analysis were taken into multivariate logistic regression, and then variables with p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Result: A total of 385 questionnaires were distributed to participants, but only 368 (96%) of them were collected and included in this study. The majority 56% and 69.8% of them were females and belonged to the age group of 20-29 years, respectively. Two hundred seven (56.5%) of them reported suffering from a high level of burnout. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, night duty shift [AOR = 2.699; 95% CI: (1.043-6.987)], excessive workload [AOR = 6.013; 95% CI: (3.016-11.989)], staff shortage [AOR = 6.198; 95% CI: (3.162-12.147)], persistent interpersonal conflict [AOR = 2.465; 95% CI: (1.225-4.961)], and nurses' poor health status [AOR = 3.4878; 95% CI: (1.815-8.282)] demonstrated a statistical significant association with the professional burnout. Conclusions and Recommendations: Nurses' burnout in private hospitals of Addis Ababa was highly prevalent. Therefore, ensuring adequate staffing and minimizing the workload of nurse professionals are mandatory to prevent it.