Contributing factors of delay in seeking treatment for childhood diarrheal diseases in Berbere Woreda, Ethiopia: an unmatched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: A major cause of diarrheal illness mortality is a failure to seek immediate medical assistance. There is currently no evidence on the reasons that induce caregivers in Berbere Woreda to delayed seeking timely treatment for under-five children with diarrheal illnesses. As a result, the goal of this study was to identify determinants of delay in seeking timely treatment for childhood diarrheal diseases in Berbere Woreda, Bale Zone Oromia Region, South Eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: An unmatched case-control study on 418 child caregivers was conducted from April to May 2021. Cases were 209 children and their caregivers who sought treatment after 24 h of the onset of diarrheal disease symptoms, and controls were 209 children and their mothers/caregivers who sought treatment within 24 h of the onset of diarrheal disease symptoms. Data were collected through interviews and chart reviews using consecutive sampling. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out, with variables with a P-value of 0.05 considered statistically significant. The Hosmer-Lemshow goodness of fit test was used to validate the model, and the variance inflation factor (VIF) was used to test for multi-collinearity. RESULTS: In this study, we found that among 418 participants, determinants of delay in seeking timely treatment for childhood diarrheal diseases included mothers with more than two under-five children (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.21-4.11), Divorce (AOR = 2.62, 95% CI 1.087-2.76), age of children < 24 months (AOR = 1.597, 95%,CI (1.008-2.531), and preference for a government health facility for treatment (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI 1.51-4.34). Besides, the odds of mothers aged 25-34 years being two times more likely to delay seeking timely treatment for 5 children with diarrhea were 1.537 (0.560-4.213). CONCLUSIONS: Age of children, age of mothers, number of children, preference of health facilities, and marital status were factors influencing the failure to seek treatment within 24 h of recognizing diarrhea in children under the age of five.

Dental caries and associated factors among patients visiting Shashamane Comprehensive Specialized Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Dental caries is a major public health problem. In Ethiopia, prevention and treatment of oral health-related illness had given little attention and there is limited data on the extent and factors associated with oral health-related illnesses and oral care practices. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of dental caries and associated factors among patients visiting Shashamane Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (SCSH). METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 288 patients who visited SCSH dental clinic from March 1, 2021, to April 15, 2021. A questionnaire was employed to collect the background characteristics of the participants. Dental caries was confirmed as per World Health Organization guidelines. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to determine predictors of dental caries. A p-value less than 0.05 was taken as a cut point to determine a significant association. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of dental caries was 64.6% with 95% CI (58.8‒70.1). The mean of Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth was 1.33. Dental caries was significantly higher among respondents who did not brush their teeth (AOR = 3.589, 95% CI:1.756‒7.334), who consumed sugary food (AOR = 3.650, 95% CI: 1.747‒7.628), those with monthly a income of less than 5000.00 Ethiopian Birr (AOR = 2.452, 95% CI (1.193‒5.042), and those who had poor oral hygiene status (AOR = 1.826, 95% CI: 0.901‒3.700). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a high prevalence of dental caries among patients visiting the dental clinic. Tooth brushing habits, consumption of sugary food, and poor oral hygiene were significantly associated with dental caries.

Knowledge, attitude, and utilization of drugs toward COVID-19 pandemic among Bale Zone residents, Southeast Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which poses therapeutic dilemmas. Some suggestions for drug treatment seem problematic. Beliefs about the causes of health problems are determinants of treatment seeking decisions. Hence, one of the alternatives for the solution of health problems is employing traditional medicine to prevent coronavirus disease 19. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and utilization of drugs toward the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic among Bale zone residents. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the Bale Zone population from May 30 to June 30, 2020. Eight hundred fifty-four participants were selected using a single population formula, and a multistage sampling technique was employed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Descriptive and binary logistic regression was used to analyze the outcomes. A p value ⩽ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Out of the total 854 respondents, about 534 (62.5%) got information about coronavirus disease 19 from TV/radio. More than two-thirds (71.9%) of the respondents have known that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has no curative drugs, and 65.4% had a more appropriate attitude toward overall drug use in coronavirus disease 19. Level of education and, attitude towards drug use were singnificantly associated with knowledge of drugs, source of information about coronavirus disease 19 and having good practice were significantly associated with atittude toward drug utilization. CONCLUSION: One out of two study participants have good knowledge regarding drugs to the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic. Illiterate people in the community were identified to have poor knowledge about drugs, hence community educuation program is important to improve the knowledge about drugs towards the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic.