Determinants of immunization defaulters among children aged 12-23 months in Ambo town, Oromia, Ethiopia: A case-control study.

Immunization is a public health intervention to reduce morbidity and mortality among children. However, vaccination becomes more effective if the child can receive the full course of recommended vaccination doses according to the schedule. Many children fail to complete the full course of vaccination. To identify the determinants of immunization defaulters among children aged 12-23 months in Ambo town, Oromia, Ethiopia. A community-based, unmatched, case-control study was done from October 1 to 25, 2021. A simple random sampling was used to select 317 (106 cases and 211 controls). Data were collected by using a pretested and structured questionnaire. Data were coded and entered to Epi-data version 3.1 and then transported to SPSS version 21.0 for statistical analysis. Descriptive analysis like frequency, mean, and percentage was calculated. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis was done. Finally, variables with a p value  < .05 were considered statistically significant. Urban residences (AOR = 0.288, 95% CI, 0.146, 570), government employee (AOR = 0.179, 95% CI, 0.057, 0.565), number of family members more than four (AOR = 2.696, 95% CI, 1.143, 6.358), higher income (AOR = 0.250, 95% CI, 0.099, 0.628), attending ANC (AOR = 0..237, 95% CI, 0.107, 0.525), and good awareness (AOR = 0.070, 95% CI, 0.005, 308) were significant predictors of immunization defaulters. This study has found that urban residences, government employee by occupation, number of family members more than four, higher monthly income, and attending ANC were identified as determinants of childhood immunization defaulters. Social Behavior Change intervention programs should focus on providing health information about the importance of the vaccine and vaccine schedule. Due attention should be given for rural residents and farmers who had limited access to information and are more prone to defaulting. Policy-makers should consider those identified factors while designing intervention programs to enhance vaccination coverage.

Comprehensive HIV knowledge and associated factors among reproductive-age women: analysis of the Gambia Demographic and Health Survey 2019/2020.

INTRODUCTION: Globally, there are 37.7 million people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). So far, there is no study done in Gambia which assessed comprehensive HIV knowledge and its associated factors. Therefore, this study aims to assess comprehensive HIV knowledge and its associated factors among reproductive-age women in Gambia. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of comprehensive HIV knowledge and its associated factors among reproductive-age women in Gambia. METHODS: The study used the Gambian Demographic and Health Survey, which was conducted from 21 November 2019 to 30 March 2020 in Gambia. The survey employed a stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique to recruit study participants. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with HIV comprehensive knowledge. Statistical significance was declared at a P value of less than 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The overall prevalence of comprehensive HIV knowledge was 27.1% (25.1-36.2%). Older age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 1.20 (95% CI 1.16-1.26)], using contraceptive [AOR of 1.15 (95% CI 1.01-1.31)], higher education [AOR of 4.73 (95% CI 3.86-5.81)], rich wealth quintile [AOR of 1.61 (95% CI 1.37-1.87)], media exposure [AOR of 1.76 (95% CI 1.39-2.23)], ever tested for HIV [AOR of 1.55 (95% CI 1.42-1.74)], visited health facility within the last 12 months [AOR of 1.26 (95% CI 1.12-1.41)] and decision-making autonomy [AOR of 1.42 (95% CI 1.27-1.60)] were positively associated with comprehensive HIV knowledge. However, being married [AOR of 0.72 (95% CI 0.62-0.82)] was negatively associated with comprehensive HIV knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of comprehensive HIV knowledge was low in Gambia. Educational interventions that focused mainly on awareness creation about HIV/AIDS should be designed especially for married women and lower socio-economic status. An effort has to be made to address those disparities at the national level.

Work-related stress and associated factors among health professionals working in Ambo town public health facilities, West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, 2021: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess work-related stress (WRS) and associated factors among health professionals working in Ambo town governmental health facilities, in 2021. DESIGN: Institution-based analytical cross-sectional study. SETTING: Institution-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Ambo town from 15 July 2021 to 15 August 2021. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 420 participants. Data were collected by using structured self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to show the magnitude of WRS. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify variables that are significantly associated with WRS at 95% CI and p value <0.05. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 407 participants were involved in the study making the response rate 96.9%. The age of the respondents ranged from 20 to 52 with the mean age of 29 years (SD=4.8). Among all participants, 261 (64.1%) were male health professionals. RESULTS: This study found that the overall prevalence of WRS was 52.33% (47.5, 57.2). Being female (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.73, 95% CI 1.06, 2.81), home-work interface (AOR=1.93, 95% CI 1.19, 3.14), job insecurity (tendency not knowing continue current job (AOR=3.22, 95% CI 1.87, 5.56) and major life events (serious injury to close relatives (AOR=3.13, 95% CI 1.68, 5.84), death of close relative (AOR=2.09, 95% CI 1.16, 3.77), being violated by other (AOR=3.10, 95% CI 1.65, 5.83) and anything else seriously upset (AOR=2.63, 95% CI 1.60, 4.32) were factors significantly associated with WRS. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of WRS among health professionals working in Ambo town public health facilities was high as compared with other studies. Sex, job insecurity, home-work interface and occurrence of major life events were factors that positively related to WRS and make the work of health professionals stressful. Health facilities, programme managers and policy makers should consider those identified factors while designing public health interventions to reduce WRS among health professionals.

Problems with accessing healthcare and associated factors among reproductive-aged women in the Gambia using Gambia Demographic and Health Survey 2019/2020: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess problems with accessing healthcare and its associated factors among reproductived-age women in the Gambia using the Gambia Demographic and Health Survey 2019/2020. DESIGN: A community-based cross-sectional study. SETTING: This study was based on a large, community-based cross-sectional survey, conducted from 2019 to 2020 in the Gambia. The survey employed a stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique to recruit study participants. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to summarise descriptive data and identify factors associated with problems of accessing healthcare, respectively. A p value of less than 0.05 and 95% CI were used to determine statistical significance. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 11 865 reproductive-aged women (15-49 years) were included in the study. The mean age of the women was 28.21 with an SD of 9.33 and ranges 15-49 years. Regarding marital status, 7526 (63.43%) were married. RESULTS: The magnitude of problems with accessing healthcare among reproductive-aged women in the Gambia was 45.5% (95% CI: 44.6%, 46.4%). Age (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.48, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.95), being from rural residence (AOR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.53), parity (AOR=1.07, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.12), middle (AOR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.46, 0.64) and greater wealth (AOR=0.30, 95% CI: 0.25, 0.37), giving birth at health institutions (AOR=0.69, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.80), currently working (AOR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.86) and geographical region were significantly associated with problems of accessing healthcare. CONCLUSION: Problems of accessing healthcare among women of reproductive age were high in the Gambia. Age, region, working status, parity, residence, wealth and place of delivery were the identified factors associated with problems of accessing healthcare. Policymakers and public health experts should consider those factors while designing maternal healthcare programmes. Affordable healthcare service programmes should be designed to increase healthcare access in the Gambia.

Safe stool disposal and associated factors among mothers of children aged under-two years in Gambia: Evidence from Gambia Demographic Health Survey 2019/20.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate disposal of child stool is vital in preventing the spread of faecal-oral diseases. According to WHO/ UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program, Safe child stool disposal includes disposing a stool in a Flush or pour-flush toilet/latrine (to a piped sewer system, septic tank, pit latrine), Ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine or a Pit latrine with slab. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess safe child stool disposal practice and associated factors among mothers with children aged under-two years in Gambia. METHODS: This study was based on a large community-based cross-sectional survey, conducted from 21 November 2019 to 30 March 2020 in Gambia. The survey employed a two-staged stratified cluster sampling technique to recruit study participants. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to summarize descriptive data and identify factors associated with safe waste disposal, respectively. A p-value of less than 0.05 and 95% confidence interval were used to determine statistical significance. RESULTS: The prevalence of safe stool disposal among mothers with children aged under-two years were 56.3% (95% CI: 54.6%, 58.1%). Mothers aged 25-34 (AOR = 0.78 (95%CI: 0.62, 0.98)), the highest wealth quintile (AOR = 0.43 (95%CI: 0.33, 0.56)), being exposed to media (AOR = 1.37 (95%CI: 1.07, 1.76)), increasing age of children (AOR = 1.06 (1.05, 1.07)), Being employed (AOR = 1.31 (1.11, 1.55)) and Geographic region were significantly associated with safe child disposal practice. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of safe child stool disposal was low in Gambia. Age of the mother, age of the child, region, wealth index, media exposure and occupational status of the mother were significantly associated with safe child stool disposal. Public health intervention strategies designed to promote safe child stools disposal need to conduct thorough community assessments to identify community-specific facilitators, needs and barriers. Additionally, public health experts and policy makers should take into consideration the geographical and wealth inequalities when designing programs aimed to improve safe child stool disposal practice.

Youth friendly reproductive health service utilization and its associated factors among secondary school students, East Belesa district, northwest, Ethiopia, 2022.

BACKGROUND: Youths are people aged between 15 and 24 years. Globally, there were 37.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and 90% occur among youths. Despite enormous efforts made in Ethiopia to improve the reproductive health of the youth the utilization is still low. There is no study conducted on YFRHS utilization and associated factors among youths in East Belesa. Therefore, this study is aimed to assess YFRHS utilization and its associated factors among secondary school youths in East Belesa district. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of youth friendly reproductive health service utilization and associated factors among secondary school students in East Belesa district, Ethiopia, 2022. METHOD: Institution based cross-sectional study design was used with a total sample size of 347 youths in East Belesa schools from May 23 to June 12, 2022. Stratified simple random sampling was employed. Data were entered using EpiData and analyzed using Stata version 14. Descriptive statistics and Logistic regression were done to describe and identify factors associated with reproductive health services utilization. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered to declare a level of significance. RESULTS: A total of 346 students participated in the study with a response rate of 99.8%.the magnitude of youth friendly reproductive health service utilization was 28.9% (24.3, 33.9). Being married (AOR = 0.27, 95%CI: 0.14, 0.52), mothers attended higher education (AOR = 1.40, 95%CI: 1.87, 4.95), availability (AOR = 2.58. 95%CI: 1.29, 5.16) and students who had never discussed about reproductive issues with their families (AOR = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.07, 0.49) were significantly associated with youth friendly service utilization. Therefore, behavior change communication interventions targeted at advancing mothers' knowledge, encouraging open discussion between parents and children, and enhancing the availability of youth friendly services are important to enhance youth friendly service utilization.

Assessment of domestic violence and its associated factors among ever-married reproductive-age women in Cameroon: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Domestic violence (DV) against women is a global issue that affects women in all countries and is a significant contributor to their poor health. Women who have experienced DV, in particular, suffer from the gynecological, nervous system, and stress-related issues. Despite such devastating implications, there is a paucity of data on the prevalence of DV and its associated factors among married reproductive-age women in Cameroon. METHOD: The data were analyzed by using STATA version 14 from a demographic and health survey conducted in Cameroon in 2018. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done. Statistical significance was determined using a p-value of less than 0.05 and a 95% confidence range. RESULT: A total of 4,903 ever-married women were included in the study. The mean age ± standard deviation, of the participants was 31.3 (± 8.4) years with an age range of 15-49 years. The prevalence of DV among ever-married Cameroonian women was 30.5% with 95%CI (29.3%, 31.8%). Women's educational attainment (higher educational level) (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI (0.37, 0.92), p value = 0.02), Husband's educational level (husbands who attended primary educational level (AOR = 1.30, 95% CI (1.01, 1.68), p value = 0.04), a woman who had media exposure regarding DV ( AOR = 0.83, 95% CI (0.0, 0.99), p value = 0.04), a woman whose husband drinks alcohol (AOR = 3.00, 95% CI (2.56, 3.53), p value < 0.001), and the region where the women reside (center without Yaoundé (AOR = 2.48, 95% CI (1.75, 3.52), p value < 0.001), west (AOR = 1.49, 95% CI (1.05, 2.11), p value = 0.02), South (AOR = 1.89, 95% CI (1.31, 2.72), p-value = 0.001), and Yaoundé (AOR = 1.65. 95% CI (1.14, 2.39), p value = 0.009) were factors that were significantly associated to DV committed by a husband in the previous 12 months against ever-married women. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that the prevalence of DV among ever-married women in Cameroon is high. Women's educational level, husband's educational level, husband's alcohol drinking status, women's exposure to mass-media about DV, and the region where the woman resides in the country were factors significantly associated with DV.

Intimate partner violence and associated factors among reproductive age women in Liberia: a cross-sectional study using a recent Liberian demographic and health survey.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem and a violation of women's human rights. Almost one third of women aged 15-49 years who have been in a relationship have experienced to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner worldwide. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of intimate partner violence within the last 12 months and associated factors among reproductive aged women in Liberia. METHOD: This study was based on a large community-based cross-sectional survey, Liberia Demographic Health Survey (LDHS), conducted From October 16, 2019, to February 12, 2020, in Liberia. The 2019-20 LDHS used a stratified two-stage cluster design. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent intimate partner violence among reproductive age women in Liberia and to control confounders. Adjusted odds ratio and confidence interval (CI) were used to declare statistical significance in the final model. Those variables with p value < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. RESULT: The overall prevalence of IPV within the last 12 months was 44.74% (42.73-46.77). age of the women 41% (AOR = 0.59, 95%CI 0.37-0.93), 42% (AOR = 0.58, 95%CI 0.35-0.94), and 59% (AOR = 0.41, 95%CI 0.25-0.68) among women with in the age group of 35-39, 40-44 and 45-49 respectively, south central region (AOR = 0.71, 95%CI 0.52-0.96), women's primary education (AOR = 1.28, 95%CI 1.01-1.63), female household head (AOR = 0.77, 95%CI 0.61-0.97), husbands higher education (AOR = 0.62, 95%CI 0.39-0.99), positive wife beating attitude (AOR = 1.57, 95%CI 1.29-1.90), husband drinks (AOR = 2.59, 95%CI 2.14-3.15) and Women's decision making autonomy (AOR = 0.75, 95%CI 0.61-0.93) were significantly associated with IPV. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IPV in Liberia was high. Socio-demographic characteristics of women, husbands education, sex of household head, having a positive attitude towards wife-beating, partner's alcohol drinking habit and women empowerment was significantly associated with IPV in Liberia. Policymakers and program designers have to take into account those factors when they design interventions to reduce IPV in Liberia.

Risk perception and preventive behaviours of COVID-19 among university students, Gondar, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess COVID-19 preventive behaviours and their associated factors among university students. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed among 405 university students and the study participants were chosen using a stratified simple random selection procedure. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to assess participants' perception of and preventive behaviour towards COVID-19. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with COVID-19 preventive behaviour. RESULT: A total of 405 students participated in this study with a response rate of 97.4%. The mean age of the participants was 23.6 (SD ±2.4, range 19-30) years. Two hundred and twenty of the participants (45.7% with 95% CI 41.0% to 51.0%) had good preventive behaviour towards COVID-19. COVID-19 preventive behaviour was significantly associated with age (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.1, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.2), female sex (AOR=1.6, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.60), knowing anyone infected with COVID-19 (AOR=4.05, 95% CI 1.9 to 8.8), participants who had high perceived susceptibility (AOR=2.14, 95% CI 1.44 to 3.35) and participants who were enrolled in health programmes (AOR=4.23, 95% CI 2.6 to 7.0). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The overall COVID-19 preventive behaviour among university students is unsatisfactory. Students' COVID-19 preventive behaviour was influenced by age, sex, knowing a COVID-19 infected person, perceived susceptibility and the sort of programme in which they had enrolled. The findings revealed that health communication interventions aimed at changing people's perceptions of COVID-19 and related prevention strategies are urgently needed to improve this population's COVID-19 preventive behaviour.

Modern Contraceptive Utilization and Associated Factors Among Married Women in Liberia: Evidence from the 2019 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey.

BACKGROUND: Contraceptive methods help individuals control the number, interval, and timing of pregnancies and prevent unwanted pregnancies. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of modern contraceptive utilization and associated factors among married reproductive-age women in Liberia. METHODS: This study was based on a large community-based cross-sectional survey, conducted from October 16, 2019, to February 12, 2020, in Liberia. The survey employed a multistage cluster sampling technique to recruit study participants. Binary logistic regression was used to identify associated factors of contraceptive utilization. A p-value of <0.05 and a 95% confidence interval were used to declare statistical significance. RESULTS: The overall modern contraceptive utilization among reproductive-age women in Liberia was 23.87% (95% CI: 27.3, 29.9). Women with the age group of 20 and 24 years [AOR = 2.08 (95% CI:1.37, 3.14)], 25-29 years [AOR = 1.73 (95% CI: 1.13, 2.65)], 45-49 years [AOR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.76], being Muslim [AOR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.399, 0.67], residing in South Eastern Regions (B) [AOR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.79], south central [AOR=0.48 95% CI:0.37, 0.61] and North Central region [AOR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.61], being employed [AOR = 1.26, 95% CI:1.06, 1.51], having 1-2 child/children [AOR = 2.81, 95% CI:1.80, 4.39] 3-4 children [AOR = 3.87, 95% CI:3.87, 6.24] and 5 and above [AOR = 7.06, 95% CI: 4.27, 11.69], completed primary [AOR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.22, 1.88] and higher education [AOR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.94], having educated husband [AOR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.63], being from richer households [AOR = 1.41, 95% CI:1.09, 1.82], and had declared infecund [AOR = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.046, 0.36] were independently associated with modern contraceptive utilization among married women in Liberia. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of modern contraceptive utilization among reproductive-age women in Liberia was low. Contraceptive utilization was affected by partners' education and participants' socio-demographic and obstetric attributes. Thus, public health interventions are urgently required to enhance use of contraceptives among this group of population.