Compliance with infection prevention and control standard precautions and factors associated with noncompliance among healthcare workers working in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Standard Precautions (SPs) are the minimal infection prevention and control (IPC) measures that apply to all patient care activities at all times, regardless of whether the patient has a suspected or proven disease, in any place where healthcare service is provided. These evidence-based practices protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from infection while preventing the spread of infectious agents among patients, visitors, and the environment. OBJECTIVES: Assessed compliance of HCWs working in public hospitals in Addis Ababa to infection prevention and control SPs, and factors associated with noncompliance. METHODS: In a hospital-based cross-sectional study, 422 HCWs were recruited from nine public hospitals in Addis Ababa using a stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, entered into a computer using Epi data, and analyzed using SPSS version 25. The association between the independent and the outcome variables was investigated using logistic regression. Odd ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used as measures of the strength of the association between the outcome and the explanatory variables. A p-value below 5% was considered an indicator of statistical significance. RESULTS: The level of knowledge of HCWs about IPC and SPs was 51.9% and 36.49% of the respondents were compliant with SPs. Receiving IPC Training [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.81, 95% CI 1.06, 3.09], knowing SPs [AOR = 3.46, 95% CI = 1.83, 6.54], presence of a mechanism in the hospital to enforce the IPC practices [AOR = 1.71 95% CI = 1.01, 2.89], and availability of cleaning and disinfection chemicals in the hospital [AOR = 2.18, 95%CI = 1.15, 4.13] were significantly associated with the HCWs' compliance with SPs. CONCLUSION: Compliance with IPC standard precautions of HCWs in public hospitals of Addis Ababa is suboptimal. Working in medical units, less work experience, lack of training, poor knowledge, absence of a mechanism to enforce adherence, and inadequate resources are independent predictors for non-compliance of the HCWs.

The Burden of Diarrheal Diseases and Its Associated Factors among Under-Five Children in Welkite Town: A Community Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: This study assessed the magnitude of diarrhea and associated risk factors among under-five children in Welkite town. Methods: We used a community-based cross-sectional study design. Data collection period was February to March 2021 and 426 parents/guardians of under-five children were the study participants. A structured questionnaire and observation checklist were used to collect the data. Results: The 2 weeks prevalence of diarrhea among under-five years old children was 20.7% (88/426); 95% CI (17.1, 24.6). The child's mother/caregiver being merchant (AOR: 5.34; 95% CI: 2.1, 13.8) compared to housewife, partial immunization status (AOR: 2.67; 95% CI: 1.2, 5.8), disposing child's stool into the garbage (AOR: 5.05; 95% CI: 1.1, 23.3) compared to putting in a toilet, not covering water storage materials (AOR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.2, 4.7) and presence of flies in food preparation area (AOR: 2.24; 95% CI: 1.05, 4.8) were associated with increased odds of having diarrhea. Conclusion: The prevalence of diarrhea among under-five old children is high and it is associated with the occupation of the mothers/caregivers, the immunization status of children, unhygienic water storage condition and non-hygienic household practice.

Prevalence of short interpregnancy interval and its associated factors among pregnant women in Debre Berhan town, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Short inter-pregnancy interval is an interval of <24 months between the dates of birth of the preceding child and the conception date of the current pregnancy. Despite its direct effects on the perinatal and maternal outcomes, there is a paucity of evidence on its prevalence and determinant factors, particularly in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence and associated factors of short inter-pregnancy interval among pregnant women in Debre Berhan town, Northern Ethiopia. METHODS: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among a randomly selected 496 pregnant women in Debre Berhan town from February 9 to March 9, 2020. The data were collected by using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using STATA (14.2) statistical software. To identify the predictors of short inter-pregnancy interval, multivariable binary logistic regression was fitted and findings are presented using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULT: The overall prevalence of short inter-pregnancy interval (<24 months) among pregnant women was 205 (40.9%). Being over 30 years of age at first birth (AOR = 3.50; 95% CI: 2.12-6.01), non-use of modern contraceptive (AOR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.23-3.71), duration of breastfeeding for less than 12 months (AOR = 2.62; 95% CI: 1.32-5.23), parity above four (AOR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.05-0.81), and unintended pregnancy (AOR = 5.42; 95% CI: 3.34-9.22) were independently associated factors with short inter-pregnancy interval. CONCLUSION: Despite the public health interventions being tried in the country, the prevalence of short inter-pregnancy interval in this study is high. Therefore, it implies that increasing contraceptive use and encouraging optimal breastfeeding might help in the efforts made to avert the problem.

Determinants of hypertension among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on follow-up at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa: A case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension (HTN) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common problem that increases the risk of mortality and morbidity, and lowers the quality of life. Despite the disproportionately high burden of HTN in DM patients, determinants for the comorbidity have not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the determinants of HTN among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on follow-up at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We conducted a hospital-based unmatched case-control study at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital on 386 randomly selected patients with type 2 diabetes on follow-up (200 cases and 186 controls). We collected data by using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and data extraction form. To identify determinants of hypertension, a multivariable binary logistic regression was fitted, and the findings are presented using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The mean reported age (±SD) of the cases and the controls was 60.3 (±9.9) and 55.3 (±11.3) years, respectively. The eight identified independent determinants of hypertension with AOR [95% CI] were obesity: 2.82 [1.43, 5.57], sedentary activity of ≥4hrs/day: 1.75 [1.10, 2.79], higher stress score: 1.05 [1.01, 1.10], serum creatinine above 1.1 mg/dl: 2.35 [1.13, 4.91], age: 1.05 [1.02, 1.08], being government employee as compared to private workers: 2.18 [1.06, 4.50] and family history of hypertension: 2.11 [1.26, 3.54]. Further, interaction of diabetes duration with insulin use: 1.03 [1.01, 1.07] was also a significant predictor of HTN among DM patients. CONCLUSION: The finding calls for interventions for mitigating these determinants. Further research is needed to examine the interaction between diabetes duration and insulin use.