Non-Disclosure of HIV-Positive Serostatus: Unmatched Case-Control Study in People Living with HIV in Public Health Facilities of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Non-disclosure of HIV-positive status (NDHPSS) is the individual's experience of hiding their HIV status from other people or groups. People who fail to reveal their HIV-positive serostatus risk contracting the virus again, not receiving the best possible care, and even dying. Purpose: To assess predictors of NDHPSS in people living with HIV in public health facilities in Gedeo-Zone, Southern-Ethiopia. Methods: In Gedeo-Zone, Southern Ethiopia, a facility-based, unmatched, case-control study was carried out from the first of February to March 30, 2022GC. With a case-to-control ratio of 1:1, a total of 360 respondents (89 cases and 271 controls) were involved. The respondents were chosen using a sequential sampling technique. EpiData-V-3.1 was used to enter the data, and SPSS-V-25 was used to analyse it. To determine the factors that were connected to the result, a binary logistic regression analysis was performed. AOR at the 95% confidence interval and p-values under 0.05 were utilised to explain their statistical significance. Results: The study had 360 participants in total-271 controls and 89 cases-resulting in a response rate of 97.6%. The average age of the participants was 35.6 years (SD: 8.3). After adjusting the possible confounders, sex (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.04-7.56), residence (AORs = 3.52, 95% CI: 2.83-9.39), WHO clinical stage I (AORs = 4.68, 95% CI: 1.9-22.1), short duration of ART follow-up care (AOR = 4.21, 95% CI: 1.65-10.73), and number of lifetime sexual partners (AOR = 6.9, 95% CI: 1.86-26.3) were significantly associated factors with the outcome. Conclusion: According to this study, living in a rural area and being in WHO clinical stage one, in addition to being a woman and having multiple sexual partners during one's lifetime, were predictors of non-disclosure of an HIV-positive serostatus. As a result, encouraging people with HIV in WHO stage I and those who have had more than one sexual partner in their lifetime to disclose their status and expanding counselling services for rural residents and women have a substantial impact on reducing the HIV load.

Determinants of Male Partner Involvement during Antenatal Care among Pregnant Women in Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia: A Case-Control Study.

Background: Male involvement during antenatal care is an influential strategy for improving maternal health service utilization, especially institutional delivery. In Ethiopia, only one-fifth of pregnant women were accompanied to antenatal care. It is among those neglected issues, as it is not well studied, specifically determinant factors of male involvement during antenatal care are not known. Objective: This study aimed to identify the determinants of male partner involvement during antenatal care among pregnant women in Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia. Methods: Community based unmatched case-control study was carried out from January to March 2019 among 804 (cases-402 and controls-402) selected pregnant women having antenatal follow up in Gedeo zone by stratified sampling technique. Data was collected using a pretested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. A survey was conducted in the 22 selected kebeles in the Gedeo zone to identify cases and control. The data was entered using Epi-data and exported to SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) for analysis. Descriptive analysis like frequency, percentage, rates, and inferential analysis such as binary logistic regression are used. Statistical significance is declared at α < 0.05. The result is presented using text and tables. Results: Husband and maternal age difference (AOR = 1.12, 95% CI [1.06, 1.18]), maternal age at marriage (AOR = 0.86, 95% CI[0.81,0.93]), women empowerment (AOR = 0.20, 95% CI[0.13, 0.30]), type of nearby health facility (AOR = 4.94, 95% CI[1.67, 14.60]) and provider invitation of male partner to antenatal care examination room (AOR = 0.32, 95% CI[0.20, 0.51]) were determinants of male partner involvement during antenatal care. Conclusions: Age difference between husband and wife, age at marriage, women empowerment, type of nearby health facility and male invitation by health providers to antenatal care examination room determines male partner antenatal care involvement. Promoting women empowerment and inviting a male partner to antenatal care are recommended to encourage male involvement during antenatal care.

Risky Sexual Behavior and Associated Factors among Street Youth in Dilla Town, Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia, 2018.

BACKGROUND: Street youth are exposed to situations that make them vulnerable to sexual and reproductive health problems. The majority of street youth are living in conditions of severe deprivation, which place them at all kinds of health risks. Street youth have risky sexual behaviors that increase the likelihood of adverse sexual and reproductive health consequences. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the prevalence and associated factors of risky sexual behavior among street youth in Dilla town, Gedeo zone, South Ethiopia, 2018. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 279randomly selected street youth after locating and identifying them through census using a structured pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were used. Statistically significant was declared at alpha<0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of risky sexual behavior among street youth in Dilla town was53.9% (95% CI -(48, 60.2)). Female sex (AOR=9.57, 95% CI- (1.76, 52.07)), age (AOR=1.23, 95% CI-(1.08, 1.39)), educational level (AOR=3.00, 95% CI- (1.08, 8.33)) and alcohol intake (AOR=2.27, 95% CI - (1.11, 4.68)) were statistically significant with risky sexual behavior. CONCLUSION: A substantial number of street youths were engagedin risky sexual behavior, while female sex, increase in age, educational level, and alcohol intake of street youth were found to contribute to aggravate the problem. This calls formobilizing interventions considering the above factors to bring behavioral change in reducing risky sexual practices.