Sexual Harassment at the Workplace is Still a Hindrance among Midwives and Nurses Working in Northwestern Ethiopia Referral Hospitals: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Sexual harassment in the workplace is still the tip of the iceberg among front-line health workers, resulting in a high turnover of professionals, job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, and disharmonized health-care delivery. Research on the magnitude of workplace sexual harassment and factors associated with the workplace among nurses and midwives in Ethiopia is lacking. The study aimed to assess the magnitude and its associated factors among nurses and midwives working in northwestern Ethiopia referral hospitals. Methods: This multicenter hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 11 to May 15, 2021 in northwestern Ethiopia referral hospitals. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered into EPI info 7.2.3.2 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Binary logistic regression was utilized to identify factors associated with sexual harassment, and associations were deemed significant at P<0.05. Results: As the findings show, sexual harassment prevalence in the workplace among female nurses and midwives was found to be 17.4% (95% CI 14.5%-19.5%). Many nurses and midwives who had experienced sexual harassment were harassed by patients' families - 43.2%. Factors associated with sexual harassment in the workplace were being unmarried (AOR 4, 95% CI 2.3-12.6), work experience of less than 5 years (AOR 5, 95% CI 1.2-19), and participant age of 18-25 (AOR 7.2, 95% CI 5.9-17) years, all strongly associated with the outcome variable. Conclusion and Recommendation: Sexual harassment among midwives and nurses employed in northwestern Ethiopia referral hospitals is not tolerable, as indicated in these findings. The government should address this by amending and reforming policies and strategies to obviate this problem.

Teratogenic Evaluation of 80% Ethanol Extract of Embelia schimperi Vatke Fruits on Rat Embryo and Fetuses.

Introduction: Embelia schimperi Vatke (family Myrsinaceae) is a commonly consumed anthelminthic plant in Ethiopia. The plant has significant efficacy in treating intestinal worms. However, there are limited data about the safety/toxicity of the plant. Moreover, the teratogenic effect of the plant is not yet well studied despite significant number of Ethiopian mothers consuming herbal medication during their pregnancy. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the teratogenic effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi fruit on rat embryos and fetuses. Methods: Pregnant albino Wistar rats were treated with 80% hydroalcoholic fruit extract of E. schimperi at 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg, and 1000 mg/kg dosage, whilst the controls were pair-fed and ad libitum groups. Maternal food intake, maternal weight gain, number of implantations, number of prior resorptions, fetal viability, fetal weight, fetal and embryonic crown-ramp length, placental weight, placental gross morphology and histopathology of placental tissue, number of somites, embryonic system, gross/visceral morphological malformations, and ossification centers were evaluated as teratogenicity indices. Results: The crude extract of E. schimperi did not exhibit a significant difference in most developmental indices including the development of a circulatory system, nervous system, and musculoskeletal systems among treated animals and the controls. However, histopathological evaluation of placentas from the treatment groups showed that inflammatory reactions and calcifications compared to the pair-fed and ad libitum controls. Conclusion: Administration of the 80% hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi fruit during the period of organogenesis in rats did not show a significant toxic effect on embryonic and fetal developmental indices. However, it might affect the structural integrity of the placenta as it is evidenced by inflammatory reactions and calcifications of decidua basalis of rat placenta.

Problem based learning approach increases the academic satisfaction of health science students in Ethiopian universities: a comparative cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Problem based learning is being highly implemented in many medical schools worldwide due to its perceived advantages including improvement of problem-solving abilities, development of communication skills, creation and development of critical thinking skill, and making of individuals to be lifelong learners & responsible for their own learning process. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to compare academic satisfaction of Problem and Lecture based learning of regular undergraduate health science students in Ethiopian Universities, 2021. METHOD: Institution based comparative cross sectional study was conducted from February 1-30, 2021. Data were collected using a pretested structured and self-administered questionnaire among 850 eligible students from two Universities. Data were entered into EPI info version 6.04 and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Binary Logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with academic satisfaction considering the association to be significant p- value < 0.05. RESULT: The study result revealed that the magnitude of academic satisfaction among problem based and lecture based learning students were 50.9 and 49.9% respectively. Similarly, problem based learning students were more likely to be academically satisfied than lecture based learning students in their type of curriculum with (AOR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.02, 2.21). Experience of classroom distress (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.22, 3.06), quality of teaching (AOR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.86), relationship with classmates (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.80), course content (AOR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.93) and accessibility of technology in the campus (AOR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.40, 0.96) were the significant factors of academic satisfaction of problem based learning students. Year of study (AOR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.48), quality of teaching (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.31, 0.85), course content (AOR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.35, 0.97) and energy & effort (AOR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.35, 0.88) were significantly associated with academic satisfaction among lecture based learning students. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the academic satisfaction among problem based learning students was higher than lecture based learning students. Incorporating and implementing problem based learning as a formal instructional method in across the universities curriculum is recommended.

MUC2 mucin deficiency alters inflammatory and metabolic pathways in the mouse intestinal mucosa.

The mucus layer in the intestine affects several aspects of intestinal biology, encompassing physical, chemical protection, immunomodulation and growth, thus contributing to homeostasis. Mice with genetic inactivation of the Muc2 gene, encoding the MUC2 mucin, the major protein component of mucus, exhibit altered intestinal homeostasis, which is strictly dependent on the habitat, likely due to differing complements of intestinal microbes. Our previous work established that Muc2 deficiency was linked to low chronic inflammation resulting in tumor development in the small, large intestine including the rectum. Here, we report that inactivation of Muc2 alters metabolic pathways in the normal appearing mucosa of Muc2-/- mice. Comparative analysis of gene expression profiling of isolated intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and the entire intestinal mucosa, encompassing IECs, immune and stromal cells underscored that more than 50% of the changes were common to both sets of data, suggesting that most alterations were IEC-specific. IEC-specific expression data highlighted perturbation of lipid absorption, processing and catabolism linked to altered Pparα signaling in IECs. Concomitantly, alterations of glucose metabolism induced expression of genes linked to de novo lipogenesis, a characteristic of tumor cells. Importantly, gene expression alterations characterizing Muc2-/- IECs are similar to those observed when analyzing the gene expression signature of IECs along the crypt-villus axis in WT B6 mice, suggesting that Muc2-/- IECs display a crypt-like gene expression signature. Thus, our data strongly suggest that decreased lipid metabolism, and alterations in glucose utilization characterize the crypt proliferative compartment, and may represent a molecular signature of pre-neoplastic lesions.