Mortality rate and predictors of colorectal cancer patients in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been increasing in Sub-Saharan countries, including Ethiopia. However, the real mortality rate for CRC patients in Ethiopia has not been established. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the overall mortality rate and identify predictors among CRC patients in Ethiopia. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were searched to identify relevant articles. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) were followed. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale Critical Appraisal checklist. A random effect model was used to estimate the pooled mortality rate and adjusted hazard ratio (AHR). Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger's regression test, while heterogeneity was evaluated through the Cochran Q test and I2 statistics. RESULTS: After reviewing 74 articles, only 7 studies met the criteria and were included in the analysis. The analysis revealed that the overall mortality rate among CRC patients in Ethiopia was 40.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 32.05, 48.87) while the survival rates at 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years were 82.3% (95% CI: 73.33, 91.31), 48.8% (95% CI: 43.35, 54.32), and 26.6% (95% CI: 21.26, 31.91) respectively. Subgroup analysis indicated that studies conducted after 2017 had higher mortality rates compared to those studied earlier (43.0% vs. 38.2%). Older age (AHR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.82); being married (AHR: 2.53, 95% CI: 1.79, 3.57); having comorbidities (AHR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.45, 2.35); having high CEA levels (AHR: 2.06, CI: 1.35, 3.13); being in stage II (AHR: 4.13, 95% CI: 1.85, 9.22), III (AHR: 8.62, 95% CI: 3.88, 19.15), and IV (AHR: 8.06, CI: 2.89, 22.49) were the most important predictors. CONCLUSION: In Ethiopia, the mortality rate among individuals diagnosed with CRC is high, with two out of five patients dying from this disease. Age, marital status, CEA level, comorbidities, and cancer stage were identified as predictors of mortality in CRC patients. Therefore, early detection and screening should be prioritized, particularly for older patients, those who are married, have comorbidities, elevated CEA levels, and advanced cancer stages.

Assessing healthcare workers' confidence level in diagnosing and managing emerging infectious virus of human mpox in hospitals in Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia: multicentre institution-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess healthcare workers' (HCWs) confidence level in diagnosing and managing mpox disease and its associated factors in hospitals in the Amhara Region. DESIGN: Institution-based cross-sectional study. SETTING: Hospitals in the Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 640 HCWs, with a response rate of 96.9%, participated from 1 October to 30 December 2022. A multistage stratified random sampling technique with proportional allocation was used to recruit study participants. Data were collected using the KoboCollect toolbox and exported to STATA V.17 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe data. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of confidence level to diagnose and manage mpox at p<0.05. PRIMARY OUTCOME: HCWs' confidence level in diagnosing and managing mpox disease and its associated factors. RESULTS: The overall proportion of HCWs who had high confidence level in diagnosing and managing mpox disease was found to be 31.5% (95% CI: 27.9%, 35.2%). Similarly, 26.8% (95% CI: 23.2%, 30.3%) and 41.8% (95% CI: 38.1%, 45.4%) of HCWs expressed medium and low confidence level to diagnose and manage the disease, respectively. The odds of higher confidence versus lower or medium confidence level in diagnosing and managing mpox were greater for HCWs who regularly visit amenable websites (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.59, 95% CI: 1.16, 2.2), were physicians (AOR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.32, 2.73), were aged 30-35 years old (AOR=1.64, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.39), had got public health emergency epidemic disease management training (AOR=2.8, 95% CI: 1.94, 4.04) and had positive attitudes (AOR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.26, 2.36) compared with their counterparts. CONCLUSION: The overall confidence level of HCWs in diagnosing and managing mpox disease in the study area was low. Therefore, the HCWs should be regularly updated about mpox disease through morning sessions and training in the diagnosis and clinical management of mpox disease including infection prevention and control.

Determinants of neonatal seizure among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in the Awi Zone hospitals, 2023: A multi-center unmatched case control study.

Background: Neonatal seizure is a common medical emergency that signals severe insult to the neonatal brain. It is a major risk factor for neonatal morbidity and mortality. It has a wide worldwide variation, ranging from 5 per 1000 live births in the United States of America to 39.5 per 1000 live births in Kenya. To decrease this significant figure, it is better to investigate its causes further. Therefore, this study aimed to assess its determinants since there was no prior evidence about it in the context of study area. Objective: Aim to assess the determinants of neonatal seizures among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in the Awi Zone Hospitals, 2023. Methods: An institution based unmatched case-control study was conducted on 531 admitted eligible neonates from January 1, 2023, to May 30, 2023. A pretested tool was employed to collect data. The collected data were coded, edited, and entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS 26. Chi-square and odds ratios were used to assess the relationship between factors associated with the occurrence of neonatal seizure. Model goodness of fit was tested by Hosmer and Lemeshow. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was declared at P < 0.25 and P < 0.05 respectively to show a significant association with neonatal seizure at a 95 % level of significance. Results: A total of 506 (130 cases and 376 controls) of admitted neonates were used in the final analysis model. Neonates admitted within 24 h of birth [AOR; 5.98 (95 %, CI: 2.18-16.43)], gestational age <32 weeks [AOR; 2.89 (95 %, CI: 1.29-6.53)], body temperature >37.5 °C [AOR; 4.82 (95 %, CI: 1.82-12.76)], blood glucose level <40 g/dl [AOR; 4.95 (95 %, CI: 2.06,11.88)], neonatal sepsis [AOR; 2.79 (95 %, CI: 1.46-5.35)] and perinatal asphyxia [AOR; 8.25 (95 %, CI: 4.23, 16.12)] were found to be determinants of neonatal seizure. Conclusion: and recommendations: In this study, neonatal seizure was determined by the factors of neonatal age, gestational age<32 weeks, body temperature >37.5 °C, blood glucose level <40 g/dl, neonatal sepsis, and perinatal asphyxia. Therefore, the presence of such factors requires prompt recognition and treatment.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its association with knowledge and attitude among patients with chronic diseases in Ethiopia.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is crucial for patients with chronic diseases, but previous studies in Ethiopia have yielded inconsistent and inconclusive findings. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following established guidelines. Our search included relevant articles published between 2019 and 2023 from various sources. We assessed study heterogeneity and publication bias, and performed subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate among patients with chronic diseases in Ethiopia was 55.4%. We also found that good knowledge and a favorable attitude toward the vaccine were positively associated with the acceptance rate. Based on these results, we recommend that healthcare professionals, policymakers, and healthcare guide developers should work more to address the relatively low acceptance rate. Improving the knowledge and attitude further about the COVID-19 vaccines is crucial. Future research should include community-based and qualitative studies to enhance our understanding of vaccines acceptance.

Incidence and predictors of neonatal seizures among neonates admitted in Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. A prospective follow-up study.

Introduction: Neonatal seizures are the most common neurological problem among newborns. To date, scientific studies on the incidence and predictors of neonatal seizures in African countries, including Ethiopia are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence and predictors of neonatal seizures among neonates admitted to Debre Markos comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Methods: An institutional-based prospective follow-up study was conducted in Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital from February 1, 2022 to January 30, 2023. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select a total of 198 neonates. Data were entered into Epi-Data 4.2 and then exported to STATA version 14.1 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and the log-rank test were computed to explore the descriptive statistics. Variables with a p-value ≤0.2 in bi-variable Cox-regression were selected for multivariable Cox-regression analysis. Finally, a p-value of <0.05 was used to declare the statistical significance of the association with the outcome variable. Results: The overall incidence rate of neonatal seizures was 35 per 1000 person-day observations. The mean follow-up time for this study was 123.4 h. The cumulative survival probability of neonates' at 0 to 24 and 0-72 h was 89.8 % and 81.71 %, respectively. The statistically significant predictors for the incidence of neonatal seizures were perinatal asphyxia (AHR = 10.95; 95%CI: 4.81, 24.93), subgaleal hemorrhage (AHR = 5.17; 95%CI: 2.09, 12.79), and gestational age <37 weeks (AHR = 4.62; 95%CI: 1.62, 13.22). Conclusions: The incidence rate of neonatal seizures in this study was high. Neonates born with gestational age <37 weeks, having perinatal asphyxia, and having subgaleal hemorrhage were statistical predictors for the incidence of neonatal seizures. Thus, healthcare professionals should give special attention to neonates born with gestational age <37 weeks, prevent perinatal asphyxia and subgaleal hemorrhage.

Time to initiate complementary feeding and its predictors among primipara mothers who have infants aged 6-12 months in the Awi zone, northwest Ethiopia.

Introduction: The timely initiation of complementary feeding is essential to reduce infant mortality. In Ethiopia, 37.5 % of mothers did not initiate complementary feeding to their infants in time. However, previous studies could not identify the time to initiate complementary feeding among primipara mothers. Therefore, this study aims to identify the time to initiate complementary feeding and its predictors among primipara mothers with infants aged 6-12 months in the Awi zone, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted among 732 primipara mothers who had infants aged 6-12 months from January 1, 2022, to December 30, 2022. A multistage sampling technique was used to select study participants through questionnaires administered by interviewers. Data were entered into EPI-data 3.1 and exported to STATA 17 for further analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve together with the log-rank test was used to assess the survival experience of the infant at specific times and to compare the survival of the infant in it between different categorical independent variables. Bivariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to identify significant predictors. Model fitness was also assessed using the Schoenfield residual and the Cox-Snell global residual test. Statistical significance was declared at the p-value <0.05. Result: The median time to initiate complementary feeding among primipara mother-infant pairs was 6 ± 2 months. The overall incidence rate of complementary feeding initiation before, at and after 6 months of age of the infant was 7.28 (95%CI: 6.44, 8.25), 41.41 (95%CI: 36.05, 47.56), and 42.97 (95%CI: 36.89, 50.05) per 100 person-month observations, respectively. Among those mothers who initiated complementary feeding for their infants, 249, 200, and 165 initiated complementary feeding before, at and after 6 months of age of the infants. Furthermore, the age (15-24 years) of mothers (AHR: 1.63, 95%CI: 1.16, 2.29), rich wealth (AHR: 1.35, 95%CI: 1.05, 1.75), and richest wealth (AHR: 1.43, 95%CI: 1.10, 1.84) were identified as statistically significant predictors of the time to initiate complementary feeding. Conclusions: The median time to initiate complementary feeding among primipara mother-infant pairs was 6 months. The age of the mother and the wealth status of the household were found to be statistically independent predictors of the time to initiate complementary feeding. Therefore, community health professionals are better able to work on when to initiate complementary feeding to infants of rich and richest young primipara mothers.

Male involvement in family planning and its association with knowledge and spouse discussion in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of male involvement in family planning (FP) and its association with knowledge and spouse discussion in Ethiopia. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines. DATA SOURCES: The study was conducted by the articles searched from different databases: (PubMed, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, HINARI and Google Scholar). ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: This research encompassed investigations carried out within married couples in Ethiopia, specifically focusing on studies where male involvement in FP was the primary outcome. The inclusion criteria comprised studies with an observational study design, encompassing both published and unpublished works, conducted in the English language, with no restrictions on data collection and publication year. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Following a systematic search of the articles, two independent authors assessed the quality of the studies, and data extraction was conducted using Microsoft Excel. The data analysis was performed by using STATA V.17. The overall level of male involvement in FP in Ethiopia was calculated using DerSimonian and Liard's random-effect model, with a significance level set at a p<0.05. Heterogeneity was examined using the I2 test, and Egger's test was employed to assess publication bias. RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of male involvement in FP in Ethiopia was 59.71% (95% CI (47.68% to 71.73%)). Good knowledge regarding FP (AOR 6.63, 95% CI (2.58 to 17.03)) and spouse discussion on FP (AOR 4.36, 95% CI (2.50 to 7.59)) were significantly associated with male involvement in FP. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of male involvement in FP in Ethiopia was low as compared with other literature conducted outside Ethiopia. Both good knowledge and spouse discussion regarding FP were significantly associated with male involvement in FP. So, the government and healthcare providers should focus on interventions that could increase their knowledge through different media. In addition, encouraging couples to have a discussion regarding FP could be a recalled intervention for healthcare providers.

Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake among health professionals in Debre Markos town public health facilities, Northwest Ethiopia.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Health professionals are at the frontline of COVID-19 pandemic exposure and are identified as a priority target group that needs to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Data on Ethiopian healthcare workers' use of the COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors, however, are scarce. Using a simple random sampling method, 398 health professionals were recruited through an institutional-based cross-sectional study design. Health professionals working in Debre Markos town public health facilities filled out a self-administered questionnaire that had been pretested to obtain the data. Then, the data were entered into Epi data version 4.2; and analyzed by SPSS 25. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analysis were computed after model assumptions were checked. The adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI was calculated and statistical significance was declared at P-value < 0.05 after model adequacy was checked using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. The uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine among health professionals was 61.56% (95% CI: 56.67%, 66.23%). Factors associated with the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine were age > = 35 years (AOR: 4.39, 95% CI: 1.89, 10.19), having a higher income (>9056 Birr) (AOR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.03, 3.10), who practiced COVID-19 Prevention methods (AOR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.51, 3.77), Adulthood previous other immunization histories (AOR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.15, 2.56) and having a chronic disease (AOR:1.90,95% CI: 1.07, 3.74). This study revealed that the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine was low. Age > = 35 years, having a higher income, who practiced COVID-19 prevention methods, having adulthood previous immunization histories, and having chronic disease were statistically significantly identified factors for COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Therefore, policymakers and health managers should think about the requirement of immunization of healthcare workers and develop plans for administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

Barriers to Medication Adherence Among Patients with Non-Communicable Disease in North Wollo Zone Public Hospitals: Socio-Ecologic Perspective, 2023.

Background: The practice of taking medication as directed by a healthcare provider is known as medication adherence. Therefore, the application of a socio-ecological model to this study identifies multilevel factors on barriers of medication adherence on chronic non-communicable disease and provides information to develop scientific health communication interventional strategies to improve medication adherence. Objective: This study aimed to explore barriers of medication adherence on non-communicable disease prevention and care among patients in North Wollo Zone public hospitals, northeast Ethiopia. Methods: A phenomenological study design was carried out between February 5 and February 30, 2023. The study participants were chosen using a heterogeneous purposive sampling technique. In-depth interviews and targeted focus groups were used to gather data. The focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were captured on audio, accurately transcribed, and translated into English. Atlas TI-7 was utilized to do the thematic analysis. Results: Four main themes, intrapersonal, interpersonal, community level, and health care related, as well as seven subthemes, financial problems, lack of family support, poor communication with healthcare providers, effects of social ceremonies, remote healthcare facility, and drug scarcity, were identified by this study. In this study participants reported that lack of knowledge about the disease and drugs were the main barrier for medication adherence. The study revealed that financial problems for medication and transportation cost were the main factor for medication adherence for non-communicable disease patients. Conclusion: This study explored that lack of knowledge, financial problem, lack of family support, poor communication with healthcare providers, social ceremony effects, remote healthcare facility, and scarcity of drugs were barriers of medication adherence among non-communicable disease patients. In order to reduce morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases, it is advised that all relevant bodies look for ways to reduce medication adherence barriers for patients at every level of influence.

The effect of parity on time to initiate complementary feeding among mother-infant pairs in Awi Zone, Northwest Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Despite strategies and recommendations for complementary feeding initiation were applied globally, mothers initiated complementary feeding to the infants on time was low. Previous works of literatures were not identified the effect of parity on time to initiate complementary feeding. Particularly, evidences regarding to this in Ethiopia is scanty. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the effect of parity on time to initiate complementary feeding among mother-infants pairs in Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based prospective cohort study was carried out among 732 primipara, and 1464 multipara mothers who had a live birth in Northwest Ethiopia. Data were collected using Kobo collect software at the start of and on a monthly bases until the end of the follow up period. Parity as exposure variable and other confounders were analyzed using cox proportional hazard regression. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and the Schoenfeld residuals global test (P-value = 0.4861) was performed. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was used to declare statistical significance of predictors. RESULTS: The overall incidence rate of initiation of complementary feeding among primipara and multipara mothers were 16.27 (95%CI: 15.04, 17.61) and 13.30 (95%CI: 12.53, 14.12) person months' observations respectively. The median time to initiate complementary feeding among primipara and multipara mothers for their infants was 5 and 6 months respectively. Primipara mothers had a 30% higher rate to initiate complementary feeding early (AHR = 1.30, 95%CI: 1.17, 1.43). Age from 15 to 24 and 25-34 years (AHR = 1.69, 95%CI: 1.36, 2.09; and AHR = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.17, 1.81) and Birth type (twin) (AHR = 1.29, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.64) were statistically significant predictors for time to initiate complementary feeding. CONCLUSIONS: Parity was identified as a statistically significant predictor for time to initiate complementary feeding. The incidence rate of early and late initiation of complementary feeding was higher among primipara than multipara mothers. Besides, the median time to initiate complementary feeding was earlier among primipara than multipara mothers. So, a parity based complementary feeding practice education should be advocated to tackle the gap and further reduce infants and children malnutrition. Relatively younger age and twin delivered mothers initiated complementary feeding against the recommendation. Therefore, intervention considering such statistically significant predictors could have a public health importance.

Knowledge, Attitude and Associated Factors of Monkeypox Infection Among Healthcare Workers in Injibara General Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Fighting health threats, especially the rise of new infectious diseases, is one of the main responsibilities of healthcare workers. However, their knowledge and attitudes toward monkeypox have not yet been assessed. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and factors associated with monkeypox infection among healthcare workers at Injibara General Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 1-30, 2022. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. A simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were computed. The degree of association was interpreted using an odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value < 0.05. Results: Among the 200 healthcare workers who participated, 38.5% (95% CI: 32.5%-45%) and 62% (95% CI: 55-68.5%) had good knowledge and positive attitudes regarding monkeypox respectively. Having a master's degree or above (AOR = 11.25: 95% CI: 2.03-62.33), being vaccinated against COVID-19 (AOR = 2.60: 95% CI: 1.37-4.94), and having access to information about monkeypox (AOR = 3.37: 95% CI: 1.33-8.50) were the factors associated with good knowledge. Furthermore, a positive attitude was significantly associated with being 30 years of age or older (AOR = 2.95: 95% CI: 1.55-5.60) and having access to information about monkeypox (AOR = 4.14: 95% CI: 2.06, 8.30). Conclusion: Both good knowledge and positive attitudes were relatively low among healthcare workers. Factors such as age, education level, COVID-19 vaccination status, and access to information about monkeypox were significantly associated with the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers. To enhance the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers, hospitals should consider offering educational upgrades, hosting educational events like seminars, conferences, webinars, and campaigns, and ensuring comprehensive coverage of the topic in medical curricula.

Ineffective breastfeeding techniques and associated factors among breastfeeding mothers who gave birth in the last 6 months in Sinan Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Optimal infant feeding is critical for children's growth and development during their first years of life. Plenty of evidence on ineffective breastfeeding techniques, yet the problem is still deep-rooted and requires further research in Ethiopia. Objective: To determine the proportion of ineffective breastfeeding techniques and associated factors among breastfeeding mothers who gave birth in the last 6 months in Sinan Woreda. Design and methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 10 to April 8, 2021 with a total of 389 samples. A computer-generated simple random sampling was used to select mothers. An observational checklist and interviewer-administered questionnaires were used. EpiData 4.2 for data entry and SPSS 25 for cleaning and analysis were used. Variables with a p-value < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval (CI) corresponding adjusted odds ratio (AOR) were used to identify factors of ineffective breastfeeding techniques. Results: The proportion of ineffective breastfeeding techniques was 66.8%. The mean (SD) age of mothers was 29.4 ± 5.95 years. No formal education [AOR: 5.88 (95% CI: (2.97, 11.65)], primipara [AOR: 4.34 (95% CI: 2.25, 8.36)], home delivery [AOR: 3.02 (95% CI: 1.12, 8.14)], not received breastfeeding counseling during antenatal care [AOR: 4.94 (95% CI: 1.83, 13.36)], breast problem [AOR: 2.62 (95% CI: 1.25, 5.48)], and breastfeeding experience [AOR: 1.82 (95% CI: 1.01, 3.28)] were statistically significant factors. Conclusions: The proportion of ineffective breastfeeding techniques 66.8% was unacceptable. Socio-demographic and maternal health care services were identified factors. Strengthening maternal care, improving health education and promotions, and designing appropriate strategies were required.

Individual and contextual-level factors associated with iron-folic acid supplement intake during pregnancy in Ethiopia: a multi-level analysis.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is still one of the major public health problems in many developing countries including Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess individual and contextual-level factors associated with iron-folic acid supplement intake during pregnancy in Ethiopia. METHODS: A secondary analysis was done on the 2019 mini-Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) dataset. A total of 3,927 pregnant women who gave birth five years before the survey were included in the analysis. Multi-level mixed-effect logistic regression analysis was done by STATA/SE version 14.0 to identify individual and contextual-level factors. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to show the strength and direction of the association. The level of statistical significance was declared at a P value less than 0.05. RESULTS: Those primary educated [AOR = 1.83, 95% CI: (1.24, 2.74)], secondary educated [AOR = 2.75, 95% CI: (1.57, 4.824)], women who had greater than 5 living children [AOR = 2.02, 95% CI: (1.25, 3.27)], women who had ANC visit [AOR = 21.26, 95% CI: (13.56, 33.32)] and women who lived in a cluster with high proportion of women had ANC visit [AOR = 1.72, 95% CI: (1.17, 2.54)] and women who lived in Somali [AOR = 0.44 0.73, 95% CI: (0.22, 0.87)] were significantly associated with iron-folic acid intake during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Both individual and contextual-level factors were significantly associated with iron-folic acid intake during pregnancy. From individual-level factors: education status of women, the total numbers of living children, and ANC follow-up are significant and from contextual-level factors: region and living in a high proportion of women who had ANC follow-up were found to have a statistically significant association. Promoting women's education and maternal health services like ANC and intervention targeting the Somali region would be the recalled area of the government.

Uptake of appointment spacing model of care and associated factors among stable adult HIV clients on antiretroviral treatment Northwest Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Ethiopia launched an Appointment Spacing Model in 2017, which involved a six-month clinical visit and medication refill cycle. This study aimed to assess the uptake of the Appointment Spacing Model of care and associated factors among stable adult HIV clients on ART in Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 3 to November 30, 2020 among 415 stable adult ART clients. EpiData version 4.2 was used for data entry and SPSS version 25 was used for cleaning and analysis. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify associated factors, with CI at 95% with AOR being reported to show the strength of association. RESULTS: The uptake of the appointment spacing model was 50.1%. Residence [AOR: 2.33 (95% CI: 1.27, 4.26)], monthly income [AOR: 2.65 (95% CI: 1.13, 6.24)], social support [AOR: 2.21 (95% CI: 1.03, 4.71)], duration on ART [AOR: 2.41 (95% CI: 1.48, 3.92)], baseline regimen change [AOR: 2.20 (95% CI: 1.02, 4.78)], viral load [AOR: 2.80 (95% CI: 1.06, 7.35)], and alcohol abstinence [AOR: 2.02 (95% CI: 1.21, 3.37)] were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of the ASM was low. Behavioral change communication, engaging income-generating activities, and facility-level service providers' training may improve the uptake.

Time to occurrence of necrotizing enterocolitis and its predictors among low birth weight neonates admitted at neonatal intensive care unit of felege hiwot compressive specialized hospital BahirDar, Ethiopia, 2021: A retrospective follow-up study.

Background: Globally, the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) varies between 6 and 15% of all neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Though necrotizing enterocolitis is a multifactorial and life-threatening disease, low birth prematurity is the single cause. Therefore, determining the time to presentation and its predictors of necrotizing enterocolitis were the main goals of this investigation. Materials and methods: An institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted among 747 low birth weight (LBW) neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Felege Hiwot comprehensive specialized Hospital from 1 January 2017 to 30 December 2019. The sample size was calculated by using the STATA package. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. The log-rank test and the Kaplan-Meier estimator were used to display the survival probability and differences between groups. At a significance threshold of 5%, Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to determine the net independent predictors of necrotizing enterocolitis. Result: The overall incidence rate was 0.86 per 1,000 person-days (95% CI: 0.67, 1.14) with a 6.8% (95% i: 5.2, 8.9) proportion of necrotizing enterocolitis among low birth weight neonates. Preeclampsia [adjusted hazard ratio (AHR);1.92 (95% CI: 1.03-3.58)], premature rapture of membrane [AHR; 2.36 (95%, CI: 1.19-4.69)], perinatal asphyxia [AHR; 4.05 (95%, CI: 2.04-8.60)], gestational age between 28 and 32 weeks [AHR; 3.59 (95% CI: 1.01-8.83)], and birth weigh less than 1,000 g [AHR; 5.45 (95% CI: 3.84-9.12) were the independent predictors of necrotizing enterocolitis. Conclusion: Within the first 1-7 days of a newborn's life, necrotizing enterocolitis was most common. It was discovered that preeclampsia, premature rupture of membrane, perinatal asphyxia, gestational age of 28-32 weeks, and birth weight less than 1,000 g were predictors of its occurrence.

Time to breastfeeding cessation and its predictors among mothers who have children aged two to three years in Gozamin district, Northwest Ethiopia: A retrospective follow-up study.

INTRODUCTION: Globally, breastfeeding duration is below the recommended level. In Ethiopia, more than 24% of mothers ceased breastfeeding before 24 months of age of a child which caused 14,000 preventable childhood deaths annually. To tackle this problem, current and up-to-date information regarding the time to breastfeeding cessation and its predictors is essential. Therefore, this study aims to determine the time to breastfeeding cessation and its predictors among mothers who have children aged two to three years in Gozamin district, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based retrospective follow-up study was used among 502 mothers who have children aged two to three years in the Gozamin district from October 1, 2017, up to September 30, 2020. Interviewer-administered structured questionnaires were used. Cox proportional hazard model was applied after its assumptions and model fitness were checked, to identify predictors for time to breastfeeding cessation. RESULTS: The overall mean time to breastfeeding cessation was 22.56 (95%CI: 22.21, 22.91) months, and the cumulative survival probability on breastfeeding up to 24 months was 82.5% (95%CI:78.85, 85.53). The overall incidence of early breastfeeding cessation was 7.77 (95%CI:6.31, 9.58) per 1000 person-month observations. Having no antenatal care follow up (AHR:2.15, 95%CI:1.19, 3.89), having ≥4 number of children (AHR:1.76, 95%CI:1.10, 2.80), < 24 months breastfeeding experience (AHR:1.77, 95%CI:1.14, 2.75), and presence of cow milk in the household (AHR:3.01, 95%CI:1.89, 4.78) were significant predictors for time to breastfeeding cessation. CONCLUSION: The time to breastfeeding cessation is below the recommendation and therefore, strengthening breastfeeding education and related counseling at the community level is better.