Husband participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness and its predictors among men whose wife was admitted for an obstetric referral at South Gondar zone: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: Husbands' participation in maternal health care, as seen by an appropriate birth plan and readiness for complications, reduces maternal death by avoiding delays in recognizing danger signs, reaching a site of care, and seeking aid. As a result, this study aimed to determine the husband's participation in birth preparation and complication readiness, as well as its predictors, among men whose wives were referred to obstetric referral in the South Gondar Zone of North West Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among husbands whose wives were admitted with obstetric referrals in the selected hospitals from February to March 2021. A total of 393 individuals were chosen proportionally from the selected hospitals using a systematic random sampling technique. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data, which was then entered into Epi Data Version 3.1 and exported to Stata version 14 for analysis. To find predictors of the outcome variable, a binary logistic regression model was used. The final model's results were expressed as adjusted odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and P-values. Result: The magnitude of husband participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness among obstetric referrals was 282 (71.8%). Planned pregnancy [AOR, 95% CI: 2.78 (1.68-4.62)], discussion with their wife [AOR, 95% CI: 2.85 (1.72-4.71)], and good knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum [AOR, 95%CI:2.71 (1.67-4.42)] were significantly associated with husband participation as compared to its counterparts. Conclusion and Recommendation: The husband's participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness for obstetric referrals in the South Gondar zone were reasonably good. For good husband participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness, knowledge of danger signs, pregnancy planning status, and discussion with wife about pregnancy were responsible. Healthcare providers should support mothers in discussing the danger signs of pregnancy, birth preparedness, and complication readiness with their husbands during ANC visits.

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.

Evaluation of total oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity of brain tumour patients attending referral hospitals in Addis Ababa, 2020: a comparative cross-sectional study.

Background: The exact cause of brain tumours is still unknown, but disruptions of redox balance are thought to play a significant role in all stages of brain tumour development. However, the roles of free radical imbalance at different grades of brain tumour and degree of oxidative stress before and after surgery have not been addressed in prior studies. Aim: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the redox imbalance among confirmed brain tumour patients. Methods and results: An institution-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 100 participants (50 brain tumour patients and 50 controls) at referral hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics, t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) (post-hoc) analysis were used and statistical significance was declared at p ≤ 0.05. The serum oxidised glutathione and total oxidative stress were significantly higher in the serum of brain tumour patients (0.72 ± 0.03 µM/µg and 9.66 ± 1.76 µmol H2O2 Eq/L, respectively) compared to the control group (0.21 ± 0.07 µM/µg and 6.59 ± 0.81 µmol H2O2 Eq/L, respectively) (p ≤ 0.05). The serum total oxidant status gradually increased as the tumour grade increased, being higher in grade four (11.96 ± 0.72) and lower in grade one (8.43 ± 1.56), and the mean differences were statistically significant (p ≤ 0 05). A statistically significantly higher total antioxidant capacity (116.78 ± 5.03 Trolox Eq/L) was obtained in the post-surgery than pre-surgery level (79.65 ± 17.914 Trolox Eq/L) (p ≤ 0 05). Conclusion: Higher oxidant and lower antioxidant levels were found in the serum of brain tumour patients than in the control group. The post-surgery oxidant level was lower than the pre-surgery state. The findings of this study could suggest that redox imbalance may have a role in the pathophysiology of brain tumours, but further experimental studies are needed.

Community-based health insurance, healthcare service utilization and associated factors in South Gondar Zone Northwest, Ethiopia, 2021: A comparative cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Community-based health insurance schemes are becoming increasingly recognized as a potential strategy to achieve universal health coverage in developing countries. Ethiopia has implemented community-based health insurance in piloted regions of the country. The scheme aims to improve the utilization of healthcare services by removing financial barriers. There is a dearth of literature regarding the effect of the insurance scheme on the utilization of healthcare services. METHODS: A community-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in the south Gondar Zone. Six hundred fifty-eight participants were selected using a systematic random sampling method. Data were entered into EPI data version 4.4.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to measure the association of factors with the outcome variable. The result of the final model was expressed in terms of Adjusted Odd Ratios (AOR) and 95% CI. RESULT: Two hundred twenty-three (67.8%) and 111 (33.7%) of the respondents reported that their family members went to health institutions within three months among CBHI users and non-users respectively. The presence of under-five children (AOR = 2, 95% CI = 1.6-2.4), CBHI scheme membership times (AOR = 3, 95% CI = 2.6-3.4), household wealth index rich (AOR = 4, 95% CI = 2.3-6.3), household wealth index medium (AOR = 3, 95% CI = 1.8-5.8) and presence of chronic illness (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.2-0.8) was associated with health care service utilization. Households who were enrolled in CBHI were more likely to use healthcare services than households who were not enrolled. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Households who were enrolled in CBHI were more likely to use healthcare services than households who were not enrolled. Therefore, health sector leaders and managers in the study area should strengthen their efforts for increasing the enrollment of the community into CBHI.

Survival Time to COVID-19 Severity and Its Predictors in South Gondar Zone, North-West Ethiopia: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Coronavirus disease is still a global public health emergency. Due to an inadequate healthcare system in low-income nations like Ethiopia, the pandemic has had a devastating impact. Despite this, information on the severity of COVID-19 and related difficulties in Ethiopia is sparse. Therefore, we aimed to determine the survival time to severity and predictors of COVID-19 in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A prospective follow-up study was conducted among 202 adult COVID-19 patients in the South Gondar zone treatment centers. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and then exported to Stata 16 for analysis. Kaplan-Meier was used to estimate mean survival time, and Log rank tests were used to compare survival time between explanatory variable groups. A cox-proportional hazards regression model with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value of 0.05 was used to identify covariates associated with the outcome variable. Results: The patients' average age was 41.2 years. With an IQR of 4-7 days, the median time to COVID-19 severity was 5 days. The overall COVID-19 severity rate was 6.35 (95% CI: 5.17-7.86) per 100 person-days observed. Senior adult age group (51-59 years) (AHR = 3.59, 95% CI: 1.05, 12.23), elderly age group (≥60 years) (AHR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.09, 12.67), comorbidity (AHR = 3.26, 95% CI: 1.48, 7.18), high blood pressure at admission (AHR = 4.36, 95% CI: 1.99, 9.54), and high temperature at admission (AHR = 5.60, 95% CI: 2.55, 12.46) were significantly associated with COVID-19 severity time. Conclusion and Recommendation: Patients with COVID-19 had a short median severity time, and factors like older age, comorbidity, high temperature, and high blood pressure were all independent predictors of severity time. Patients with high body temperature, blood pressure, comorbidity, and advanced age should be the focus of interventions to reduce progression time and improve clinical outcomes.

The effect of timely initiation of complementary feeding and vitamin A supplementation on acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months attending Hamusit Health Centre, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Acute malnutrition is a nutritional deficiency that results either from inadequate energy or protein intake. It is more prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. Even though efforts have been carried out at the global and national level, the burden is still intolerable and it attracts the attention of the government and researchers. Hence, this study aims to assess the magnitude of acute malnutrition and its associated factors among under-five children who attended Hamusit Health Centre from 1st September to 30th January 2021. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st September to 30th January on 404 randomly selected under-five children who visited the health centre. Samples were selected using a simple random sampling technique, and the data were obtained using a pre-tested standardized questionnaire. For data entry and analysis, Epi-info 7 and SPSS 21 applications were used, respectively. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression were used to identify associated factors at a 95% confidence interval. Significance was considered at p-value<0.05. RESULTS: The present research involved a total of 404 children aged 6-59 months. The magnitude of acute malnutrition in this study was 14.4%. Children aged 6-23 months [AOR: 2.92; 95%CI (1.46, 5.85)], vitamin A supplementation [AOR: 0.49; 95%CI (0.25, 0.95)], not timely initiation of complementary feeding [AOR: 2.02; 95%CI (1.06, 3.82)] and children with diarrhea prior to two weeks of the survey [AOR: 2.47; 95% CI (1.28, 4.87)] were significantly associated with acute malnutrition. CONCLUSION: A significant number of children aged 6-59 months were affected by acute malnutrition. Younger children, vitamin A supplementation, not timely initiation of complementary feeding, and children with diarrhoea were other factors associated with acute malnutrition.