More young adults accidentally pregnant; neither timed nor wanted: evidence from Southwest Ethiopia

Background: In the resource-poor setting, unintended pregnancy is exacerbated by several factors that result in high maternal and newborn deaths. Given the considerable gap between actual and wanted fertility rates in Ethiopia, preventing unintended pregnancy can play a role in reducing complications, morbidity, and mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine unintended pregnancy and its correlates among ever pregnant women in Bitta woreda, Southwest Ethiopia.Methods: Quantitative data from a community-based cross-sectional study among 770 ever- pregnant women (15-49 years) were employed. A random selection using multistage sampling technique was exercised to select study participants. Logistic regression models were used to asses factors associated with unintended pregnancy.Results: In the study area nearly, thirty-seven percent of women have experienced an unintended pregnancy: mistimed (26%) and unwanted (11%). Three percent of the respondents had a faced an induced abortion. A relatively higher proportion of women aged 26-29 years reported experiencing unwanted and mistimed pregnancies. Women who traveled a longer distance (more than an hour) to family planning service area were more likely to face unintended pregnancy (AOR=2.23(1.37-3.63)). A woman who had more than five parity were more likely to experience unintended pregnancy 5.52(2.50-12.20).Conclusions: The unintended pregnancy remains higher in the study area which is more than the national average. Existing unintended pregnancy among young women urges family planning providers to deliver youth-inclusive family planning programs

Community health volunteers could help improve access to and use of essential health services by communities in LMICs: an umbrella review.

A number of primary studies and systematic reviews focused on the contribution of community health workers (CHWs) in the delivery of essential health services. In many countries, a cadre of informal health workers also provide services on a volunteer basis [community health volunteers (CHV)], but there has been no synthesis of studies investigating their role and potential contribution across a range of health conditions; most existing studies are narrowly focused on a single condition. As this cadre grows in importance, there is a need to examine the evidence on whether and how CHVs can improve access to and use of essential health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We report an umbrella review of systematic reviews, searching PubMed, the Cochrane library, the database of abstracts of reviews of effects (DARE), EMBASE, ProQuest dissertation and theses, the Campbell library and DOPHER. We considered a review as 'systematic' if it had an explicit search strategy with qualitative or quantitative summaries of data. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal assessment checklist to assess methodological quality. A data extraction format prepared a priori was used to extract data. Findings were synthesized narratively. Of 422 records initially found by the search strategy, we identified 39 systematic reviews eligible for inclusion. Most concluded that services provided by CHVs were not inferior to those provided by other health workers, and sometimes better. However, CHVs performed less well in more complex tasks such as diagnosis and counselling. Their performance could be strengthened by regular supportive supervision, in-service training and adequate logistical support, as well as a high level of community ownership. The use of CHVs in the delivery of selected health services for population groups with limited access, particularly in LMICs, appears promising. However, success requires careful implementation, strong policy backing and continual support by their managers

Use of Self-Directed Videovoice Diaries to Understand the Perspectives of Community Health Volunteers in Ethiopia

No abstract available

Community Health Volunteers as Mediators of Accessible, Responsive and Resilient Community Health Systems: Lessons from the Health Development Army in Ethiopia Development Army in Ethiopia

No abstract available

The Role of Community (Health) Volunteers in Improving Access to Essential Primary Health Care in LMICs: Comprehensive Systematic Review

No abstract available

Association of linear growth velocities between 0 and 6 years with kidney function and size at 10 years: A birth cohort study in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Risk of noncommunicable diseases accrues from fetal life, with early childhood growth having an important role in adult disease risk. There is a need to understand how early-life growth relates to kidney function and size. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the association of linear growth velocities among children between 0 and 6 y with kidney function and size among children aged 10 y. METHODS: The Ethiopian Anthropometric and Body Composition birth cohort recruited infants born at term to mothers living in Jimma with a birth weight of ≥1500 g and without congenital malformations. Participants were followed up with 13 measurements between birth and 6 y of age. The latest follow-up was at ages 7-12 y with measurement of serum cystatin C as a marker of kidney function and ultrasound assessment of kidney dimensions. Kidney volume was computed using an ellipsoid formula. Linear-spline multilevel modeling was used to compute linear growth velocities between 0 and 6 y. Multiple linear regression modeling was used to examine the associations of linear growth velocities in selected age periods with cystatin C and kidney size. RESULTS: Data were captured from 355 children, at a mean age of 10 (range 7-12) y. The linear growth velocity was high between 0 and 3 mo and then decreased with age. There was no evidence of an association of growth velocity ≤24 mo with cystatin C at 10 y. Between 24 and 48 and 48 and 76 mo, serum cystatin C was higher by 2.3% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.6, 4.2] and 2.1% (95% CI: 0.3, 4.0) for 1 SD higher linear growth velocity, respectively. We found a positive association between linear growth velocities at all intervals between 0 and 6 y and kidney volume. CONCLUSIONS: Greater linear growth between 0 and 6 y of development was positively associated with kidney size, and greater growth velocity after 2 y was associated with higher serum cystatin C concentrations

Association of linear growth velocities between 0 and 6 years with kidney function and size at 10 years: a birth cohort study in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: The risk of non-communicable diseases accrues from fetal life, with early childhood growth having an important role for the risk of adult disease. There is a need to understand how early life growth relates to kidney function and size. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the association of linear growth velocities among children between 0 and 6 years with kidney function and size among children aged 10 years. METHODS: The Ethiopian Anthropometric and Body Composition (iABC) birth cohort recruited infants born at term to mothers living in Jimma, with a birth weight of ≥1500 grams, and without congenital malformations. Participants were followed up with 13 measurements between birth and 6 years of age. The latest follow-up was at ages 7-12 years with measurement of serum cystatin C as a marker of kidney function, and ultrasound assessment of kidney dimensions. Kidney volume was computed using an ellipsoid formula. Linear spline multi-level modelling was used to compute linear growth velocities between 0-6 years. Multiple linear regression modelling was used to examine the associations of linear growth velocities in selected age periods with cystatin C and kidney size. RESULTS: Data were captured from 355 children, at a mean age of 10 (range 7-12) years. The linear growth velocity was high between 0-3 months and then decreased with age. There was no evidence of an association of growth velocity up to 24 months with cystatin C at 10 years. Between 24-48 and 48-76 months, serum cystatin C was higher by 2.3% (95% CI 0.6, 4.2) and 2.1 % (95% CI 0.3, 4.0) for one SD higher linear growth velocity, respectively. We found a positive association between linear growth velocities at all intervals between 0-6 years and kidney volume. CONCLUSION: Greater growth between 0-6 years of development was positively associated with kidney size and greater growth velocity after 2 years was associated with higher serum cystatin C level