Assessment of Child Immunization Coverage and Associated Factors with Full Vaccination among Children Aged 12–23 Months at Mizan Aman Town, Bench Maji Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Immunization remains one of the most important and cost-effective public health interventions to reduce child mortality and morbidity. Globally, it is estimated to avert between 2 and 3 million deaths each year. In Ethiopia, immunization coverage rates stagnated and remained very low for many years. Thus, this study was aimed to assess child immunization coverage and factors associated with full vaccination among children aged 12–23 months in Mizan Aman town. The study design was community-based cross-sectional survey. Data was collected by using pretested structured questionnaire. A total of 322 mothers/caretakers were interviewed. Based on vaccination card and mothers/caretakers’ recall, 295 (91.6%) of the children took at least a single dose of vaccine. From total children, 27 (8.4%) were not immunized at all, 159 (49.4%) were partially immunized, and 136 (42.2%) were fully immunized. Mothers/caretakers educational level, fathers’ educational level, place of delivery, maternal health care utilization, and mothers/caretakers knowledge about vaccine and vaccine-preventable disease showed significant association with full child immunization. The finding from this study revealed that child immunization coverage in the studied area was low. Thus the town health office and concerned stakeholders need to work more to improve performance of the expanded program on immunization in this area

Determinants of active pulmonary tuberculosis in Ambo Hospital, West Ethiopia

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with active pulmonary tuberculosis seen in cases in Ambo Hospital, Ethiopia. Design: A facility-based prospective case-control study. Setting: Patients attending Ambo Hospital from 01 December 2011 to 29 March 2012. Participants: The sample included 312 adult patients attending Ambo Hospital. The main outcome measure was presence of active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Explanatory measures: Age, gender, occupation, educational status, marital status, place of residence, patient history of TB, family history of TB, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, smoking, alcohol intake, khat chewing, body mass index (BMI), employment, diabetes, history of asthma, previous history of worm infestation, history of hospitalisation, number of adults living in the household (HH), person per room, housing condition. Results: A total of 312 study participants, including 104 active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases (cases) and 208 non-active PTB cases (controls), were recruited for the present study. Having one or more family member with a history of TB (OR = 4.4; 95% CI: 1.50–12.90), marital status (OR = 7.6; 95% CI: 2.2–12.6), male gender (OR = 3.2; 95% CI: 1.4–7), rural residence (OR = 3.3; P = 0.012), being a current or past smoker (OR = 2.8; 95% CI: 1.1–7.2), BMI < 18.5 (OR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.03–4.2), HIV infection (OR = 8.8; 95% CI: 2.4–23.8) and a history of worm infestation (OR = 6.4; 95% CI: 2.6–15.4) remained significant independent host-related factors for active PTB. Conclusion: Patients who came from a compound with more than two HHs were more likely to develop active PTB than those who came from a compound with only one HH. Those who lived in houses with no windows were more likely to develop active PTB than those who lived in houses with one or more windows, had a family history of TB, lived in rural areas. Sex of the patient was a predicting factor. Not being the owner of the house was significantly more associated with active PTB. Measures taken to reduce the prevalence and burden of active PTB should consider these determinant factors

Prevalence of Goiter and Associated Factors among Women of Reproductive Age Group in Demba Gofa Woreda, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Iodine deficiency disorder is a major public health problem in Ethiopia that is more common in women of reproductive age. However, it is not well addressed and there is a lack of information on its prevalence and associated factors in women of reproductive age group. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess goiter prevalence and associated factors among women of reproductive age in the Demba Gofa woreda, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was used among 584 randomly selected women in the reproductive age group from February 05 to April 20, 2016. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study kebeles, and a systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study samples. Data were collected through a pretested questionnaire, and the goiter examination was done clinically for each participant. The collected data were coded and entered into a computer for statistical analysis using EpiData version 3.2 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Variables with a P value ≤0.25 in bivariate logistic regression analysis were entered into multivariate logistic regression analysis, and finally, variables with a P value 2 months of purchase (AOR: 11, 95% CI: 5–26), family history of goiter (AOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 1.4–15.8), and poor knowledge of iodized salt (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4–5.5) were significant factors associated with goiter. Conclusion. Iodine deficiency was found to be severe in women of reproductive age in the study area. This showed that women of reproductive age, especially during pregnancy, are exposed to iodine deficiency and its adverse effects at delivery. Thus, they need urgent supplementation with iodine, improved access to foods rich in iodine, and intake of iodized salt. Additionally, health education should focus on the importance of iodized salt, the proper method of use, and the prevention of iodine deficiency, which are highly recommended to minimize the problem

Prevalence and associated factors of depression among tuberculosis patients in Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract Background Depression among tuberculosis patients, especially in settings with low economic status is common. Screening for depression in all levels of health facilities can identify patients who need support and treatment for depression. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of depression among tuberculosis patients in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 tuberculosis patients attending in eleven tuberculosis treatment centers in eastern Ethiopia from February to July 2017. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Data was collected consecutively until the required sample size was obtained. Tuberclusis  patients who were under anti tuberculosis treatments for more than one month were included. Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied to identify independent factors for dependent variable depression and P-values < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results A total of 403 tuberculosis patients were included in the study. The prevalence of depression among tuberculosis patients was 51.9% (95%CI = 42.7, 62.2%) with 34.2% were mild cases. In our logistic regression analysis, odds of developing depression among tuberculosis patients with age less than 25 years were 0.5(50% protective effect) [AOR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.26–0.99] where as patients with a monthly income within the 25thpercentile were four times higher odds to have depression [AOR = 3.98, 95% CI: 2.15–7.39]. Conclusion The prevalence of depression was high in this study. Age, low monthly income, the category of patients as “new tuberculosis treatment” and the first 3 months of treatment was associated with depression among tuberculosis patients. Health facilities should integrating mental health services with tuberculosis clinics, especially assessing and treating TB patients for depression, is vital