Disrespect and abuse of women during childbirth at health facilities in Eastern Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundDisrespectful and abusive maternity care is a sign of poor treatment that influences women’s choice to deliver their babies in institutions. Such malpractices continue to go unreported and are rarely exposed in developing countries, despite their serious burden. Therefore, this meta-analysis study aimed to estimate disrespect and abuse of women during childbirth in East Africa.MethodsPubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct databases were searched. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using STATA statistical software (v. 14). Publication bias was checked by forest plot, Begg’s rank test, and Egger’s regression test. To look for heterogeneity, I2 was computed, and an overall estimated analysis was carried out. Subgroup analysis was done by study region, sample size, and publication. The pooled odds ratio for associated factors was also computed.ResultsOut of 654 articles assessed, 18 met the criteria and were included in this study. There were a total of 12,434 study participants. The pooled prevalence of disrespect and abuse of women during childbirth in East Africa was 46.85% (95% CI: 45.26.72–66.98), I2 = 81.9%. It was lower in studies with sample size greater than 5000 (33%). The disrespect and abuse rates between community-based studies (44.96%) and institutional-based studies (47.35%) did not differ significantly, though. Instrumental delivery (AOR = 2.70; 95%CI: 1.79–4.08), presence of complications (AOR = 6.41; 95% CI: 1.36–30.14), receiving care at government hospitals (AOR = 3.66; 95% CI: 1.09–12.23), and poor wealth index (AOR = 2.16; 95% CI: 1.26–3.70) were associated factors.ConclusionIn East Africa, disrespect and abuse of women during childbirth was high. Instrumental delivery, presence of complications during childbirth, receiving care at government hospitals and poor wealth index were predictors of maternal disrespect and abuse. Safe delivery practice should be promoted. Training in compassionate and respectful maternity care, particularly in public hospitals, has also been recommended

Factors associated with risky sexual behaviour among secondary and preparatory students in Wolaita Sodo town, Southern Ethiopia; Institution based cross-sectional study

Background: Young people in Ethiopia aged between 18 and 24 who have had sex before age 18 has increased from 35% in 2005 to 40% in 2016 among women and from 9% to 12% among men.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with risky sexual behavior among secondary and preparatory students in Wolaita Sodo town, Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia; 2020.Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 4 to 25, 2020. Multistage sampling was employed to select a random sample of 830 study participants from 2 randomly selected secondary and preparatory schools. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the outcome variables and independent variables.Result: Among the 306 participants who reported ever having sex, 196 (24.7%) engaged in risky sexual behaviors. Factors significantly associated with risky sexual behavior were; ever used alcohol, ever smoked cigarettes, parent monitoring, and having sexually active close friend/s.Conclusion: Substantial proportion of study participants engaged in risky sexual behavior calling for more interventions on school student’s addictive behaviors. Parents should have frequent, open and informative discussions about substance use and the associated problems with their adolescents. Keywords: Students; risky sexual behavior; factors; Ethiopia

The magnitude of episiotomy among women who gave birth in Ethiopia: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Episiotomy is one of the most common obstetric procedures done by health providers putting the client at high risk of developing complications and lacerations. These days, episiotomy has been done at an alarming rate in Ethiopia as compared to the slant set by World Health Organization. Be that as it may, there is a need for nationally representative data. This study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of episiotomy practice among women who gave birth at public health institutions in Ethiopia. We accessed PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and manual search was used to retrieve articles. The extractions of the data were done by using Microsoft Excel and analyzed by STATA version 11 statistical software. The publication bias was checked by funnel plot visually and Egger's test and Begg’s test, with P < 0.05 considered indicating potential publication bias. I2 was used to check the presence of heterogeneity of the studies. Overall estimated analysis was done. Subgroup analysis was done by region. We carried out a leave-one-out sensitivity analysis. The Joanna Briggs Institute risk of bias assessment tool was used. Out of 254 articles retrieved, 9 studies met the eligibility criteria and are thus included in this study. The overall episiotomy practice in Ethiopia was 45.01% (95% CI: 36.288, 53.741). Based on the sub-group analysis, prevalence of episiotomy practice was 49.32% (95%CI: 12.67, 85.97), 46.92% (95%CI: 29.47, 64.37), 44.23% (95%CI: 37.77, 50.99) and 38.29 (95%CI: 32.38, 44.20) among South region, Addis Ababa, Amhara region and Tigray region respectively. The findings revealed that the prevalence of episiotomy practice in Ethiopia was high (45.01%). Therefore, it is better to have periodic training for birth attendants on the indication of episiotomy and the appropriate use of guidelines to reduce the rate of episiotomy

Indoor air bacterial load and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of isolates at Adare General Hospital in Hawassa, Ethiopia

BackgroundAir is the agent of pathogenic microbes that cause significant problems in the hospital environment. Multidrug resistance poses a major therapeutic challenge to these airborne microorganisms in hospital indoor environments.Method and materialsThis study was conducted at Adare General Hospital in Hawassa City, Sidama, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted. The proportional allocation method was used to select the sampled 50 rooms from the total available rooms in each category of wards and staff offices. A total of 100 indoor air samples were collected using settle plates in all units twice a day, morning (9:00–4:00 a.m.) and afternoon (3:00–4:00 p.m.). The types and number of colonies were determined in the laboratory, and the pathogenic bacteria were isolated by appropriate bacteriological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on Mueller-Hinton agar for each potentially pathogenic bacterium isolated. For each bacterium, a total of 12 antibiotics were tested using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The test organism was adjusted to McFarland turbidity standards of 0.5. Data were entered and analyzed using the SPSS version 25 window. Descriptive analysis and one-way analysis of variance were performed.ResultsThe indoor air bacterial load of Adare General Hospital was found in the range between 210 and 3,224 CFU/m3. The highest indoor air bacterial load was identified from the gynecology ward with a mean of 2,542.5CFU/m3 at p < 0.05. From 100 indoor air samples, a total of 116 bacterial pathogen isolates were obtained. Gram-positive isolates predominated at 72.4%, of which 37.1% were Staphylococcus aureus, 26.7% were coagulase-negative Staphylococci, and the rest 8.6% were Streptococcus pyogenes. The isolation of pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococci showed a high level of resistance to ampicillin.ConclusionA high bacterial load was found in the study area as compared to different indoor air biological standards. Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococci were the isolated predominant bacteria. Attention should be given to preventing and minimizing those environmental factors that favor the multiplication of bacteria in the indoor environment of a hospital for the safe health of patients, visitors, and staff

Trend, determinants, and future prospect of child marriage in the Amhara region, Ethiopia: a multivariate decomposition analysis

BackgroundChild marriage is a harmful traditional practice, which compromises children of their childhood and threatens their lives and health. In Ethiopia, 58% of women and 9% of men get married before the age of 18 years. Surprisingly, parents in the Amhara region make marriage promises of their children before they are even born, which will hinder the region from attaining the Sustainable Development Goal of ending child marriage. Thus, this study aimed to assess the trends, determinants, and future prospects of child marriage in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.MethodsA repeated cross-sectional study was conducted using four consecutive nationally representative Ethiopian demographic and health surveys (2000–2016). A logit-based multivariate decomposition analysis for a non-linear response model was fitted to identify factors that contributed to the change in child marriage over time. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value of < 0.05. The child marriage practice in the Amhara region by the year 2030 was also predicted using different forecasting features of Excel.ResultsThe trend of child marriage over the study period (2000–2016) decreased from 79.9% (76.7, 82.8) to 42.9% (39.1, 46.9), with an annual average reduction rate of 2.9%. Approximately 35.2% of the decline resulted from an increase in the proportion of women who attained secondary and above-secondary education over the two surveys. A decrease in the proportion of rural women and a change in the behavior of educated and media-exposed women also contributed significantly to the decline in child marriage. The prevalence of child marriage in the Amhara region by the year 2030 was also predicted to be 10.1% or 8.8%.ConclusionThough there has been a significant decline in child marriage in the Amhara region over the past 16 years, the proportion is still high, and the region is not going to eliminate it by 2030. Education, residence, and media exposure were all factors associated with the observed change in child marriage in this study. Therefore, additional efforts will be required if child marriage is to be eliminated by 2030, and investing more in education and media access will hasten the region's progress in this direction

Dyslipidemia and serum cystatin C levels as biomarker of diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BackgroundDiabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease. The diagnostic markers of nephropathy, including the presence of albuminuria and/or a reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate, are not clinically ideal, and most of them are raised after a significant reduction in renal function. Therefore, it is crucial to seek more sensitive and non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy.Objective of the studyThis study aimed to investigate the serum cystatin C levels and dyslipidemia for the detection of diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.MethodologyA hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2021 to August 2022 in Tikur, Anbessa specialized teaching hospital with a sample size of 140 patients with type2 diabetes mellitus. Socio-demographic data was collected using a structured questionnaire, and 5 mL of blood was collected from each participant following overnight fasting for biochemical analyses.ResultsIn type 2 diabetes patients with nephropathy, we found significant lipoprotein abnormalities and an increase in serum cystatin C (P < 0.001) compared to those without nephropathy. Serum cystatin C, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, and duration of diabetes were identified as being significantly associated with diabetic nephropathy (P < 0.05) in multivariable logistic regression analysis. The mean values of total cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were also found to be significantly higher (P < 0.05) in females as compared to male type-2 diabetic patients. The fasting blood glucose levels and lipid profiles of the participants were found to be significantly associated with serum cystatin C levels.ConclusionThe present study found significant serum cystatin C and lipoprotein abnormalities in T2DM patients with diabetic nephropathy when compared with those without diabetic nephropathy, and these lipoprotein abnormalities were significantly associated with serum cystatin C levels

Intention to use maternal waiting home and its predictors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background A high maternal death rate is a result of maternal delays in seeking emergency obstetric care, particularly in countries with limited resources like Ethiopia. Utilizing maternity waiting homes is a strategy to overcome geographical barriers and improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Pregnant women must intend to use this service in addition to it being available. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess pregnant women's intentions to use maternity waiting homes and associated characteristics. Methods PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, and online institutional repository homes were searched. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using STATA statistical software (v. 14). Publication bias was checked by forest plot, Begg's, and Egger's tests. To look for heterogeneity, I 2 was computed, and an overall estimated analysis was carried out. Subgroup analysis was done by study region, sample size, and publication. The pooled odds ratio for associated factors was also computed. Results Out of 258 articles assessed, 8 studies with 4111 study participants met the criteria and were included in this study. The pooled prevalence of intention to use maternity waiting home was 52.25% (95% CI 45.88–58.66), I 2 = 93.8%). Amhara region had a higher intention to use maternal waiting for home prevalence (63.5%), per subgroup analysis. In studies with sample sizes higher than 5000, the usage of maternity waiting homes was less prevalent (45.2%). Between published research (52.9%) and unpublished studies (51.3%), there was no appreciable difference in the intention to use a maternity waiting home. Experience of maternity waiting home (AOR = 3.337; 95% CI 2.038–5.463), direct subjective norm (AOR = 2.763; 95% CI 1.395–5.471), and direct perceived behavioral control (AOR = 23.147; 95% CI 2.341–4.231). Conclusion In Ethiopia, the intention to use maternity waiting was low. There was an intentional variation in to use of maternity waiting homes across regions of Ethiopia. Improving behavioral perception through intervention programs such as antenatal education should have been strengthened

Knowledge, attitude, and uptake of human papillomavirus vaccine among adolescent schoolgirls in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Cervical cancer is an international public health issue. Nearly all cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus. The HPV vaccine prevents more than 75% of cervical cancer. The extent to which adolescent girls' knowledge and uptake of the HPV vaccine have to be investigated in order to build effective promotion strategies and increase the uptake of the vaccine. The evidence that is currently available in this area is controversial and inconclusive. Hence, this study has estimated the pooled proportion of good knowledge, positive attitude, and uptake of the HPV vaccine and its associated factors among adolescent schoolgirls in Ethiopia. Methods PubMed, Google Scholar, AJOL, ScienceDirect, and DOAJ were used to search relevant studies. A total of 10 studies were included. The data were extracted by two reviewers using Microsoft Excel and exported to STATA Version 17 for analysis. A random effects model was applied during the analysis. Heterogeneity and publication bias across the studies were evaluated using I2 statistics and Egger’s test, respectively. The PROSPERO registration number for the review is CRD42023414030. Result A total of eight studies comprising 3936 study participants for knowledge and attitude and five studies with 2,481 study participants for uptake of HPV were used to estimate the pooled proportions of good knowledge, a positive attitude, and uptake of the HPV vaccine, respectively. The pooled proportions of good knowledge, positive attitude, and uptake of the HPV vaccine were 55.12%, 45.34%, and 42.05%, respectively. Being an urban resident (OR = 4.17, 95% CI = 1.81, 9.58), having good knowledge (OR = 6.70, 95% CI = 3.43, 13.07), and a positive attitude (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.51, 2.74), were significantly associated with the uptake of the vaccine. Conclusion The pooled proportions of good knowledge, a positive attitude, and uptake of the HPV vaccine were low in Ethiopia. Being an urban resident and having good knowledge and a positive attitude towards the HPV vaccine were significantly associated with the uptake of the HPV vaccine. We recommend increasing adolescent knowledge, positive attitudes, and uptake of HPV vaccination through school-based seminars, health education, and community mobilization

Depression and determinants among diabetes mellitus patients in Ethiopia, a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Introduction Primary studies have estimated the prevalence of depression and its determinants among diabetes patients. However, studies synthesizing this primary evidence are limited. Hence, this systematic review aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and identify determinants of depression among diabetes in Ethiopia. Methods This systematic review and meta-analysis included a search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, PsycINFO, and Cochrane library. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using STATA statistical software (v. 14). Data were pooled using a random-effects model. Forest plots, and Egger’s regression test were all used to check for publication bias. Heterogeneity (I) 2 was computed. Subgroup analysis was done by region, publication year, and depression screening instrument. In addition, the pooled odds ratio for determinants was calculated. Results Sixteen studies, including 5808 participants were analyzed. The prevalence of depression in diabetes was estimated to be 34.61% (95% CI: 27.31–41.91). According to subgroup analysis by study region, publication year, and screening instrument, the highest prevalence was observed in Addis Ababa (41.98%), studies published before 2020 (37.91%), and studies that used Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) (42.42%,) respectively. Older age > 50 years (AOR = 2.96; 95% CI: 1.71–5.11), being women (AOR = 2.31; 95% CI: 1.57, 3.4), longer duration with diabetes (above 5 years) (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.03–3.8), and limited social support (AOR = 2.37; 95% CI: 1.68–3.34), were the determinants of depression in diabetic patients. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that the prevalence of depression in diabetes is substantial. This result underscores the importance of paying particular attention to prevent depression among diabetes. Being older, not attending formal education, longer duration with diabetes, having comorbidity, and low adherence to diabetes management were all associated. These variables may help clinicians identify patients at high risk of depression. Future studies focusing on the causal association between depression and diabetes are highly recommended