Never the Twain Shall Mix: AIDS Patients’ Rejection of Antiretroviral Drugs in Favor of Christian Holy Water in Ethiopia

The laity in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church have always tapped into holy water as a therapeutic for health issues. A fundamental article of faith within the Church, this treatment necessitates total devotion on the part of the faithful. Consequently, it often leads to a tension with the biomedical treatment as patients forgo their prescribed medication in its exclusive pursuit. In 2007, PEPFAR, a global U.S.-government program focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, attempted to introduce antiretroviral drugs into holy water sanctuaries in hopes of improving adherence among those receiving holy water treatment in the ecclesiastical realm. Denounced by the clergy and laity at the initial site of dissemination as a defilement of the sacred by the profane, it led to many of the faithful departing the holy water site.Following the above-mentioned inflection point, this dissertation analyzes the health and illness narratives of clergy and holy-water treated, AIDS-stricken laity at four holy water sites in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and its environs. In addition, it incorporates the perspective of the biomedical side through dialogical engagements carried out with healthcare professionals. By adopting the culture-centered approach to health communication and informed by social constructionist and diffusion of innovations theories, this study, through in-depth interviews and thematic analysis of media materials, foregrounds health experiences in the local context situated in the nexus between the biomedical and the religio-spiritual. Through the analysis of meanings v negotiated in the realms of social norms, structure, and identities enacted through social construction, as well as a range of relationships, the study brings to the fore voices from the margins. The findings point to a marked divergence between the biomedical and ecclesiastical realms in nosological constructions of HIV/AIDS itself. In the latter domain, the chronicity of the disease does not tend to get adopted. This complicates the smooth adoption of the biomedical drugs which are essentially palliative. Notwithstanding the act of symbolic violence committed by PEPFAR, incompatibility of the two healing systems remains at issue. From the culture-centered approach, cultural and structural conditions rob the AIDS sufferers of agency more so in the divine realm than in the biomedical

Vaccinated Healthcare Workers’ Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures and Associated Factors in Northwest Ethiopia: A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Kale Gubae,1 Samuel Agegnew Wondm,1 Worku Birhane,1 Akalu Fetene,1 Tilaye Arega Moges,2 Mekdes Kiflu1 1Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Kale Gubae, Email [email protected]: The initial response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Long-term protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection does not appear to be possible by either infection or vaccination. Thus, traditional herd immunity seems impossible. In addition to increasing vaccination rates, NPIs may be needed.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among vaccinated healthcare workers. The study took place from July 15 to August 15, 2022. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. In a multivariable logistic regression model, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Four hundred eleven healthcare workers were included in the study. Sixty percent of participants were fully vaccinated. After vaccination, 10.2% of respondents reported infection with SARS-CoV-2. The study showed that 49.4% of participants had a good knowledge of the efficacy and safety of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, 36% of individuals adhered well to the COVID-19 prevention strategies. Good knowledge of the efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (AOR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.03– 2.78) increased the odds of implementing preventive measures. Healthcare workers who perceived a low and medium risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination and who were knowledgeable about SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections were less likely to follow preventive measures.Conclusion: The knowledge of healthcare workers regarding the efficacy and safety of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 was comparable. However, a large proportion of healthcare workers poorly adhered to prevention practices. Therefore, to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare professionals, prevention strategies must be continuously evaluated and awareness of the need for preventive measures must be raised even after vaccination.Keywords: prevention practices, vaccine, knowledge, Ethiopi