Assessment of HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Use Among Health Workers of Governmental Health Institutions in Jimma Zone, Oromiya Region, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a serious public health problem costing the lives of many people including health workers. Hence, Ethiopia has developed guideline on the prevention of infection in health institutions in July 2004 and also employed the use of post exposure prophylaxis since the implementation of free antiretroviral in January 2005. However in the country, specifically in Jimma zone, published studies showing the clear picture about HIV post exposure prophylaxis in the work place were non-existent. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, practice and factors associated to HIV post-exposure prophy-laxis use among health workers of governmental health institutions in the Zone. Methods: A cross-sectional survey employing quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted from October to December 2008. Two hundred fifty four health workers participated in the quantitative study. Health workers for focus group discussion and key informants for in-depth interviews were identified with the help of administrators/HIV/AIDs coordinators of the two administrative health bureaus and institutions included in the study. The quanti-tative data were entered and cleaned using Epi Info version 6.4 and analysed using SPSS for windows version 11.0. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test was employed to assess association among variables. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Among the total 254 participants, 213 (83.9%) had inadequate knowledge about post exposure prophy-laxis of HIV and 174 (68.5%) had ever been exposed to HIV risk conditions. Out of 174 health workers exposed to HIV risk, 105 (60.3%) sustained needle prick/cut by sharps, 77 (44.3%) to blood and 68 (39.1%) exposed to pa-tients’ body fluid. Perceived causes of exposure were; high workload 77 (44.3%), lack of protective barriers 58 (33.3%) and lack of knowledge on standard precautions 31 (17.8%). One hundred forty two (81.6%) of those ex-posed did not use post-exposure prophylaxis. Lack of information about the existence of post-exposure prophylaxis service 48 (33.8%), fear of stigma and discrimination 46 (32.4%), lack of understanding the value of reporting 33 (23.2%) and lack of support and encouragement to report 29 (20.4%) were the reasons for not using. Moreover, formal (separate) HIV post-exposure prophylaxis centre with proper guideline was non-existent in the study areas. Conclusions: In general, findings of the quantitative and qualitative study revealed that the knowledge of health workers about post exposure prophylaxis against HIV is inadequate. Though many of the studied health workers had HIV risk exposure, only few used post-exposure prophylaxis. Therefore, establishing a 24 hours accessible formal post-exposure prophylaxis centre with proper guideline is recommended. Health institutions are also ad-vised to raise awareness of their employees on post exposure prophylaxis

Birth Preparedness and Its Association with Skilled Birth Attendance and Postpartum Checkups among Mothers in Gibe Wereda, Hadiya Zone, South Ethiopia

Background. Birth preparedness program was designed to enhance skilled birth attendance and postpartum checkups of women in a developing country to reduce the three delays that lead women and neonates to death and disability. However, the relationship between birth preparedness with skilled birth attendance and postpartum checkups among mothers is not well studied. Therefore this study is intended to assess the association between birth preparedness and skilled birth attendance and postpartum checkups. Methods. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2014. Eight out of 22 Kebeles were selected using probability proportional to size sampling method. Seven hundred and forty-five mothers were selected randomly from the sampling frame, generated from family folders obtained from health posts. Data was collected using pretested questionnaire by face-to-face interview. Data was entered into EpiData version 3.1 database and analyzed by SPSS version 16. Result. Out of 745 sampled mothers 728 (97.7%) participated in the study. One hundred and twelve (15.4%) and 128 (17.6%) mothers got skilled birth attendance and received postpartum checkups for their last child, respectively. Birth preparedness, educational status of women and their husbands, and antenatal care visits of mothers were found to be predictor of skilled birth attendance and postpartum checkups. Mothers well prepared for child birth were 6.7 times more likely to attend skilled birth attendance [AOR = 6.7 (2.7–16.4)] and 3 times more likely to follow postpartum checkups [AOR = 3.0 (1.5–5.9)] than poorly prepared mothers, respectively. Travel time to reach the nearest health facility was found as predictor for postpartum checkups of mothers; mothers who travel ≤ 2 hours were three times more likely to follow postpartum checkups than mothers who travel > 2 hours (AOR (95% CI) = 3.4 (1.5–7.9)). Conclusion and Recommendation. Skilled birth attendance and postpartum checkups were low. Encouraging women to attend recommended antenatal care visits and providing advice and education on birth preparedness and obstetric danger signs are important interventions to increase skilled birth attendance and postpartum checkups

Practice towards Prevention and Control Measures of Coronavirus Disease and Associated Factors among Healthcare Workers in the Health Facilities of the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia, 2021

Background. A novel coronavirus, a virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), was first identified in Wuhan, China, on December 2019. The virus affects the respiratory system and it is highly contagious, spreading from person to person. Healthcare workers are more at risk due to the nature of their work, which is caring for both COVID-19-affected and nonaffected patients. Lack of knowledge about the disease directly affects early diagnosis and treatment, which may result in the rapid spread of the infection in the community. Having enough knowledge about a disease can always affect an individual’s attitudes and practices. However, there is limited evidence on the knowledge, attitude, practice of prevention, and control measures of COVID-19 and associated factors among healthcare workers (HCWs) in resource-limited countries, including Ethiopia. Methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study design was used among 334 samples of health workers who were selected using a stratified two-stage sampling technique, from health facilities of the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone from May to June 2021. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data from the HCWs. The information collected was entered to EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 21 software for further analyses. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with the KA practice of the HCWs. Those variables with a p value <05 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were considered as statistically significantly associated with the outcome variable. Result. Among the participating HCWs, 208 (64%; 95% CI: (58.8%, 69.2%)) of them had good practices of prevention and control measures of COVID-19 with the mean (±SD) practice score was 7.63 ± 2.45. Multivariable binary logistic regression revealed that being a health center worker (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI: (0.19, 0.60)), being trained (AOR = 0.41, 95% CI: (0.21, 0 .82)), and having sufficient knowledge (AOR = 2.73, 95% CI: (1.35, 5.53)) were significantly associated with good preventive practice. Conclusion. The overall magnitude of practice of prevention and control measures of COVID-19 was not sufficient. Therefore, strategies for enhancing the capacity of healthcare workers to exercise practices of prevention and control measures of COVID-19 are needed

Willingness to Pay for Social Health Insurance and Associated Factors among Health Care Providers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background. Cost sharing between beneficiaries and government is critical to attain universal health coverage. The government of Ethiopia introduced social health insurance to improve access to quality health services. Hence, HCP are the ultimate frontline service provider; their WTP for health insurance could influence the implementation of the scheme directly or indirectly. However, there is limited evidence on willingness to pay (WTP) for social health insurance (SHI) among health professionals. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from May 1st to August 15th, 2019. A total sample of 480 health care providers was selected using a multistage sampling method. The collected data were entered into Epi Info version 7.1 and analyzed with SPSS version 23. Binary and multiple logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify the associated factor outcome variable. The association was presented in odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and significance determined at a P value less than 0.05. Result. A total of 460 health care providers responded to the questionnaire, making a 95.8% response rate. Of the respondents, only 132 (28.7%) were WTP for SHI. Higher educational status [AOR=2.9, 95% CI (1.2-7.3)], higher monthly income [AOR=2.2, 95% CI (1.2-4.3)], recent family illness [AOR=2.4, 95% CI (1.4-4.4)], and a good awareness about SHI [AOR=4.4, 95% CI (2.4-7.8)] showed significant association with WTP for SHI. The main reasons for not WTP were thinking the government should cover the cost, preferring out-pocket payment and the provided SHI scheme does not cover all the health care costs health care providers lost interest in pay for SHI. Conclusion and Recommendation. The majority of health care providers were not willing to pay for the introduced SHI scheme. The provided SHI scheme should be clear and provide special consideration for health care providers as the majority of them receives free health care service from their employer health care institution. Also, the government, health professional associations, and other concerned stakeholders should provide awareness creation programs by targeting low and middle-level health professionals in order to increase WTP for SHI among health care providers

Targeted Antibiotics for Trachoma: A Cluster-Randomized Trial.

BackgroundCurrent guidelines recommend community-wide mass azithromycin for trachoma, but a targeted treatment strategy could reduce the volume of antibiotics required.MethodsIn total, 48 Ethiopian communities were randomized to mass, targeted, or delayed azithromycin distributions. In the targeted arm, only children aged 6 months to 5 years with evidence of ocular chlamydia received azithromycin, distributed thrice over the following year. The primary outcome was ocular chlamydia at months 12 and 24, comparing the targeted and delayed arms (0-5 year-olds, superiority analysis) and the targeted and mass azithromycin arms (8-12 year-olds, noninferiority analysis, 10% noninferiority margin).ResultsAt baseline, the mean prevalence of ocular chlamydia in the 3 arms ranged from 7% to 9% among 0-5 year-olds and from 3% to 9% among 8-12 year-olds. Averaged across months 12-24, the mean prevalence of ocular chlamydia among 0-5 year-olds was 16.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.0%-24.4%) in the targeted arm and 22.3% (95% CI: 11.1%-33.6%) in the delayed arm (P = .61). The final mean prevalence of ocular chlamydia among 8-12 year-olds was 13.5% (95% CI: 7.9%-19.1%) in the targeted arm and 5.5% (95% CI: 0.3%-10.7%) in the mass treatment arm (adjusted risk difference 8.5 percentage points [pp] higher in the targeted arm, 95% CI: 0.9 pp-16.1 pp higher).ConclusionsAntibiotic treatments targeted to infected preschool children did not result in significantly less ocular chlamydia infections compared with untreated communities and did not meet noninferiority criteria relative to mass azithromycin distributions. Targeted approaches may require treatment of a broader segment of the population in areas with hyperendemic trachoma

Water, sanitation, and hygiene for control of trachoma in Ethiopia (WUHA): a two-arm, parallel-group, cluster-randomised trial.

BackgroundWHO promotes the SAFE strategy for the elimination of trachoma as a public health programme, which promotes surgery for trichiasis (ie, the S component), antibiotics to clear the ocular strains of chlamydia that cause trachoma (the A component), facial cleanliness to prevent transmission of secretions (the F component), and environmental improvements to provide water for washing and sanitation facilities (the E component). However, little evidence is available from randomised trials to support the efficacy of interventions targeting the F and E components of the strategy. We aimed to determine whether an integrated water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) intervention prevents the transmission of trachoma.MethodsThe WASH Upgrades for Health in Amhara (WUHA) was a two-arm, parallel-group, cluster-randomised trial in 40 rural communities in Wag Hemra Zone (Amhara Region, Ethiopia) that had been treated with 7 years of annual mass azithromycin distributions. The randomisation unit was the school catchment area. All households within a 1·5 km radius of a potential water point within the catchment area (as determined by the investigators) were eligible for inclusion. Clusters were randomly assigned (at a 1:1 ratio) to receive a WASH intervention either immediately (intervention) or delayed until the conclusion of the trial (control), in the absence of concurrent antibiotic distributions. Given the nature of the intervention, participants and field workers could not be masked, but laboratory personnel were masked to treatment allocation. The WASH intervention consisted of both hygiene infrastructure improvements (namely, construction of a community water point) and hygiene promotion by government, school, and community leaders, which were implemented at the household, school, and community levels. Hygiene promotion focused on two simple messages: to use soap and water to wash your or your child's face, and to always use a latrine for defecation. The primary outcome was the cluster-level prevalence of ocular chlamydia, measured annually using conjunctival swabs in a random sample of children aged 0-5 years from each cluster at 12, 24, and 36 month timepoints. Analyses were done in an intention-to-treat manner. This trial is ongoing and is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02754583.FindingsBetween Nov 9, 2015, and March 5, 2019, 40 of 44 clusters assessed for eligibility were enrolled and randomly allocated to the trial groups (20 clusters each, with 7636 people from 1751 households in the intervention group and 9821 people from 2211 households in the control group at baseline). At baseline, ocular chlamydia prevalence among children aged 0-5 years was 11% (95% CI 6 to 16) in the WASH group and 11% (5 to 18) in the control group. At month 36, ocular chlamydia prevalence had increased in both groups, to 32% (24 to 41) in the WASH group and 31% (21 to 41) in the control group (risk difference across three annual monitoring visits, after adjustment for prevalence at baseline: 3·7 percentage points; 95% CI -4·9 to 12·4; p=0·40). No adverse events were reported in either group.InterpretationAn integrated WASH intervention addressing the F and E components of the SAFE strategy did not prevent an increase in prevalence of ocular chlamydia following cessation of antibiotics in an area with hyperendemic trachoma. The impact of WASH in the presence of annual mass azithromycin distributions is currently being studied in a follow-up trial of the 40 study clusters. Continued antibiotic distributions will probably be important in areas with persistent trachoma.FundingNational Institutes of Health-National Eye Institute.TranslationFor the Amharic translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section