Healthcare-seeking delay during COVID-19 pandemic among tuberculosis patients in Ilubabor zone health facilities, south-west Ethiopia

Introduction: Fear of COVID-19 makes tuberculosis (TB) patients seek health care after complications of the case. This can be the reason for serious illness, increased length of infectiousness, poor treatment outcomes, and economic crisis for families and the health system. Despite this, no study has been conducted in Ethiopia and in other African countries with the factor “fear of COVID-19.” Identified preventable factor and other covariates are used to reduce the healthcare-seeking delay. Objective: This study assessed the association of fear of COVID-19 with healthcare-seeking delay among TB patients in Ilu Ababor Zone health facilities, south-western Ethiopia. Methods and materials: A health institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among TB patients from October 15, 2020, to March 1, 2021. Using a systematic sampling method, 403 TB patients were selected for face-to-face interviews. The association of fear of getting COVID-19 with healthcare-seeking delay was assessed by a chi-square test. Variables with a p -value <0.25 in the bi-variable binary logistic regression were entered into the multivariable binary logistic regression model. The level of statistical significance in multivariable binary logistic regression was declared at a p -value <0.05. Result: In this study, the proportion of patient healthcare-seeking delay was 46.7%. Chi-square test of the association of fear of COVID-19 with healthcare-seeking delay among TB patients showed a significant association ( p -value = 0.042). After controlling for covariates, patients living in rural area (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.437, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.385–4.286), patients with poor knowledge (AOR = 3.300, 95% CI: 1.792–6.078), earning monthly income <200 Ethiopian birr (ETB) (AOR = 3.912 95% CI: 1.951–7.841), traveling greater than 30 min (AOR = 2.127, 95% CI: 1.301–3.476), and fear of COVID-19 pandemic (AOR = 3.124, 95% CI: 1.029–9.479) were significantly associated with patient healthcare-seeking delay. Conclusion: The study found that healthcare-seeking delay among TB patients was substantial. Patient healthcare-seeking delay was significantly associated with fear of COVID-19

Caffeine consumption, khat chewing, and associated factors among pregnant mothers in Illu Aba Bor Zone, South West Ethiopia

Background: Substance use during pregnancy remained to be public health concern. Excess caffeine consumption and khat chewing during pregnancy have multiple preventable effects on the fetus and mothers. So, understanding the prevalence of using these substances and their predictors during pregnancy is the first step to take measurements. However, there is information scarcity regarding the estimated magnitude of these substances use during pregnancy and their associated factors at a national level, especially in our study area. Objective: To identify the magnitude of caffeine intake above the recommended level, chewing khat and their predictors during the prenatal period in the Ilu Aba Bor zone in 2021. Methods: To recruit 830 participants, a community-based cross-sectional study design with multistage sampling was used. Data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and transferred to SPSS version 23 for analysis. A multivariable logistic regression was run, and variables with a p-value of <0.05 at a CI of 95% were declared significant variables. Result: This study revealed that 16.3% [95% CI(13.9,18.9)] of respondents consumed caffeine excessively and about 27.4%(95% CI:24.5,30.4%) of them chewed khat in the present pregnancy. Lack of counseling service during antenatal care to limit caffeine consumption (AOR = 2.27;95 %CI:1.18,4.38), lack of awareness of the risk of excess caffeine consumption (AOR = 4.93; 95 %CI:2.10,11.09), and being in the second trimester (AOR = 2.16;95 %CI:1.10,4.25) were significantly shown association with excessive caffeine intake.Being urban resident (AOR = 2.10;95CI:1.26,3.48), lack of formal education (AOR = 4.22;95CI:2.28,7.82), unwanted Pregnancy (AOR = 4.87;95 %CI:2.86,8.29), Multigravida (AOR = 1.91;95CI:1.12,3.20), and lack of awareness about risk of using khat on the fetus (AOR = 8.66;95 %CI:5.00,14.99) were the main factors significantly associated with khat chewing during pregnancy. Conclusion: Significant number of pregnant mothers were exercising caffeine consumption above the recommended level and chewing khat during pregnancy. Thus, we suggest counseling for excess caffeine consumption and khat chewing as an integral part of antenatal care. Plain language summary: The first step in intervening is to understand the magnitude of caffeine consumption, khat chewing, and their associated factors during pregnancy. This study determined that 16.3% of respondents consumed caffeine excessively and 27.4% chewed khat during the current pregnancy. Excess caffeine consumption and chewing khat during prenatal period have numerous preventable impacts on the fetus and mothers. Being urban resident, lack of formal education, and gestational age of second trimester were shown association with excessive caffeine intake. Lack of awareness of the risk of excess caffeine consumption and khat chewing during pregnancy is the first step to taking intervention

Sub-fecundity and associated factors among mothers with natural planned conception attending antenatal care service in Arba Minch Health Facilities.

BackgroundFecundity is a physiological ability to have children. The inability to get the desired child which was commonly caused by the prolonged time to conceive due to unwanted non-conception period increased from time to time. As a result, many couples are developing psychological, social, and economic problems and unstable life. However, information on fecundity status is limited in Ethiopia context. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proportion of sub-fecundity and associated factors in Ethiopia context.MethodsA health institution based cross-sectional study was conducted in Arba Minch health facilities from March 25 to April 25, 2020. By using a systematic sampling method, 539 mothers were selected for the study. Structured questionnaire was used for data collection. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with the sub-fecundity. Variables with p-value ResultThe proportion of sub-fecundity was 17.8% with 95%CI (14.8%-21.3%). Mothers' age ≥ 30 (AOR = 2.54, 95%CI; 1.18-5.48), partners' age ≥ 35 (AOR = 2.20, 95%CI; 1.01-4.75), coffee consumption of ≥ 4 cups/day (AOR = 2.93, 95%CI; 1.14-7.53), menses irregularity (AOR = 3.79 95%CI; 2.01-7.14) and coital frequency of 1day/week (AOR = 3.65, 95%CI; 1.47-9.05) were significantly associated with the sub-fecundity.ConclusionThis study found that a substantial proportion of mothers were sub-fecund. Factors that contributed to the sub-fecundity were pre-pregnancy; mothers' age, partners' age, coffee drinking of ≥ 4 cups/day, coital frequency of 1day/week, and menses irregularity. Thus, efforts to prevent sub-fecundity should focus on awareness creation as to plan to conceive at early age, reducing coffee consumption, increasing days of coital frequency per week, and investigating and treating mothers with irregular menses

COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety and associated factors among adolescents in Southwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background COVID-19 pandemic causes serious threats to people’s mental health, particularly it has huge negative mental health outcomes for adolescents. However, there is lack of studies examining COVID-19-related anxiety among adolescents in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was aimed to examine COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety and its associated factors among adolescents in Mettu town. Methods Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1 to 30, 2020 among 847 adolescents selected by stratified sampling technique. IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26.0 was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were computed. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety. The statistical significance was declared at p ≤ 0.05; and the strength of association was described in terms of adjusted odds ratio. Results Out of the total sample, 819 adolescents participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 14.9 (SD = 2.798) years. The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be 20.9% (95% CI (18.1, 23.9)). The finding indicates that sex [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.724 (0.502, 1.043))], having both parents deceased [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.981 (1.138, 7.814))], living alone [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.363 (1.050, 5.321))], having unemployed mothers [(AOR (95% CI)); (1.943 (1.194, 3.163))], absence of close friend [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.377 (0.225, 0.630))], and medical problem [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.408 (0.278, 0.597))] were significantly associated with COVID-19-related anxiety. Conclusion The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be high in the study area. The findings have shown that the likelihood of developing COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was linked to several factors. Provision of continued psychological support for adolescents is extremely encouraged

Additional file 1 of Cultural sensitivity and associated factors among nurses in southwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Supplementary Material

Magnitude and determinants of undernutrition among tuberculosis patients in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Undernutrition increases the risk of TB infection to be active TB, death and relapse of the disease. Undernutrition also disturbs the management process of tuberculosis. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the pooled magnitude and determinants of undernutrition among TB patients in Ethiopia. Methods From August 20, 2022 to January 6, 2023, the research articles were identified via the search engines Google Scholar, Medline, Pub Med, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Stata version 14 was used for analysis, along with a standardized data extraction checklist. The Cochrane Q test statistic and I2 statistics were used to determine heterogeneity. A random-effect model was used to assess the extent of undernutrition among TB patients. OR with a 95% CI was used to report the relationship between undernutrition and independent factors. A funnel plot and Egger’s test were used to examine publication bias. Results A total of 720 research articles were identified via several databases and 21 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled magnitude of undernutrition among TB patients was 48.23% (95% CI 42.84, 53.62). The current meta-analysis revealed that patients who had no formal education (OR = 2.11(95%CI: 1.09, 4.06), average monthly income  5 family size (OR = 3.79 (95CI: 1.06, 14.93), and patients who drank alcohol (OR = 1.47(95CI: 1.06, 2.05) were significantly associated with undernutrition. Conclusion This meta-analysis examined the high magnitude of undernutrition among TB patients in Ethiopia. Strategic and police-oriented intervention to prevent factors contributing to the problem is mandatory

Funnel plot with 95% confidence limit of the prevalence of homebirth preference in Ethiopia, 2022.

Funnel plot with 95% confidence limit of the prevalence of homebirth preference in Ethiopia, 2022.</p