Intimate partner violence during pregnancy and preterm birth among mothers who gave birth in public hospitals, Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A case-control study

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) is an important and under-reported public health problem in developing nations such as Ethiopia. Limited research has been conducted to date to address the effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy on PTB. This study was conducted to assess the association between IPV during pregnancy and PTB. Methods: A case control study was conducted on 138 cases and 276 controls in four randomly selected public hospitals from February to April 2018. Mothers who gave birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation were included as cases, and mothers who gave birth at 37 and above completed weeks of gestation were deemed as controls. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select the two consecutive controls. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done. Results: In this study, the prevalence of any IPV during pregnancy was 44.8% among cases and 25% among controls. Any IPV during pregnancy was significantly associated with PTB [AOR = 2.85; 95% CI: 1.42-6.22]. In addition, women who were exposed to emotional violence during the recent pregnancy were three times more likely to have a PTB compared to those who were not violated [AOR = 3.05; 95% CI: 1.35-6.91]. Similarly, women who experienced physical IPV during pregnancy were 2.6 times [AOR = 2.56; 95% CI: 1.27-6.78] more at risk of PTB compared to those who had no physical IPV. Conclusion: This study found that IPV during pregnancy is significantly associated with PTB. Hence, IPV screening needs to be integrated into routine antenatal care (ANC) services. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2020; 34(1):44-53] Key words: Intimate partner violence, pregnancy, preterm birth, Ethiopi

Full immunization coverage and associated factors among children age 12-23 months in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Background: Millions of children in developing countries remained unvaccinated and under-vaccinated. This study was aimed to determine the pooled full vaccination coverage and associated factors in Ethiopia. Methods: This review and meta-analysis were included observational studies conducted from 2013 to 2020. The international online databases as well as gray literatures were retrieved from April 15 to 30/2020. The quality of each study was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS). Data were extracted using Microsoft excel 2016 and analyzed using STATA 11.0 statistical software. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the Cochran Q statistics and I2 test. The pooled effect sizes were determined using pooled proportion for the full vaccination coverage and odds ratios for the associated factors with the corresponding 95% confidence interval. Result: Sixteen studies with 8305 children aged 12–23 months were included. The overall pooled full vaccination coverage was 65% (95% CI: 56%-74%). Institutional delivery (OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.78–2.52), travel to vaccination site for <2 hours (OR: 2.43, 95%CI: 1.97–3.00), received at least one antenatal (ANC) visit (OR: 3.2, 95%CI: 2.46–4.1), good maternal knowledge of immunization (OR: 3.63, 95%CI: 2.82–4.67), being informed on immunization schedule (OR: 2.54, 95%CI: 2.02–3.2), living in urban areas (OR: 2, 95% CI: 1.54–2.6), and a household visit by health-care providers during the postnatal period (OR: 2.23, 95%CI: 1.22–4.09) were the independent predictors of full immunization coverage among children age 12–23 months. Conclusion: The study showed that the pooled full immunization coverage is still far from the national target (90%). Therefore, the government should strengthen both the outreach and facility-based immunization services

Prevalence of Acute Malnutrition and Associated Factors among Children aged 6–59 months in South Wollo Zone, East Amhara, Northeast Ethiopia: a Community-based cross-sectional study

Objective The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of acute malnutrition and associated factors in South Wollo zone, East Amhara, Northeast Ethiopia.Design A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 504 children aged 6–59 months who were selected by using a multistage sampling technique. The mid-upper-arm-circumference and Z-scores for weight-for-height were used to determine the nutritional status of the participants. A semi-structured interview questionnaire was used to collect the data. Then data was entered into EpiData V.3.1 and exported to SPSS software V.25 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with acute malnutrition and variables with p value&lt;0.05 were declared as statistically significant.Setting The study was conducted in South Wollo zone, Northeast Ethiopia from 1 August 2020 to 30 September 2020.Participants Children aged 6–59 months with their mothers were the study subjects.Results The prevalence of acute malnutrition among children aged 6–59 months was 31.0%. Child aged 6–11 months (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.92; 95% CI: 1.74 to 8.82), illiterate mothers (AOR=3.01; 95% CI: 1.92 to 7.01), single mother (AOR=3.06; 95% CI: 1.32 to 7.07), lack of latrine (AOR=2.39; 95% CI: 1.12 to 5.11), diarrhoea (AOR=4.18; 95% CI: 2.02 to 8.65), respiratory tract infection (AOR=2.31; 95% CI: 1.08 to 4.94), family size (≥5) (AOR=3.29; 95% CI: 1.53 to 7.09) and cessation of breast feeding before 2 years (AOR=3.79; 95% CI: 1.71 to 8.23) were the independent predictors of acute malnutrition.Conclusion Acute malnutrition is highly prevalent in the study area which is more than the national figure. Thus, improving maternal education, access to the latrine, improved breastfeeding practice, improved family planning usage and early detection and treatment of diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections will enhance children’s nutritional status. In addition, nutritional diversity education needs to be strengthened

Multivariable multilevel logistic regression analysis of both individual and community-level factors associated with micronutrient intake in East African countries.

Multivariable multilevel logistic regression analysis of both individual and community-level factors associated with micronutrient intake in East African countries.</p

Individual characteristics of reproductive age group women in East African countries (n = 110,358).

Individual characteristics of reproductive age group women in East African countries (n = 110,358).</p

Community level characteristics of reproductive age group women in East African countries (n = 110,358).

Community level characteristics of reproductive age group women in East African countries (n = 110,358).</p

Forest tree plot of magnitude of micronutrient intake of pregnant mother in East Africa.

Forest tree plot of magnitude of micronutrient intake of pregnant mother in East Africa.</p

Model comparison and model fitness for multilevel logistic regression analysis.

Model comparison and model fitness for multilevel logistic regression analysis.</p