Prevalence of Anemia and Associated Factors among Infants and Young Children Aged 6–23 Months in Debre Berhan Town, North Shewa, Ethiopia

Background. Anemia is a problem of both the developed and developing world, which occurs in all age groups of the population. Half of the anemia cases are due to iron deficiency and affects physical growth and mental development. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of information about anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6 to 23 months in low-income countries like Ethiopia. Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6–23 months. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study design was used among 531 mothers/caregivers-children pairs in Debre Berhan Town, North Shewa, Ethiopia, from February 1 to March 2, 2018. The cluster sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Sociodemographic data were collected from mothers/caregivers using pretested structured questionnaires. Hemoglobin levels were measured using a HemoCue analyzer machine (HemoCue® Hb 301, Ängelholm, Sweden). All relevant data were described using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, proportions, mean, and standard deviation. Odds ratio and 95% CI were estimated using binary logistic regression to measure the strength of the association between anemia and explanatory variables. The level of statistical significance was declared at P<0.05. Results. The overall prevalence of anemia was 47.5% (95% CI: 43.1–51.4%) of which 18.3% were mildly anemic, 25% were moderately anemic, and 4.1% were severely anemic. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, household food insecurity (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.6–4.5), unmet minimum dietary diversity (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.4–4.3), stunting (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2–4.3), and underweight (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4–5.4) positively associated with anemia while having ≥4 antenatal care visits (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3–0.9) and met minimum meal frequency (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.14–0.45) had a protective effect against anemia. Conclusion. Generally, the study showed that anemia was a severe public health problem among infants and young children in the study setting. Antenatal care visit, meal frequency, dietary diversity, underweight, stunting, and food insecurity significantly associated with anemia. Therefore, efforts should be made to strengthen infant and young child feeding practices and antenatal care utilization and ensure household food security, thereby improving the nutritional status of children

Minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6–23 months in Amhara region, Central Ethiopia: community-based cross-sectional study

Objective The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of a minimum acceptable diet (MAD) and associated factors.Design Community-based cross-sectional studySetting Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia.Participants An aggregate of 531 infants and young children mother/caregiver pairs participated in this study. A one-stage cluster sampling method was used to select study participants and clusters were selected using a lottery method. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all study variables. Statistical analysis was performed on data to determine which variables are associated with MAD and the results of the adjusted OR with 95% CI. P value of &lt;0.05 considered statistically significant.Primary outcome Prevalence of MAD and associated factorsResults The overall prevalence of MAD was 31.6% (95% CI: 27.7 to 35.2). Having mother attending secondary (adjusted OR, AOR=4.9, 95% CI: 1.3 to 18.9) and college education (AOR=6.4, 95% CI: 1.5 to 26.6), paternal primary education (AOR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.5 to 2.4), grouped in the aged group of 12–17 months (AOR=1.8, 95% CI: (1.0 to 3.4) and 18–23 months (AOR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.2 to 3.9), having four antenatal care (ANC) visits (AOR=2.0, 95% CI: 1.0 to 3.9), utilising growth monitoring (AOR=1.8, 95% CI: 1.1 to 2.9), no history of illness 2 weeks before the survey (AOR=2.9, 95% CI: 1.5 to 6.0) and living in the household with home garden (AOR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.5 to 4.3) were positively associated with increase the odds of MAD.Conclusion Generally, the result of this study showed that the prevalence of minimum acceptable was very low. Parent educational status, ANC visits, infant and young child feeding advice, child growth monitoring practice, age of a child, a child has no history of illness 2 weeks before the survey, and home gardening practice were the predictors of MAD. Therefore, comprehensive intervention strategies suitable to the local context are required to improve the provision of MAD

Iodine Deficiency Disorder and Knowledge about Benefit and Food Source of Iodine among Adolescent Girls in the North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region

Background. As the dietary iodine content depends on the iodine contents of the soil where the crop is harvested, in highland areas where the iodine content of topsoil was washed away due to erosion, iodized salt is the main source of iodine. This study assessed the magnitude of iodine deficiency disorder and knowledge about the benefit and food sources of iodine among adolescent girls in the highland areas of the North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, central Ethiopia. Methods. An institutional cross-sectional study was conducted from October 5, 2018, to December 30, 2019. Through a multistage sampling technique, 625 adolescent school girls were selected from 9 schools. A pretested semistructured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Anthropometric measures and thyroid gland physical examinations were performed by trained nurses. The collected data were entered into the computer through Epi Data 3.1 software, and analysis was performed using Anthro plus and SPSS software. Results. The total goiter rate was 317 (50.7%) with 95%CI of 46.9% to 54.6%. Grade-one and grade-two goiter accounts 226 (36.2%) and 91 (14.6%), respectively. About one-third, 428 (68.5%), had knowledge about locally available iodine source foods and 309 (72.2%) of them mentioned salt as a source of iodine. Over half, 216 (55.1%), of 392 (62.7%) participants who had knowledge about the benefit of iodine knew it prevents goiter. Diet diversity score of <5 food groups [AOR 1.487, 95%CI 1.061–2.083], stunting [AOR 1.876, 95%CI 1.079–3.257], menstruation [AOR 1.615, 95%CI 1.110–2.349], rural residence [AOR 1.412, 95%CI 1.005–1.984], and open salt storage container [AOR 2.001, 95%CI 1.044–3.833] were significantly associated with goiter. Conclusions. Total goiter rate of adolescent school girls is high in the area. Low diet diversity score, stunting, menstruation, rural residence, and using an open container for salt storage increased the risk of goiter. In addition to universal salt iodization, the emphasis has to be given on proper handling and utilization of iodized salts at the household level to avoid iodine deficiency disorder in adolescent girls

Determinants of knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to HIV/AIDS and other STIs among people with disabilities in North-Shewa zone, Ethiopia.

IntroductionPeople with disabilities face socioeconomic disadvantages and they have limited access to sexual and reproductive health information. They are highly vulnerable to sexual abuse which places them at increased risk of HIV and STI infection. At present, however, little is known about the knowledge, attitude and practice of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Ethiopia. This study aimed to identify which individual factors best predict knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to HIV/AIDS and other STIs among people with disabilities in North-shewa zone, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from June to October 2019. A total of 397 respondents were interviewed using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. A systematic sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the data. A significant association was declared at a p-value of less than 0.05.ResultsNearly half of the study participants were knowledgeable in relation to HIV/AIDS (47.3%) and STIs (46.9%). Sixty-two percent of respondents had good attitude towards evidence of HIV/AIDS while sixty-nine percent of participants had good attitude towards helpful facts of STIs. Twenty-three percent of study participants had been ever tested for HIV infections. Being married (AOR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.92, 10.72) was associated with having good knowledge of STI. Males were 1.6 times more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than females (AOR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.21, 9.12).ConclusionsIn this study, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of people with disabilities in relation to HIV/AIDS and other STIs were relatively low. This is clear evidence that HIV programs need to ensure that people with disabilities can access basic knowledge about HIV/AIDS and STIs