Impact of COVID-19 on HIV services and anticipated benefits of vaccination in restoring HIV services in Ethiopia: A qualitative assessment

BackgroundHIV services were inevitably disrupted and affected due to COVID-19. There are many challenges in implementing appropriate HIV services, particularly in the provision of health care and the link between people living with HIV/AIDS and retention in care. The study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on HIV services and the anticipated benefit of the COVID-19 vaccination on HIV service restoration in North Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia.MethodsA qualitative descriptive study approach was used to explore how healthcare delivery evolved during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Sixteen antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics were selected from 13 districts and one administrative town in Ethiopia. From them, 32 ART providers were purposively selected based on their experience in ART provision. Data were collected from June to July 2021 using in-depth interviews. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data, based on themes and subthemes emerging from the data. ATLAS.ti software was used for coding.ResultsHealthcare for people living with HIV was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical appointments, HIV testing and counseling services, opportunistic infection treatment, medicine supply, and routine viral load and CD4 T-cell count tests were interrupted. Due to a shortage of healthcare staff, outreach testing services and home index testing were discontinued and HIV testing was limited only to hospitals and health centers. This has substantially affected accessibility to HIV testing and reduced the quality of HIV service delivery. Telehealth and less frequent visits to health facilities were used as alternative ways of delivering HIV services. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign is expected to restore healthcare services. Vaccination may also increase the confidence of healthcare providers by changing their attitudes toward COVID-19.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has substantially impacted HIV services and reduced the quality of HIV care in Ethiopia. Health facilities could not provide routine HIV services as they prioritize the fight against COVID-19, leading to an increase in service discontinuation and poor adherence.</jats:sec

Safe menstrual hygiene management practice and associated factors among female adolescent students at high schools in central Ethiopia: A mixed–method study

BackgroundMenstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) is a much-neglected issue in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Menstruating women and girls are forced into isolation, prevented from movement, dietary restrictions, and can be prevented from participating in daily routine activities. Furthermore, the way almost all previous studies conducted in Ethiopia measured the practice of MHM did not meet standard definition of safe MHM. This study aimed to assess safe management of menstrual hygiene practice and associated factors among female adolescent students in public high schools in central Ethiopia.MethodsA mixed-methods approach was employed in this study. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 846 study participants. The collected data were entered through EPI INFO version 7 and exported to SPSS version 23 for cleaning and analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the association between MHM and independent variables. Finally, AOR, 95% CI, and p-value &lt; 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The qualitative data was analyzed by ATLAS.ti in order to extract the main themes and categories. Direct quotations were presented with a thick description of the findings.ResultsThe safe management of menstrual hygiene was 28.20%. Living with parents (AOR = 2.51, 95% CI:1.11–5.68), living with relatives (AOR = 7.41, 95% CI:2.55–21.54), having a merchant mother (AOR = 1.81, 95% CI:1.14–2.9), having a mother who has private work (AOR = 4.56, 95% CI:1.31–5.90), having a farmer father (AOR = 1.53, 95% CI:1.1–2.31), rural resident (AOR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.17–2.21) and realizing the absence of container for storing sanitary napkins in the toilet of the school latrine (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.1–0.94) were factors associated with MHM. Findings from a qualitative study were discussed under four themes to explore barriers to menstrual hygiene management, and three themes emerged as enablers to menstrual hygiene management.ConclusionsThe safe management of menstrual hygiene was low among adolescent girls. People with whom adolescent girls live, the occupational status of mother and father, residence, the availability of a container to dispose of sanitary napkins in school toilets were factors associated with menstrual hygiene management. Behavioral change communications must be provided to female students about menstrual hygiene

Exploring enablers and barriers to breast self-examination among women in the North Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia: a qualitative study

Abstract Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and the second most common cancer overall. Breast self-examination (BSE) is one of the cheapest methods used for the early detection of BC in asymptomatic women. More than 90% of cases of BC can be detected by women themselves. This reality stresses the importance of BSE as the key BC detection mechanism. However, in Ethiopia, most of the BE studies were not conducted among women in the general population. Therefore, this study aimed to explore enablers and barriers to breast self-examination among women in the North Shewa Zone, Oromia. A descriptive qualitative study design was conducted from August 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022. Five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 46 women from one selected district in the North Shewa Zone, Oromia. A Purposive sampling technique was used to select participants for FGD. The audio-recorded data were transcribed verbatim to “Afan Oromo”. Transcribed data were translated into English. The data were manually coded into themes and analyzed manually by using inductive thematic analysis. The findings of the study were discussed under five themes of enablers and three themes of barriers. The five themes of enablers were knowledge about BC, knowledge about BSE, experience of BSE practice, perceived susceptibility, and perceived benefit of BSE practice. The four themes of barriers were low knowledge of BSE practice, misconceptions about BSE practice, and fear of detecting BC. These findings suggest that targeted health education programs, collaboration between healthcare providers and local stakeholders, and the availability of support services can play a crucial role in overcoming barriers and encouraging BSE practice for early detection of breast abnormalities

The practice of early mother-newborn skin-to-skin contact after delivery of healthy term neonate and associated factors among health care professionals at health facilities of Southwestern Oromia, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.

IntroductionSkin-to-skin contact between a mother and her new-born baby after birth is beneficial for both the mother and her baby. Although mother-newborn skin-to-skin contact after birth is an essential practice, it is limited to a small proportion of premature babies in low-income countries including Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the practice of early mother-new-born skin-to-skin contact after the delivery of healthy term neonates and associated factors among health care professionals in Southwestern Oromia, Ethiopia.MethodsAn institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the practice of 286 health care practitioners towards early mother-new-born skin-to-skin contact after delivery. Data was collected using a pre-tested observational checklist and a self-administered questionnaire from March to April 2017. Epi Info 3.5 was used for data entry, while SPSS version 20 was used for cleaning and analyzing the data. To determine the association between outcome variable and independent variables, bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were used with a 95% confidence interval and P ResultsOnly 128 (44.8%) of the study participants practiced mother-newborn skin-to-skin contact within the first hour of life after birth. Mother newborn skin-to-skin contact after birth was found to be significantly associated with health professional's knowledge (AOR = 4, 95% CI = 1.7, 10), training (AOR = 7, 95% CI = 2.2, 21), complicated delivery (AOR = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.4), and maternal chronic illness (AOR = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.03, 0.6).ConclusionIn general, the practice of health care providers on mother-newborn skin-to-skin contact in the first one hour after birth was low. Knowledge, training, childbirth related maternal complication, and maternal chronic illness were significant factors associated with the practice of mother-newborn skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. Policies should be revised and enforced, with monitoring and awareness building through training among health care workers, to improve the practice of skin-to-skin contact between mothers and newborns shortly after birth

Questionaire—English version.

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Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression for factors associated with practice of skin-to-skin contact, in health care providers giving newborn care observation in Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle Zones health facilities, Oromia, Ethiopia 2017.

Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression for factors associated with practice of skin-to-skin contact, in health care providers giving newborn care observation in Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle Zones health facilities, Oromia, Ethiopia 2017.</p

Questionaire—Local language version (Afaan Oromoo).

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Reasons for not practicing mother-new born skin-to-skin contact of health care providers giving new born care during observation in Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle zones health facilities, Oromia, Ethiopia 2017.

Reasons for not practicing mother-new born skin-to-skin contact of health care providers giving new born care during observation in Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle zones health facilities, Oromia, Ethiopia 2017.</p

Socio-demographic characteristics of health care professionals providing newborn care during observation in labor and delivery wards of health institutions in the Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle Zones, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2017.

Socio-demographic characteristics of health care professionals providing newborn care during observation in labor and delivery wards of health institutions in the Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle Zones, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2017.</p

Knowledge of health care providers on mother-newborn skin-to-skin contact of Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle Zones health facilities, Oromia, Ethiopia 2017.

Knowledge of health care providers on mother-newborn skin-to-skin contact of Ilu Abba Bor and Bunno Beddelle Zones health facilities, Oromia, Ethiopia 2017.</p