Cervical Cancer Screening Service Uptake and Associated Factors among Age Eligible Women in Mekelle Zone, Northern Ethiopia, 2015: A Community Based Study Using Health Belief Model.

INTRODUCTION:Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women worldwide, with about 500,000 new patients diagnosed and over 250,000 deaths every year. Cervical cancer screening offers protective benefits and is associated with a reduction in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer and cervical cancer mortality. But there is very low participation rate in screening for cervical cancer among low and middle-income countries. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to determine cervical cancer screening service uptake and its associated factor among age eligible women in Mekelle zone, northern Ethiopia, 2015. METHODS:A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mekelle zone among age eligible women from February to June 2015. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 1286 women in to the study. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. Data was entered and cleaned using EPINFO and analyzed using SPSS version 20 software package. Bivariate and Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess association between dependent and independent variables with 95% CI and p-value less than 0.05 was set for association. RESULTS:The study revealed that among 1186 age eligible women, only 235(19.8%) have been screened for cervical cancer. Age (AOR = 1.799, 95%CI = 1.182-2.739), history of multiple sexual partners (AOR = 1.635, 95%CI = 1.094-2.443), history of sexually transmitted disease (AOR = 1.635,95%CI = 1.094-2.443), HIV sero status (AOR = 5.614, 95%CI = 2.595-12.144), perceived susceptibility to cervical cancer (AOR = 2.225, 95%CI = 1.308-3.783), perceived barriers to premalignant cervical lesions screening (AOR = 2.256, 95%CI = 1.447-3.517) and knowledge on cervical cancer and screening (AOR = 2.355, 95%CI = 1.155-4.802) were significant predictors of cervical cancer screening service uptake. CONCLUSION:Magnitude of cervical cancer screening service uptake among age eligible women is still unacceptably low. Age of the women, history of multiple sexual partners and sexually transmitted disease, HIV sero-positivity, Knowledge, Perceived susceptibility and Perceived Barrier were important predictors of cervical cancer screening service uptake

Perforated duodenal ulcer in the third trimester of pregnancy

Perforated duodenal ulcer during pregnancy is rare. We report a case of 20-year-old woman who developed perforated duodenal ulcer in the third trimester of pregnancy. Surgical repair was performed with good outcome

Determinants of postnatal care utilization in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional study

Introduction Globally, 289,000 women die from complications related to pregnancy, childbirth, or the postnatal period every year. Two-thirds of all maternal deaths occur during the first six weeks following birth and more than two thirds of newborn deaths occur during the first week of life, These statistics underscore the importance of postnatal care, an often neglected service according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The purpose of this study was to assess the factors associated with postnatal service utilization in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Methods The study was a community-based, cross-sectional study. A multi-stage sampling method was used to select study districts randomly from the entire region. A total of 1,690 participants were selected using systematic random sampling. Participants were 18–49 years old, had given birth within the last six months, and were residents of the district for at least six months. Using SPSS version 20 means, frequencies, and percentages were calculated for the sub-group of participants who did attend postnatal care. Barriers to non-attendance of postnatal care were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Bivariate analysis was undertaken to assess the association between demographic, obstetric, and knowledge regarding PNC and attendance at antenatal care. Variables with a P value, <0.05 were included in the multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify the determinant factors of postnatal care utilization. Result Of the women surveyed, 132 (8%) obtained postnatal care. Women who did not receive postnatal care reported lack of awareness of the services (n = 1110, 73.3%). Most mothers who received postnatal care reported that they were aware of the service prior to the birth of their child (n = 101, 76.5%). Women were more likely to receive postnatal services if they lived in an urban area (odds ratio 1.96, 95% confidence interval 1.07, 3.59), had greater than a secondary education (OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.32,9.83), delivered by cesarean section (OR 2.88 95% CI 1.32,6.29), had four or more antenatal visits (OR 4.84, 95% CI 1.57,14.9), or had a planned pregnancy (OR 6.47, 95% CI 2.04,20.5). Conclusion Postnatal care service utilization is very low in Tigray region. Interventions targeted at increasing women’s awareness of the importance of postnatal services and improving accessibility, particularly in rural areas, is needed.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151790/1/Berhe et al-2019-PlosOne.pdfDescription of Berhe et al-2019-PlosOne.pdf : Main articl

Distribution of Knowledge and Perception of cervical cancer screening among Age Eligible Women Mekelle Zone, Ethiopia, June, 2015.

<p>Distribution of Knowledge and Perception of cervical cancer screening among Age Eligible Women Mekelle Zone, Ethiopia, June, 2015.</p

Reproductive Characteristics of age eligible women in Mekelle Town, northern Ethiopia, June, 2015.

<p>Reproductive Characteristics of age eligible women in Mekelle Town, northern Ethiopia, June, 2015.</p

Bivariate and Multivariate analysis of factors associated with cervical cancer screening service uptake among age eligible women in Mekelle zone, northern Ethiopia, june, 2015.

<p>Bivariate and Multivariate analysis of factors associated with cervical cancer screening service uptake among age eligible women in Mekelle zone, northern Ethiopia, june, 2015.</p

Reasons not to uptake cervical cancer screening service among age eligible women in Mekelle zone, northern Ethiopia, 2015.

<p>Reasons not to uptake cervical cancer screening service among age eligible women in Mekelle zone, northern Ethiopia, 2015.</p

Socio-demographic Characteristics of age eligible women Mekelle Zone (n = 1186) Mekelle zone, June, 2015.

<p>Socio-demographic Characteristics of age eligible women Mekelle Zone (n = 1186) Mekelle zone, June, 2015.</p

High burden of neural tube defects in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: Hospital-based study.

INTRODUCTION:Neural tube defects are the major causes of fetal loss and considerable disabilities in infants. Currently, there is no significant research on the incidence of Neural tube defects in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE:To determine the incidence and clinical pattern of the Neural Tube Defects. METHODS:A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2016 to June 2017. All pregnancy outcomes were examined for any externally visible birth defects and neurological integrity by trained midwives under the supervision of senior obstetrics and gynecology and a neurosurgeon. Data were collected using a survey tool to collect maternal and newborn demographic data and a checklist developed to capture newborns with Neural Tube Defects. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The prevalence of NTDs was calculated per 10,000 births. RESULT:Out of the 14,903 births during the study period, a total of 195 infants were born afflicted with Neural Tube Defects. The burden of infants with anencephaly and spina bifida was 66.4 and 64.4 per 10, 000 births, respectively. The overall incidence rate of NTDs in this study was 131 per 10, 000 births of which 23% were liveborn and 77% were stillborn. The highest burden of Neural Tube Defects was observed in Adigrat Hospital from Eastern Zone of Tigray (174 per 10,000 births) and Lemlem Karl Hospital from Southern Zone of Tigray (304 per 10,000 births) compared to Kahsay Abera Hospital from Western Zone (72.8 per 10,000 births) and Sihul Hospital from North Western Zone of Tigray (69.8 per 10,000 births). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION:Assuming that the non folic acid preventable rate should be 5 per 10,000 births, our prevalence rate is 131 per 10,000 births, and then we have a rate or an epidemic that is 26 times what it should be. This just emphasizes the urgency to implement effective programs to get all women of reproductive age to have adequate folic acid to prevent all of folic acid-preventable spina bifida and anencephaly, which would prevent 96% (125/130) of spina bifida and anencephaly in the Tigray Provence

Toxic effect of khat (Catha edulis) on memory: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: People use khat (Catha edulis) for its pleasant stimulant effect of physical activity, consciousness, motor, and mental functions. Although there are reports assessing the effect of khat on memory, there was no study based on formal systematic review and meta-analysis. Objective: We have therefore conducted this meta-analysis to determine the level of evidence for the effect of khat (C. edulis Forsk) on memory discrepancy. Methods: MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Academic Search Complete, SPORTDiscus, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched to retrieve the papers for this review. Keywords utilized across database search were khat, cat, chat, long-term memory, short-term memory, memory deficit, randomized control trial, and cross-sectional survey. The search was limited to studies in humans and rodents; published in English language. Result: Finding of various studies included in our meta-analysis showed that the effect of acute, and subchronic exposure to khat showed that short-term memory appears to be affected depending on the duration of exposure. However, does not have any effect on long-term memory. Conclusion: Although a number of studies regarding the current topic are limited, the evidenced showed that khat (C. edulis) induced memory discrepancy