WASTEFUL MANAGERIAL PRACTICES AND ITS EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE TO THEIR ORGANIZATION

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of wasteful managerial practices and employees' attitudes to their organization and the relationship between the two managerial issues. Data was collected from a sample of 210 employees selected randomly. Two adapted research instruments used. The main findings of this study showed that wasteful managerial practices and employees’ negative attitudes to their organization are found rampant and critical problems in an organization under study. The findings also revealed that wasteful managerial practices and employees’ attitude to their organization have an insignificant and negative association. Most males and respondents having more than 6 years of work experience have perceived the manifestation of wasteful managerial practices. The result of this study also indicated that except for female, employees having 5 and below years of services, and administrative staffs the remaining category of respondents have a negative attitude to their college. Wasteful managerial practices have also an insignificant effect or influence on employees’ attitude to their organization

Effectiveness of Bilateral Superficial Cervical Plexus Block as Part of Postoperative Analgesia for Patients Undergoing Thyroidectomy in Empress Zewditu Memorial Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introduction. The pain after thyroid surgery is considered of moderate intensity and short duration. Most trials showed significant reduction in pain intensity and severity of pain in patients for whom bilateral superficial cervical plexus block (BSCPB) was done. Objective. To assess the postoperative analgesic effect of BSCPB for thyroid surgery. Methods. Sixty six euthyroid patients were recruited and assigned to two groups (33 patients each). Group 1 BSCPB and Group 2 standard analgesia. The unpaired Student’s t-test and Mann–Whitney test were used for comparison. Statistical significance was stated at p value < 0.05. Results. The median postoperative pain score (NRS) was 3 in the BSCPB group and 5 in the control group (p=0.002). There was also statistically significant difference at 6th, 12th, and 24th hour showing a lower median pain score in the BSCPB group compared to the control group. The median time was (360 minutes) in the treatment group and (180 minutes) in the control group (p=0.0006). The median tramadol consumption within 24 hours is 0 mg in the BSCPB group compared to 100 mg in the control group (p=0.001). Conclusion and Recommendation. BSCPB done for thyroidectomy under general anesthesia decreases the postoperative pain score, total analgesia consumption, and time to first analgesia request

Prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among pregnant women receiving antenatal care at Aymiba Health Center, northwest Ethiopia

Fikir Asrie Department of Hematology and Immunohematology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia Introduction: Anemia is a global public health problem in both developing and developed countries; ~1.62 billion people suffer from anemia, and pregnant women are the most susceptible to it. The main aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated risk factors among pregnant women receiving antenatal care at Aymiba Health Center, northwest Ethiopia.Methods and materials: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Aymiba Health Center from January to March 2015. Hemoglobin level and intestinal parasitic infections in pregnant women were assessed. Sociodemographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The data were entered and analyzed using the SPSS version 20. Odds ratio, p&lt;0.05, and binary logistic regression were used to assess the association of pregnant women&rsquo;s sociodemographic characteristics with their hemoglobin levels and the prevalence of anemia.Results: The mean with &plusmn;2 standard deviation of hemoglobin value was 12&plusmn;1.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] =11.9&ndash;12.5), and the prevalence of anemia from a total of 206 study subjects was 52 (25.2%). Of this anemic group, 50 (24%) were in the second and third trimesters. Anemia was significantly associated with rural residence and intestinal parasitic infections (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =9.17, 95% CI =2.15&ndash;40, p&lt;0.001) and (AOR =55.091, 95% CI =6.88&ndash;441.19, p&lt;0.001), respectively.Conclusion: In the present study, the prevalence of anemia was lower than in previous studies conducted in various countries, including Ethiopia. More studies are needed regarding the importance of regular maternal care and health education promotion programs, which have the potential to play a more significant role in health care. Keywords: hemoglobin, pregnancy, antenatal care, Aymiba, Ethiopi

Determinants of severity levels of anemia among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopia: further analysis of the 2011 Ethiopian demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND: Childhood anemia is the major public health problem in Ethiopia. It has been implicated with growth retardation, impaired motor and cognitive development, and childhood morbidity and mortality. Thus this study aimed to identify determinants of severity levels of anemia in children aged 6 to 59 months in Ethiopia. METHOD: The study was further analysis of the 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. A total of 7636 children aged 6 to 59 months with complete information on the selected predictors were included in the analysis. Proportional odds model of ordinal logistic regression was used to identify determinant factors. Chi-square test of parallelism was used to evaluate the appropriateness of proportional odds assumption. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: The Chi-square test of parallelism showed that the odds ratios were constant across all cut-off points of childhood anemia status at 5 % level (p-value = 0.071). Of the total children sampled, 28.6 and 21.7 % of them were severely/moderately and mildly anemic, respectively. Wasting, Stunting, religion, and age of the child, current employment status of the mother, educational status of the partner, number of under-5 children in the household, source of drinking water and mother’s anemia status were found to be statistically significant determinants of severity levels of childhood anemia. CONCLUSIONS: The likelihoods of being severely/moderately anemic as compared to being mildly/non-anemic, and being severely/moderately/mildly anemic as compared to being non-anemic were similar for a given variable keeping all others. Long term and short term nutritional status of young aged children, access to health and nutritional education, and access to safe drinking water should be improved by the concerned body

Self-medication practice in Ethiopia: a systematic review

Mohammed Biset Ayalew Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia Background: Self-medication patterns vary among different populations, and are influenced by many factors. No review has been done that comprehensively expresses self-medication practice in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the literature on self-medication practice in Ethiopia.Materials and methods: Databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Hinari) were searched for published studies on the practice of self-medication in Ethiopia without restriction in the year of publication or methodology. Some studies were also identified through manual Google search. Primary search terms were &ldquo;self medication&rdquo;, &ldquo;Ethiopia&rdquo;, &ldquo;self care&rdquo;, &ldquo;non-prescription&rdquo;, &ldquo;OTC drug use&rdquo;, &ldquo;drug utilization&rdquo;, and &ldquo;drug hoarding&rdquo;. Studies that measured knowledge only or attitude only or beliefs only and did not determine the practice of self-medication were excluded.Results: The database search produced a total of 450 papers. After adjustment for duplicates and inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles were found suitable for the review. All studies were cross-sectional in nature. The prevalence of self-medication varied from 12.8% to 77.1%, with an average of 36.8%. Fever/headache, gastrointestinal tract diseases, and respiratory diseases were the commonest illnesses/symptoms for which self-medication was taken. The major reasons for practicing self-medication were previous experience of treating a similar illness and feeling that the illness was mild. Analgesics/antipyretics, antimicrobials, gastrointestinal drugs, and respiratory drugs were the common drug classes used in self-medication. Mainly, these drugs were obtained from drug-retail outlets. The use of self-medication was commonly suggested by pharmacy professionals and friends/relatives.Conclusion: Self-medication practice is prevalent in Ethiopia and varies in different populations and regions of the country. Some of the self-medication practices are harmful and need prompt action. Special attention should be given to educating the public and health care providers on the types of illnesses that can be self-diagnosed and self-treated and the types of drugs to be used for self-medication. Keywords: self-medication, self-care, OTC drug, Ethiopi

Evaluation of Thermophysical Properties of Functionalized Imidazolium Thiocyanate Based Ionic Liquids

New cyano-based ionic liquids with thiocyanate anion and nitrile, ally, benzyl, and hydroxyl functionalized imidazolium cations were prepared, and some of their important thermophysical properties were measured. Properties such as density, viscosity, and refractive index were measured over various temperature ranges. From the experimental density values, the molecular volume, standard molar entropy, lattice energy, and thermal expansion coefficient of the ionic liquids were calculated. The thermal stabilities of the ionic liquids were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. The effects of functionalized imidazolium side chains on the thermophysical properties of the ionic liquids were investigated. Density functional theory calculations were performed to study the effect of the structural variation of the imidazolium cation on properties of the ionic liquids