Background Depression among tuberculosis patients, especially in settings with low economic status is common. Screening for depression in all levels of health facilities can identify patients who need support and treatment for depression. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of depression among tuberculosis patients in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 tuberculosis patients attending in eleven tuberculosis treatment centers in eastern Ethiopia from February to July 2017. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Data was collected consecutively until the required sample size was obtained. Tuberclusis  patients who were under anti tuberculosis treatments for more than one month were included. Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied to identify independent factors for dependent variable depression and P -values < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results A total of 403 tuberculosis patients were included in the study. The prevalence of depression among tuberculosis patients was 51.9% (95%CI = 42.7, 62.2%) with 34.2% were mild cases. In our logistic regression analysis, odds of developing depression among tuberculosis patients with age less than 25 years were 0.5(50% protective effect) [AOR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.26–0.99] where as patients with a monthly income within the 25 th percentile were four times higher odds to have depression [AOR = 3.98, 95% CI: 2.15–7.39]. Conclusion The prevalence of depression was high in this study. Age, low monthly income, the category of patients as “new tuberculosis treatment” and the first 3 months of treatment was associated with depression among tuberculosis patients. Health facilities should integrating mental health services with tuberculosis clinics, especially assessing and treating TB patients for depression, is vital.

IntroductionImmunization is a cost effective interventions of vaccine preventable disease. There is still, 2.5 million children die by vaccine preventable disease every year in developing countries. In Ethiopia, default to fully completion of child immunization is high and determinants of default to completions are not explored well in the study setting. The aim of the study was to identify determinants of default to fully completion of immunization among children between ages 12 to 23 months in Sodo Zurea District, Southern Ethiopia.MethodsCommunity based unmatched case-control study was conducted. Census was done to identify cases and controls before the actual data collection. A total of 344 samples (172 cases and 172 controls) were selected by simple random sampling technique. Cases were children in the age group of 12 to 23 months old who missed at least one dose from the recommended schedule. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression was used to identify the determinant factors. Odds ratio, 95%CI and p - value less than 0.05 was used to measure the presence and strength of the association.ResultsMothers of infants who are unable to read and write (AOR=8.9; 95%CI: 2.4, 33.9) and attended primary school (AOR=4.1; 95% CI:1.4-15.8), mothers who had no postnatal care follow up (AOR=0.4; 95%CI: 0.3, 0.7), good maternal knowledge towards immunization (AOR= 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3, 0.8) and maternal favorable perception towards uses of health institution for maternal and child care (AOR= 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.6) were significant determinant factors to default to fully completion of immunization.ConclusionWorking on maternal education, postnatal care follow up, promoting maternal knowledge and perception about child immunization are recommended measures to mitigate defaults to complete immunization.

Background. Although nutritional problems are among the Ethiopian government’s priorities, the progress of nutritional indicators in the pastoral/agro-pastoral community is below the national figure. This could be because of poor food choice decisions, which remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the drivers of food choice among the pastoral/agro-pastoral community of Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia. Materials and Methods. A qualitative study was conducted among 16 Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) and six Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) from May 7 to 27, 2018. Participants were selected purposefully. Native speakers of Somali language, who had previous qualitative data collection experience, collected the data. The overall collected data were cleaned, coded, sorted, categorized, and analyzed line-by-line. Content analysis was used to drive the key themes and sub-themes. Results. The study found that the commonest food item usually consumed by the community was porridge (“Shurow”), which is made from wheat or corn flour. The porridge is sometimes mixed with milk or butter. Besides, they consume boiled bean, wheat or sorghum (“Garaw”) that is mixed with oil or sugar. However, the consumption of fruits and vegetables was rare and seasonal. These all indicate that their feeding habit was monotonous with poor food choice decisions. The reported driving factors of food choice included drought, income, cost, availability and quality of foods, market access, familiarity with new foods, knowledge of nutritious foods, and health status of individuals. Conclusions. The food choice of the community was poor in the study area. Therefore, the health and agricultural sectors should work together to improve the feeding habits of this community by improving their knowledge and the availability of nutritious foods.

Ethiopia is affected by recurrent drought and food-insecurity crises, including El Niño. El Niño started in mid-2014, worsened in 2015, and continued in 2016, leading to a widespread food-insecurity emergency resulting in a surge in the rate of acute malnutrition in infants due to suboptimal feeding practices. This study explored how El Niño influenced complementary feeding practices in the eastern Ethiopia community from March to September 2016. It was an exploratory qualitative study with a basic interpretative qualitative approach. A general inductive approach was used for the analysis. The study involved 11 focus group discussions (FGD) with a total of 76 people, including three with mothers, three with Health Development Army (HDA) leaders, two with fathers, two with traditional birth attendants, and one with religious leaders. El Niño resulted in failed crops and loss of livestock, resulting in reduced dietary diversity and meal frequency. El Niño resulted in suboptimal complementary feeding practices by reducing food access and altering livelihood and coping strategies, reducing the time mothers allocated to child feeding, keeping them away from home, and stressing community health services. The maternal suboptimal time allocation is central to the poor complementary feeding practices. Thus, the women should be supported with climate-resilient livelihood options in their villages, allowing them to feed their children and attend education sessions with HDA leaders.

BackgroundChildren are more vulnerable to developing active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection which causes significant morbidity and mortality. However, the contribution of childhood tuberculosis and its treatment outcomes have not been well documented, and no research has been conducted in eastern Ethiopia.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the treatment outcome and its predictors of pediatric tuberculosis in eastern Ethiopia from September 1, 2017 to January 30, 2018.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted in eight selected hospitals in eastern Ethiopia. Data on 2002 children with tuberculosis was extracted by using the standard checklist of the national tuberculosis treatment format. Treatment outcomes were determined according to the standard definitions of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme. Data were entered into Epi Data software version 3.1 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable regression analyses were carried out to examine the associations between dependent and independent variables. A P-value of &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultThe overall successful treatment rate was 1,774 (88.6%) [95% confidence interval (CI): (80.59–97.40)]. A total of 125 (6.2%), 1,648 (82.3%), 59 (2.9%), and 19 (0.9%) children with tuberculosis (TB) were cured, completed, defaulted, and died, respectively. A high number of defaulters and deaths were reported in the age group &lt;10 years. More children with smear-positive pulmonary TB (74.4%) were cured, while smear-negative tuberculosis had higher treatment completion rates. Being male in sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.96) and those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive sero status (AOR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.29, 0.90) had a lower chance of a successful treatment outcome.ConclusionIn this study, thee treatment success rate was higher than the recent World Health Organization report. Those males and HIV seropositive status were less likely to have a successful treatment outcome. Therefore, efforts should be made by each health institution in eastern Ethiopia by giving emphasis on male and HIV-positive individuals.