Introduction Even though people of the world were eagerly waiting for the hope of vaccine development, vaccine hesitancy is becoming the top concern in both developed and developing countries. However, there is no adequate evidence regarding the attitude and perception of health professionals towards the COVID 19 vaccine in resource-limited settings like Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess health professionals’ attitudes and perceptions towards COVID 19 vaccine in Western Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among health care workers found in Nekemte town from April 14–21, 2021. A total of 439 health professionals present on duty during the study period was included in the study. The data were collected by using self-administered questionnaire. Epidata version 3.2 was used for data entry, and STATA version 14 was used for data analysis. The binary logistic regression model was employed to determine factors associated with the attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals was computed and statistical significance was declared at a 5% level (p-value < 0.05). Result A total of 431 health professionals participated in the study yielding a response rate of 98.1%. The results indicated that 51.28% (95%CI: 45.12%, 57.34%) of health professionals had a favorable attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination. Having good knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine (AOR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.22, 0.64, P-value <0.001) was negatively associated with unfavorable attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine, whereas age less than 30 years (AOR = 2.14, 95%CI:1.25,3.67, P-value <0.001), working in a private clinic (AOR = 7.77, 95% CI: 2.19, 27.58, P-value <0.001) and health center (AOR = 2.45, 95%CI: 1.01, 5.92, P-value = 0.045) were positively associated with unfavorable attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion and recommendation In general, the attitude and perception of health care professionals toward the COVID-19 vaccine in the study area were unsatisfactory. Knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine, age of health care workers, and place of work are the factors which affects attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine. Thus, we recommend the media outlets and concerned bodies to work to develop trust among the public by disseminating accurate and consistent information about the vaccine.

Background The neonatal period is the most vulnerable time for survival in which children face the highest risk of dying in their lives. Neonatal mortality (NM) remains a global public concern, especially in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Although, better progress has been made in reducing NM before 2016, Ethiopia is currently one of the top ten countries affected by NM. Studies are limited to secondary data extraction in Ethiopia which focus only on survival status during admission, and no study has been conducted in the study area in particular. Objective To assess the survival status and predictors of neonatal mortality among neonates admitted to the NICU of WURH and Nekemte Specialized Hospital, Western Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based prospective cohort study was conducted among a cohort of 412 neonates admitted to the NICU of WURH and Nekemte Specialized Hospital from September 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020. All neonates consecutively admitted to the NICU of the two hospitals during the study period were included in the study. Data entry was performed using Epidata version 3.0 and the analysis was performed using STATA version 14. A Kaplan Meier survival curve was constructed to estimate the cumulative survival probability. A cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify the predictors of NM. Hazard Ratios with 95% CI were computed and all the predictors associated with the outcome variable at p-value ≤ 0.05 in the multivariable cox proportional hazards analysis were declared as a significant predictor of NM. Results A total of 412 neonates were followed for a median of 27 days with an IQR of 22–28 days. During the follow-up period, a total of 9249 person day observations (PDO) were detected. At the end of follow-up, 15.3% of neonates died with an overall incidence rate of death 6.81/1000 PDO. The median time to death was 10 days, and the highest incidence rate of death was observed during the first week of the neonatal period. The study found that rural residence (AHR = 2.04, 95%CI: 1.14, 3.66), lack of ANC visits (AHR = 7.77, 95%CI: 3.99, 15.11), neonatal hypothermia (AHR = 3.04, 95%CI: 1.36, 6.80), and delayed initiation of breastfeeding (AHR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.12, 4.56) as independent predictors of NM. However, a decreased number of pregnancies decrease the risk of NM. Conclusions and recommendations The incidence rate of neonatal death was high particularly in the first week of life in the study area. The study found that lack of ANC visit, neonatal hypothermia, increased number of pregnancies, rural residence, and delayed initiation of breastfeeding positively predicted NM. Therefore, there is a need to encourage programs that enhance ANC visits for pregnant mothers and community-based neonatal survival strategies, particularly for countryside mothers.

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Introduction Currently, COVID-19 contributes to mortality and morbidity in developed as well as in developing countries since December 2019. However, there is scarcity of evidence regarding the incidence and predictors of death among patients admitted with COVID-19 in developing country including Ethiopia, where the numbers of deaths are under-reported. Hence, this study aimed to assess the incidence and predictors of death among patients admitted with COVID-19 in Wollega University Referral Hospital (WURH), western Ethiopia. Methods An institution based retrospective cohort study design was conducted among 318 patients admitted with COVID-19 in WURH treatment center. Patients who were tested positive for COVID-19 by using rRT-PCR test and admitted with the diagnosis of severe COVID-19 cases from September 30, 2020 to June 10, 2021 were a source population. Epidata version 3.2 was used for data entry, and STATA version 14 for analysis. A Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with mortality from COVID-19. Multivariable Cox regression model with 95% CI and Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) was used to identify a significant predictor of mortality from COVID-19 at p-value < 0.05. Results A total of 318 patients were included in final analysis with mean age of 44 (SD±16.7) years and about two third (67.9%) were males. More than half (55.7%) of patients had no comorbidity on admission. The majority, 259 (81.45%) of patients recovered from COVID-19 and 267 (84%) of patients were censored at the end of follow up. The incidence rate of mortality was 14.1 per/1000 (95%CI: 10.7, 18.5) person days observation. Age ≥ 59 years (AHR: 5.76, 95%CI: 2.58, 12.84), low oxygen saturation (AHR: 2.34, 95% CI: (2.34, 4.17), and delayed presentation (AHR: 5.60, 95%CI: 2.97, 10.56) were independent predictors of mortality among COVID-19 patients. Conclusion The mortality rate of COVID-19 pandemic was high in the study area, and most of death was happened during the first 10 days. Being old age, low oxygen saturation and delayed presentation were factors which predict mortality due to COVID-19. Hence, strengthening the health care delivery system to satisfy the need of the patients should get due attention to reduce the incidence of mortality from COVID-19 cases.

Objectives: This study assesses the pattern of semen analysis results in male partners of infertile couples at Gimbie Adventist Hospital, Western Ethiopia, 2021. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study on 131 semen samples of male partners of infertile couples was conducted at Gimbie Adventist Hospital from 5 September 2021 to 5 October 2021. All semen samples were processed and analyzed according to methods and standards outlined by the World Health Organization laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen 2010. The data were coded and entered into EpiData version 3.1, and then cleaned and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS for Windows version 25) for analysis. The results were presented in tables, figures, and charts. Results: The age of study participants ranges from 20 to 65 years with a mean age of 30.2 ± 8.1 years. Sperm cell count, morphology, total motility, and vitality below the World Health Organization reference level were found in 48.9%, 27.5%, 43.5%, and 67.2% of the analyzed samples, respectively. Low power of hydrogen and high viscosity were observed in 31.3% and 16.8% of the semen samples, respectively. The majority, 84%, had one or more abnormal semen analysis parameters. Asthenozoospermia (43.5%), necrozoospermia (25.2%), oligozoospermia (24%), azoospermia (24%), and oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (25.2%) were the severe forms of abnormal semen analysis findings detected in this study. The decline in sperm cell morphology and motility were noticed after the age of 31–34 years. Conclusion: In this study, both sperm quantity and quality were more affected when compared to similar studies. Only 16% of analyzed samples had normal semen parameters. Given this finding, identifying risk factors and introducing advanced diagnostic modalities for the workup of male infertility in the study area are highly recommended.