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Background: Household water treatment and handling is an important component of a global strategy to provide safe water to millions of people who live without adequate water currently. Household water treatment at the point of use also helps to improve drinking water quality for millions who suffer due to contamination of their drinking water. This study aims to assess household-level water treatment practices and associated factors in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among selected households using a systematical random sampling technique in Bule town. Data was collected using a pretested, structured questionnaire and analyzed using STATA version 16. A variable with a P-value ⩽ .25 in bi-variable regression was entered into multivariable regression and then a variable with a P-value ⩽ .05 was taken as statistically significant. Results: The study found that only 29.9% (with a 95% CI: 25.3-34.6) of households have good water treatment practices for drinking purposes. Regarding predictors of household-level water treatment practices, respondents who had good knowledge were 5 times (AOR = 6.98, 95% CI = 4.01-11.9) more likely to practice household-level water treatment than their counterparts. In addition, respondents who earn more than 3000 ETB per month are twofold more likely to practice household water treatment than those with an average monthly income of less than 1000 ETB (AOR = 2.37, 95% CI = 1.22-4.60). Conclusions: Household-level water treatment was less common in Bule town. The household’s monthly income and their knowledge status were found to be the determinants of household-level water treatment practices in the study area.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of alcohol use disorder and associated factors among residents of Dilla town, Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2021. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 666 randomly selected participants. Interview-assisted structured questionnaire was used to collect data, and alcohol use disorder identification test was employed to measure alcohol use disorder. The data were entered in to Epi info version 7 and exported in to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Both bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis were used to identify significant factors related with alcohol use disorder. In the multivariate model, variables with p value < 0.05 were considered as a statistical significant factor for the outcome variable. Finally, adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was computed to assess the strength of association. Results: The magnitude of alcohol used disorder during the past year was 30.6% (95% confidence interval: 25.5%–35.7%). Being male (adjusted odds ratio = 8.33, 95% confidence interval: (4.34, 15.98)), age of less than 33 years old (adjusted odds ratio = 1.78, 95% confidence interval: (1.06, 3.00)), current cigarette smoking (adjusted odds ratio = 2.49, 95% confidence interval: (1.42, 4.37)), current khat chewing (adjusted odds ratio = 6.23, 95% confidence interval: (3.8, 9.92)), high level of psychological distress (adjusted odds ratio = 7.69, 95% confidence interval: (4.16, 14.28)) and poor social support (adjusted odds ratio = 2.30, 95% confidence interval: (1.27, 4.18)) were significantly associated with alcohol use disorder. Conclusion: A large percentage of respondents in our sample had an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use problems were linked to being men, under the age of 33 years old, current khat chewing, current cigarette smoking, a high level of psychological distress, and poor of social support. As a result, early screening, public health intervention programs and establishing appropriate referral linkages with mental health facilities are recommended.

BackgroundData on the magnitude of road traffic accidents (RTAs) were mostly obtained through police records and hospital registration data. However, insufficient data reporting masked the gravity of the problem, and little attention was paid to the magnitude and correlation of road traffic accidents from the driver's perspective. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of RTA and related factors among drivers.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study involving 316 drivers was conducted in Southern Ethiopia. The participants were chosen using a systematic random sample technique, and the data were obtained using an interview-administered structured questionnaire. To analyze the data, SPSS software (version 20) was employed. In addition to descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression analysis was also employed to find factors connected to traffic accidents. RTA factors were considered statistically significant if they had a P-value of 0.05 or below in the multivariate analysis.ResultThe RTA among drivers was 126 (39.9%) (95% confidence interval (CI): 34.2–45.6%) in the previous year. The following factors were associated with RTA: vehicle maintenance (AOR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.96), media utilization (AOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.65), participation in driving-related training (AOR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.91), punishment for prior traffic violations (AOR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.83), and risky driving behavior (AOR = 7.89, 95% CI: 3.22, 12.38).ConclusionTwo-fifths of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Risky driving behaviors, vehicle maintenance, media usage, attending driving-related training in the previous 2 years, and prior experience with traffic police punishment or warning were all strongly linked to road traffic accidents. In light of these statistics, the Federal Ministry of Transport of Ethiopia and other stakeholders should support making it mandatory for drivers to check their vehicles' safety, provide them with safety training, raise awareness about vehicle maintenance and risky driving behaviors, and enforce strict penalties for traffic violations.

Background. Community-based health insurance (CBHI) scheme is an emerging strategy to achieve universal health coverage and protect communities in developing countries from catastrophic financial expenditure at the service delivery point. However, high membership discontinuation from the CBHI scheme remained the challenge to progress toward universal financial protection in resource-constrained countries. Therefore, this study assessed the community-based health insurance membership renewal rate and associated factors in the Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods. We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study among households in the Yirga Chafe district, Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia, from September 10 to 30, 2021. We used a multistage simple random sampling to recruit 537 respondents. We entered data into Epi-Info 7 and exported it to SPSS version 25 for analysis. We used a logistic regression model to determine factors associated with the CBHI scheme membership renewal. Variables with a P value of <0.05 and a 95% confidence level were considered to be significantly associated with the outcome variable. Results. We found the respondents’ CBHI membership renewal rate was 82.68%. Those who enrolled in the CBHI scheme >3years ( AOR = 3.12 ; 95% CI: 1.40–6.97), having illnesses in the last three months ( AOR = 2.97 ; 95% CI: 1.47–5.99), the CBHI premium affordability ( AOR = 12.64 ; 95% CI: 3.25–49.38), good knowledge of the CBHI scheme ( AOR = 21.11 ; 95% CI: 10.63–41.93), perceived quality of health service ( AOR = 4.21 ; 95% CI: 1.52–11.68), and favorable attitude towards the CBHI scheme ( AOR = 3.89 , 95% CI: 1.67–9.04) were significantly associated with the CBHI program membership renewal rate. Conclusion. In our study, we found the magnitude of CBHI members who discontinued their CBHI scheme membership was high. Besides, we found that the affordability of the CBHI premium, respondents’ attitude, and knowledge of the CBHI program were predictor factors for dropout from the CBHI membership. Therefore, the government should consider the economic status of communities during setting the CBHI program contribution. Moreover, awareness creation through health education should be provided to improve participants’ knowledge and perception of the CBHI program.

Background Food insecurity refers to a lack of consistent access to sufficient food for active, better health. Around two billion people worldwide suffer from food insecurity and hidden hunger. Food insecurity and associated factors among pregnant women in Gedeo Zone Public Hospitals, Southern Ethiopia, are the focus of this study. Method From May to June 2021 G.C. institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women in Gedeo zone public hospitals. A sample of 506 women has been used, and a multistage cluster sampling technique was used. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to determine the association between various factors and outcomes. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant in multivariable regression. Results Food insecurity was found to be prevalent in 67.4% of pregnant mothers. The results of a multivariable logistic regression revealed that pregnant women from rural areas [AOR=0.532, 95% CI: 0.285, 0.994], married [AOR=0.232, 95% CI: 0.072, 0.750], have a secondary education [AOR=0.356, 95%CI: 0.154, 0.822], and be employed [AOR=0.453, 95% CI: 0.236, 0.872], income between 1000 and 2000 [AOR=0.163, 95% CI: 0.066, 0.399], and income greater than 2000 [AOR=0.125, 95% CI: 0.053,0.293], the wealth index middle and rich [AOR=0.441, 95% CI: 0.246, 0.793] were significant predictors of food insecurity among pregnant mothers [AOR=0.24, 95% CI: 0.128, 0.449]. Conclusion The study area had a high prevalence of food insecurity. Food insecurity was reduced in those who lived in rural areas, were married, had a secondary education, earned between 1000 and 2000 ETB and more than 2000 ETB, and had a wealth index of middle and rich.

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IntroductionA “risky sexual practice” is any sexual act that might put an individual’s social, physical, and psychological health at risk and increase the likelihood of adverse sexual and reproductive health consequences. Street children have risky sexual practices, which place them at all kinds of health risks. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess risky sexual practices and associated factors among street children in Wonago Town, southern Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study design was employed. About 214 street children, aged 10–18, residing in Wonago Town from September 1–30, 2021, participated in the study. Data was gathered from all of the street children in Wonago town. A pre-tested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Epi data software was used to enter the collected data, which was then exported to SPSS for analysis. A logistic regression model was applied to identify the associated factors. A p value &lt;0.05 was used to declare the significant variables.ResultsA total of 214 street children were involved in the study. Overall, the magnitude of risky sexual practices was 43.46 percent (95% CI: 38.3–48.62). About 52.7% of participants had ever had sexual intercourse in the last year, and of them, around 43.5% had more than one sexual partner. Among sexually active street children, 40.9% never used a condom during sexual intercourse. Age (Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR): 1.42, 95%CI: 1.03–2.37), educational status (AOR: 5.73, 95%CI: 1.49–10.51), substance use (AOR: 1.24, 95%CI: 1.03–2.07), duration on the street (AOR: 2.14, 95%CI: 1.03–4.12), and daily income (AOR: 0.68, 95%CI: 0.32–0.98) were found to be significantly associated with risky sexual practices.ConclusionRisky sexual practices among street children were more prevalent in Wonago Town, Southern Ethiopia. Children’s age, educational status, daily income, duration on the street, and status of substance use were the factors that contributed to risky sexual practices. As a result, conducting information and education campaigns, developing income-generating activities for children, increasing children’s school enrollment and attendance, improving access to sexual and reproductive health services, and providing capacity-building training for health care providers may all help to reduce risky sexual practices.