BackgroundEarly initiation of breastfeeding has lifetime benefits for the mother and the child. It has a positive impact on the duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Hence, the initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life lays the foundation for optimal breastfeeding. This study aimed to assess early and timely initiation of breastfeeding practices and associated factors among mothers of children aged less than 24 months in Amibara district of Northeast Ethiopia during April 2015.MethodsA quantitative community based cross-sectional study was employed on 407 mothers of children aged less than 24 months in Amibara district. Descriptive statistics, binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis were employed to identify the factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding. The strength of the association was measured by odds ratio, and p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThree hundred eighty one (94.5 %) of the respondents had ever breastfed their index child. Of those who had ever breastfed, 151, 39.6 % (95 % Confidence Interval [CI] 35.0 %, 45.0 %) of mothers initiated breastfeeding within 1 h after birth. In multivariable logistic regression analysis mothers living in urban areas (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 3.8; 95 % CI 2.32, 6.06) and who attended formal education (AOR 2.0; 95 % CI 1.21, 3.46) were associated with increased odds of early initiation of breastfeeding. The factors associated with decreased odds of timely initiation of breastfeeding were caesarean section delivery (AOR 0.46; 95 % CI 0.22, 0.97) and mothers with two or three children (AOR 0.59; 95 % CI 0.35, 0.99).ConclusionThis study showed that four in ten infants were breastfed within the first hour after birth. Therefore, providing proper support and guidance of health professionals during cesarean section delivery and breastfeeding education programs at the village level for girls and young women without formal education are important interventions to promote early initiation of breastfeeding in the study area.

BackgroundWe study healthcare employees’ turnover intentions in the Afar National Regional State of Ethiopia. This rural region is experiencing the globally felt crisis in human resources, which is inhibiting its ability to meet health-related sustainable development goals.MethodsRealist case study which combines literature study and qualitative analysis of interview and focus group discussion data, following a realist case study protocol.ResultsA large majority of employees has turnover intentions. Building on Herzberg’s two-factor theory, person-environment fit theory, as well as recent sub-Saharan evidence, analysis of the collected data yields four turnover mechanisms: (1) lack of social and personal opportunities in the region, (2) dissonance between management logic and professional logic, (3) standards of service operations are hard to accept, and (4) lack of financial improvement opportunities.ConclusionsWhile the first and fourth mechanisms may be out of reach for local (human resource) management interventions, the second and third mechanisms proposed to explain health workforce turnover appear to be amenable to local (human resource) management interventions to strengthen healthcare. These mechanisms are likely to play a role in other remote sub-Saharan regions as well.

Objective Even though life-threatening complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) minimize through self-care practice, extensive studies in northeast Ethiopia have been scarce about self-care practice and predictors. This study aimed to assess diabetes self-care predictors among patients with T2DM patients at Dubti and Assaita hospitals in northeastern Ethiopia. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 patients with T2DM who followed-up in northeastern Ethiopia’s Dubti and Assaita hospitals. Data were analyzed using SPSS version-22.0 after the data were entered, sorted and cleaned. Multiple stepwise backward logistic regression analysis was done for a P value of <0.25 to identify the independent predictors of self-care practice. Results In the present study, males comprised 62% of the sex category. Overall, 63.8% of the study participants had adequate self-care practice, while 36.2% had inadequate self-care practice. Being younger age (AOR 2.27, 95% CI 1.27–4.07, P= 0.005), monthly income status with low (AOR 3.08, 95% CI 1.08–8.78, P= 0.04), average (AOR 2.43, 95% CI 1.15–5.09, P= 0.02) and high (AOR 2.68, 95% CI 1.03–6.99, P= 0.04), treated with oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) (AOR 0.22, 95% CI 0.05–0.95, P = 0.04) and insulin (AOR 0.18, 95% CI 0.04–0.75, P= 0.01), having social support (AOR 3.09, 95% CI 1.76–5.4, P ≤ 0.01) and diabetic education from health professionals (AOR 5.53, 95% CI 1.92–15.93, P= 0.001) and media (AOR 2.63, 95% CI 1.47–4.7, P = 0.001) were the independent predictors of self-care practice. Conclusion In this study, the practice of self-care found to be sub-optimal among patients with T2DM. Independent predictors of self-care practice were age, monthly income, treatment regimen, social support, and diabetic education. Therefore, a suitable approach should be built to improve self-care practice with diabetes.

Introduction: In Ethiopia, only one in ten reproductive-age women use long-acting reversible contraceptives. Evidence on the utilization of these methods and associated factors among sexually active reproductive-age women in the pastoral area of Northeast Ethiopia is limited. Thus, this study aimed to assess the utilization of long-acting reversible contraceptives and associated factors among sexually active reproductive-age women in the pastoral community of Northeast Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 to 30 April 2021 among 572 reproductive-age women selected by a systematic random sampling method. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and entered into Epi-info version 7 and then finally exported to Stata version 16 for further analysis. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors affecting the utilization of long-acting reversible contraceptives. Odds ratio with the corresponding 95% confidence interval were computed and the statistical significance of the explanatory variables was declared at p-value < 0.05. Results: Overall, the utilization of long-acting reversible contraceptives was (24.3%; 95% confidence interval = 20.9%–28.0%). It was also revealed that being Orthodox (adjusted odds ratio = 4.10; 95% confidence interval = 2.20–7.65) and Protestant (adjusted odds ratio = 7.86; 95% confidence interval = 1.26–18.97) religion followers, attending higher education (adjusted odds ratio = 3.31; 95% confidence interval = 1.37–7.98), and having a husband who attended higher education (adjusted odds ratio = 4.37; 95% confidence interval = 1.98–9.67) were associated with an increased odds of using long-acting reversible contraceptive methods. Besides, having a good (adjusted odds ratio = 6.69; 95% confidence interval = 2.64–16.95) and moderate (adjusted odds ratio = 3.03; 95% confidence interval = 1.06–8.56) knowledge, and positive attitude (adjusted odds ratio = 3.65; 95% confidence interval = 1.90–7.01) toward long-acting reversible contraceptives were also associated with the utilization of these methods. Conclusion: Less than one-fourth of sexually active reproductive-age women in the study area were using long-acting reversible contraceptives. Thus, improving women’s and husbands’ education and women’s knowledge and attitude toward long-acting reversible contraceptives is important to scale up the uptake of these contraceptive methods.