Introduction Despite its alarming spread throughout the world, no effective drug and vaccine is discovered for COVID-19 so far. According to WHO, the recovery time from COVID-19 was estimated to be 2 weeks for patients with mild infection, and 3 to 6 weeks for those with serious illnesses. A studies regarding the median recovery time and its predictors are limited globally and specifically in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the median time to recovery from COVID-19 and its predictors among COVID-19 cases admitted to WURH, Western Ethiopian. Methods This was a hospital-based retrospective cohort study conducted among 263 adult patients admitted with COVID-19 in WURH treatment center from March 29, 2020 through September 30, 2020. Epidata version 3.2 was used for data entry, and STATA version 14 for analysis. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was fitted to determine factors associated with recovery time. A variable with P-value ≤ 0.25 at bivariable Cox regression analysis were selected for multivariable Cox proportional model. Multivariable Cox regression model with 95% CI and Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) was used to identify a significant predictor of time to recovery from COVID-19 at P-value < 0.05. Results The mean age of patient was 36.8 (SD± 10.68) years. At the end of follow up, two hundred twenty seven observations were developed an event (recovered) with median time to recovery of 18 days with IQR of 10–27 days. The overall incidence rate of recovery was of 4.38 per 100 (95% CI: 3.84, 4.99) person-days observations. Being older age (AHR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.49), presence of fever on admission (AHR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.62), and comorbidity (AHR = 0.56, 95% CI, 0.34, 0.90) were found to have statistically significant association with recovery time. Conclusion and recommendations In general, the median recovery time of patients with COVID-19 cases was long, and factors such as older age group, presence of fever, and comorbidity was an independent predictors of delayed recovery from COVID-19. Intervention to further reduce recovery time at treatment center has to focus on patients those shows symptoms and with comorbidities.

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.

BackgroundAnemia is a common clinical problem contributing to increased maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality during pregnancy. Anemia can be caused by different factors apart from known diseases. The main aim of this study was to identify determinants of anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the public health facilities of Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia, 2017.MethodsHealth facility-based unmatched case-control study was conducted among 191 anemic and 382 non-anemic pregnant women from September 7, 2017, to October 25, 2017, in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia. Data were collected using pre-tested questionnaires from nine health facilities. Hemoglobin level determination, hemo-parasite diagnosis, venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test, and stool examination were done in the laboratories of the respective health centers. Cleaned and coded data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequency, proportion, mean and standard deviation were computed to summarize the data and presented by tables and bar graphs. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association of predictors and response variables at P ≤ 0.05. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI was used to show the strength of association between predictors and outcome variables.ResultsA total of 573 pregnant women were enrolled in this study. Monthly income < 500 Ethiopian birr (AOR = 9.16, 95% CI: 4.23, 19.82), heavy menstrual bleeding (AOR = 2.38, 95%CI: 1.38, 4.09), taking iron supplement irregularly (AOR = 2.87, 95%CI:1.41, 5.84), Mid-upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) < 23 cm (AOR = 3.42, 95%CI: 2.07, 5.63), low dietary diversity score (AOR = 12.30, 95%CI: 4.64, 32.72), medium dietary diversity score (AOR = 3.40, 95%CI:1.48, 7.84) and intestinal helminthic infections (AOR = 6.31, 95%CI: 3.44, 11.58) were significantly associated with anemia during pregnancy.ConclusionAverage monthly income < 500 Ethiopian birr, heavy menstrual bleeding, low and medium dietary diversity score, taking of iron supplements irregularly, MUAC < 23 cm and intestinal helminthic infections were identified as independent determinants of anemia during pregnancy. Therefore, improving dietary diversity intake, routine deworming and empowering women on taking iron regularly are vital to prevent anemia during pregnancy.

Background Index case HIV/AIDS testing (ICHT) is a good approach for addressing and improving the efficiency and yield of testing among high-risk populations. Partners and families of people living with HIV/AIDS are among the high-risk populations for contracting HIV/AIDS. However, there is limited study on index case HIV testing among HIV patients attending Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART). Hence, this study was aimed at assessing the magnitude and factors associated with ICHT among HIV patients attending ART in Nekemte town public health facilities. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Nekemte town public health facilities from May 20 to July 21, 2020. A systematic random sampling method was used to select the study participants. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of acceptance of ICHT among HIV patients. Results The ICHT acceptance was 85.2% (95% CI=84.9–91.1%). Disclosure of their HIV status (AOR=9.74, 95% CI=4.11–23.06), having good knowledge of ICHT (AOR=4.70, 95% CI=1.92–11.61), believing HIV index case testing has benefits (AOR=3.43, 95% CI=1.27–9.29), and being on ART for more than 1 year (AOR=4.78, 95% CI=2.13–10.76) were significantly associated with index case HIV test acceptance. Conclusion and Recommendation This study revealed a significant proportion of index case HIV testing acceptance. HIV status disclosure of index cases, knowledge of ICHT, the perceived benefit of ICHT, and long duration on ART were found to be significantly associated with acceptance of ICHT. Hence, it is essential to give attention to counseling on the importance of ICHT, enhance people living with HIV (PLWHIV) to have positive belief on the advantage of ICHT, strengthen disclosure counseling, and assist HIV status disclosure in health facilities.

Background Dental caries is a prevalent disease in both developed and developing countries and is a public health problem among adolescents. This study aimed to assess the determinants of dental caries among adolescent patients in the west Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia. Methods A hospital-based unmatched case-control study design was conducted in West Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia. A total of 133 cases and 266 controls participated in this study. Data were collected using pre-tested questionnaires from three hospitals. Epi-info version 7 was used for data entry and was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequency, proportion, mean and standard deviation were computed to summarize the data. Statistics are presented using tables and bar graphs. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the determinants of dental caries at P < 0.05. The adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to show the strength of association between the predictors and dental caries. Results A total of 399 adolescents were enrolled in this study, yielding a response rate of 100%. The study found that, daily consumption of sugared coffee (AOR = 2.91, 95% CI:1.62, 5.23), khat chewing (AOR = 2.90, 95%CI: 1.46, 3.15), daily consumption of bread (AOR = 2.65, 95%CI: 1.44, 4.89), daily consumption of sweet foods (AOR = 2.04, 95%CI:1.19, 3.48), living in urban areas (AOR = 1.86, 95%CI:1.09, 3.15), and daily tooth brushing using toothpaste or stick (AOR = 0.48;95%CI, 0.28, 0.81) were significantly associated with dental caries among adolescents. Conclusions and recommendations In this study, drinking sugared coffee, daily consumption of bread, khat chewing, sugary food consumption, living in urban areas, and daily tooth brushing using toothpaste were significantly associated with dental caries. Therefore, improving dietary and drinking habits and strengthening regular tooth brushing are important for reducing dental caries among adolescents.