ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and its determinant factors during COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare professionals in southern Ethiopia.DesignMulti-centre cross-sectional study.Setting and study periodRandomly selected public hospitals in Sidama, southern Ethiopia between 25 September 2020 and 25 October 2020.Participants387 healthcare professionals were randomly selected.Outcome measuresPrevalence and determinant factors of depression, anxiety and stress was assessed.ResultDepression, anxiety and stress prevalence were shown to be 50.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 45.0% to 55.0%), 55.0% (95% CI 51.1% to 59.9%) and 38.5% (95% CI 33.6% to 43.2%), respectively. Being female (adjusted odd ratio (AOR) 3.71, 95% CI 2.31 to 5.97), married (AOR 2.28, 95% CI 1.34 to 3.86), living alone (AOR 1.87, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.20), nurses (AOR 2.94, 95% CI 1.44 to 5.99) and working in inpatients (AOR 0.53, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.93) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Moreover, older age groups (AOR 3.15, 95% CI 1.04 to 6.56), females (AOR 3.25, 95% CI 2.01 to 5.25), married (AOR 1.69, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.87) and nurses (AOR 3.32, 95% CI 1.63 to 6.78) were significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety. Stress symptoms were significantly high among females (AOR 2.47, 95% CI 1.53 to 3.97), married (AOR 2.77, 95% CI 1.60 to 4.78), living alone (AOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.15 to 3.52), nurses (AOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.11 to 4.92) and working in units other than emergency (inpatient (AOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.57) and other units (AOR 0.48, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.95)).ConclusionThe current study found that healthcare professionals have high levels of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Sex, age, marital status, type of profession, living status and working environment were significant factors for mental health problems in healthcare professionals during the pandemic. Healthcare professionals require mental health support at which monitoring and control can be performed during and after the pandemic.

Background: COVID-19 causes immense psychological pressure on communities in addition to physical misery. There is currently a scarcity of data on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on Ethiopian healthcare workers (HCWs). Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and its predictors following COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers (HCWs) in southern Ethiopia.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study design was used among 387 randomly selected HCWs between September 25 and October 25, 2020 at four selected public hospitals in Sidama National Regional State, southern Ethiopia. Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to collect data post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Logistic regression analyses with 95% CI were used to examine the relationship between independent and outcome variables.Result: The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was found in 56.8% of participants. Significant factors that increase risk of PTSD symptoms were being female (AOR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.19, 3.05), married (AOR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.12, 3.14) and nurses (AOR = 3.31, 95% CI = 1.66, 6.63). On the other hand, HCWs working other than emergency unit such as inpatients/wards (AOR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.75), OPD (AOR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.97) and other units (AOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.25, 0.96) less likely to be affected by PTSD symptoms.Conclusion: The current study showed high levels of PTSD symptoms as psychological challenges for HCWs. Sex, age, marital status, type of profession and working environment were significant factors for PTSD symptoms in HCWs during the pandemic. HCWs require mental health support during and after the pandemic.

Objective Road traffic injury (RTI) is the leading cause of death among aged 15–29 years, although low and middle income countries only have half of the vehicles, they have 80% of road traffic related death. This study aimed to assess the probability of road traffic injury occurrence and potential consequences among patient visiting at emergency department of Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Hawassa, Ethiopia. Retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from March 8 to April 6/2018 among 350 patients who were recruited using systematic random sampling techniques. Binary logistic regression analysis was used for data analysis. Results A total of 350 patients medical charts were reviewed at emergency department. The prevalence of road traffic accident was 40.9%. Being male (AOR = 1.84: 95% CI 1.11–3.09), being in age group of 20–29 (AOR = 2.58: 95% CI 1.14–5.84) and being in urban area of residence (AOR = 2.46; 95% CI 1.51–4.02) were significantly associated with road traffic accident. Conducting further research on road traffic injury and risk factors recommended.

Background: Most of the time primary school children experience minor injuries and they always need first aid care to prevent conditions become worse and school teachers are the nearest ones to manage their minor injuries. Lack of knowledge and skills of their teachers may lead to serious health consequences. Acquiring the basic knowledge and skills of first aid can be vital for teachers to be able to provide proper emergency pre-hospital care in the event of an accident to save life and prevent avoidable consequences. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge on first aid measure and its associated factors among governmental primary school teachers in Hawassa city, southern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted from February 4-22, 2021. Data were obtained from 213 primary school teachers selected by simple random sampling technique from eight schools using a self-administered questionnaire. Epi Info 3.5.4 was a data entry software and SPSS version 20.0 was selected for analysis. Associations among variables were assessed by binary logistic regression. Result: A small proportion of 52 (23.2%) of teachers were knowledgeable (95% CI 17.9-28.6) about first aid measures. Only 57 (21.4%) teachers had received first aid training previously. One-fourth of 56 (25%) of the respondents gave accurate responses for the need for priority for obstructed airway and only nine (4%) teachers knew the 7 essential step of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Level of education AOR = 2.866 (95% CI 1.386, 5.925) and previous first aid training AOR = 7.216 (95% CI 3.437, 15.153) were statistically significant protective associated factors with teachers’ knowledge on first aid measures. Conclusion: A great proportion of 172 (76.8%) of primary school teachers were unknowledgeable about first aid measures which were higher compared to reports from several studies. This needs exceptional attention to train teachers periodically on first aid procedures to equip them to perform effective first aid measures to treat the common emergencies of children at school. Keywords: First aid; School children; Teachers; Knowledge; Associated factors; Ethiopia.

Objective The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of motorcycle accident injuries in hospitals of Sothern Ethiopia, 2018/2019.Result Of the total 423 road traffic injury, motorcycles were involved in 213 (50.4%) of the road traffic accidents. The presence of poor road conditions like loose gravel, steep descent, and rough road was responsible for 44.6% of motorcycle accident injury. The odds of motorcycle accident injuries were 50% and 52% less likely to occur during sunny and foggy weather conditions respectively compared to rainy weather conditions.