No abstract

Background. Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids has become a serious public health problem for healthcare workers and is a major risk for the transmission of various infections such as human immune-deficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the career time and previous one-year global pooled prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers. Methods. For the review, the articles published in English were searched using the electronic databases (SCOPUS/Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, DOAJ, and MedNar) with a combination of Boolean logic operators (AND, OR, and NOT), Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and keywords. A quality assessment was conducted to determine the relevance of the articles using JBI critical appraisal tools. Furthermore, several steps of assessment and evaluation were taken to select and analyze the relevant articles. Results. Of the 3912 articles identified through the electronic database search, 33 that met the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. The current study found that the global pooled prevalence of blood and body fluids among healthcare workers during career time and in the previous one year accounted for 56.6% (95% CI: 47.3, 65.4) and 39.0% (95% CI: 32.7, 45.7), respectively. Based on subgroup analysis by publication year, survey year, and World Health Organization regions, the highest prevalence of blood and body fluid exposure in the last 12 months was observed among articles published between 2004 and 2008 (66.3%), conducted between 2003 and 2008 (66.6%), and conducted in the Southeast Asia Region (46.9%). The highest career time prevalence was 60.6%, 71.0%, and 68.4% for articles published between 2015 and 2020, conducted between 2015 and 2019, and reported in the African region, respectively. Conclusion. The current study revealed a high prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers and suggests the need to improve occupational health and safety services in healthcare systems globally.

Background: According to the literature analysis, the majority of the studies focused primarily on public health institutions. Although assessing the compliance of healthcare workers in private and public institutions would give comprehensive evidence on existing problems and appropriate prevention method, as a result, research on adherence to standard precautions are still required. Rely on existing research, to the best of the investigator’s knowledge, compliance with standard precautions in hospitals of Bahir Dar town has not been assessed. Therefore, this study will contribute to narrowing these gaps and determining the scope of problems with standard precautions. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 442 healthcare workers working in hospitals from June 10 to 30, 2021. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. Pre-tested and structured questionnaires and an observational checklist were used to collect the required data. The data were entered into EpiData and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to assess the association between independent and outcome variables. Odd ratios at 95% CI were used to measure the strength of the association between the outcome and explanatory variables. Finally, a P-value of <.05 was considered as a cut-off point for statistical significance. Results: Of the 442 healthcare workers who participated in the study, 41% were compliant with standard precautions. Furthermore, 68.1% and 51.8% of the respondents had good knowledge and a positive attitude toward infection prevention, respectively. Consistent water supply availability (AOR = 1.92 and 95% CI = 1.63, 6.27), and access to infection prevention guidelines (AOR = 1.73 and 95% CI = 1.08, 2.77), and availability of personal protective equipment (AOR = 2.32 and 95% CI = 1.35, 3.98) were some of the factors significantly associated with health care workers’ compliance. Conclusions: The current study found that only about two-fifths of the healthcare workers complied with standard precautions. The study suggests that there is a significant risk of developing an infection. Therefore, the concerned organizations; Bahir Dar Zonal Health Office, and respective sectors including Amhara Regional Health Office and the Federal Ministry of Health must take appropriate measures to improve the implementation of safety practices.

Background: Currently, work-related musculoskeletal disorders are a significant public health concern and are a leading cause of disability-adjusted life years and reduced quality of life worldwide. In developing countries, including Ethiopia, as a result of poor occupational health and safety practices and underreporting of the problems, work-related musculoskeletal disorders have been increased, remaining less prioritized, and there is no adequate evidence on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Thus, the current study aimed to determine and provide the overall prevalence of occupational-related upper and lower extremity musculoskeletal pain among the working population of Ethiopia. Methods The current study considered full-text articles conducted in Ethiopia, written in English, and published from 2017 to 2020. Ten electronic databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, MedNar, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, African Index Medicus, and African Journals Online database were used to search the articles using a combination of Boolean logic operators (AND, OR, and NOT), Medical Subject Headings, and main keywords. The quality assessment of the articles was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools to determine the relevance of the article to the current study. Results: Of the 1377 articles identified from the included electronic databases, 12 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The study found that the pooled prevalence of occupational-related elbow pain, wrist/hand pain, knee/leg pain, foot/ankle pain, and hip/thigh pain in the previous one year was 19.7% (95% CI: 12.3, 30.1), 24.2% (95% CI: 17.4, 32.7), 25.0% (95% CI: 18.5, 32.8), 20.2% (95% CI: 12.8, 30.4), and 15.5% (95% CI: 9.9, 23.4), respectively. Based on a subgroup analysis, the last year’s pooled prevalence of occupational-related elbow, wrist/hand, knee/leg, foot/ankle, and hip/thigh pain was increased to 33.7% [95% CI: 31.9, 35.5], 29.7% [95% CI: 28.2, 31.2], 31.5% [95% CI: 29.9, 33.2], 30.6% [95% CI: 29.0, 32.4], and 27.3% [95% CI: 25.5, 29.2], respectively. Conclusion: Occupational-related musculoskeletal disorders continue to have a potential impact on workers’ health and productivity. The current study found that the overall pooled prevalence of occupational-related upper and lower extremity musculoskeletal disorders in the last year ranged from 15.5 to 33.7%. Implementing occupational health and safety measures play an important role in preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders and other occupational hazards.

Background: Rabies is among the most deadly and fatal diseases of all human diseases, once clinical symptoms appear. In developing countries, including Ethiopia, rabies prevention and control practices is not adequate. The study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices toward rabies prevention and control and identified factors associated with prevention and control practices. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July 30 to August 30, 2021. A total of 326 dog-owner households were selected from the total number of 6500 dog-owner households using a simple random sampling method. Pretested and structured questionnaire were used to collect the data. The sections of the questionnaire includes socio-demographic, knowledge, attitude, and practice toward rabies prevention practices, and health and personal-related characteristics of the participants. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to determine the association variables. Finally, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as a cut-off point for statistical significance. Results: Of 326 households involved in the study, 52.8% of the participants were found to have poor rabies prevention and control practices. More than half (52.1%) of the respondents had good knowledge of rabies prevention and control practices, and 49.1% had a positive attitude. Only 28.2% of the respondents reported a history of dog bites. Factors associated with good rabies prevention and control practices were; having good knowledge of human rabies virus [(Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR) = 2.41 (95% CI: 2.25−4.83)], having good attitude on prevention and control [AOR = 2.06 (95% CI: 1.95–3.82)], having only one dog per household [AOR = 2.46 (95% CI: 1.25–4.83)], availability of vet clinic within 30 min distance from residents [AOR = 9.32 (95% CI: 4.19–20.70)], and getting health information from Mass media [AOR = 3.68(95% CI: 1.74–7.77)] or Health workers [AOR = 3.16 (95% CI: 1.60–6.23)]. Conclusions: More than half (52.1%) of the participants had poor rabies prevention and control practices. Improving rabies prevention and control practices through improving the knowledge and attitude of the community is important to protect public health.