Abstract:Background: In Ethiopia, a considerable proportion of childhood morbidity and mortality is due to vaccine preventable diseases. According to EDHS 2011, only 24% of children were fully vaccinated nationally. Mothers' knowledge, attitude and practice are key tools to decrease dropout rates and to prevent or control infectious diseases. Thus, this study was aimed to assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of mothers regarding infant immunization and their associated factors in immunization clinic in health centers at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1 st to April 1 st , 2013. Multi stage sampling technique was used for participant selection. Participants were interviewed with structured questionnaire for different variables. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were performed during data analysis. Results: Only 55.0%, 53.8%, and 84% of respondents had good knowledge, positive attitude, and good practice towards immunization of infants, respectively. Maternal education (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR[= 1.781, 95% CI: 1.035, 3.065), respondents who had infants aged from 3-9 months (AOR=1.947, 95% CI:1.051, 3.607), 9-12 months (AOR =2.305, 95% CI: 1.216, 4.371) and mothers who gave births greater or equal to two times (AOR = 1.560, 95% CI: 1.087, 2.238) were significantly associated with knowledge of mothers regarding immunization of infants. Mothers' education (AOR = 2.160, 95% CI: 1.208, 3.864) and mothers who had infants' aged from 2-3 months (AOR = 2.014, 95% CI: 1.044, 3.883) were significantly association with favorable attitude towards immunization of infants. Good infant immunization practice was significantly associated with mothers who heard information about vaccination (AOR=1.784, 95% CI: 1.002, 3.176), mothers who know correctly the time when infants should begin immunization (AOR=2.240, 95% CI: 1.198, 4.192), know the number of sessions needed (AOR=1.772, 95% CI: 1.076, 2.918), know the time when infants should complete immunization (AOR=1.800, 95% CI: 1.123, 2.885) and place of delivery (AOR=23.829, 95% CI: 10.025, 56.639). Conclusions: Knowledge and attitude of mothers' about infant vaccination was not adequate. Despite inadequate knowledge and attitude of mothers towards infant immunization, 84.0% of mothers found in Addis Ababa had good practice of infants' immunization. Health education to promote knowledge and attitude based immunization practice is recommended.

ObjectiveTo identify the determinants of term premature rupture of membrane in Southern Ethiopia public hospitals, 2017.ResultsSeventy-five cases and 223 controls women were enrolled for the study. Two hundred eighty-four (95.3%) participants were admitted at the gestational age of above 40, and the rest, 14 (4.7%), were admitted at 37–40 weeks of gestation. The current study identified wealth index and inter-birth interval as preventive predictors, but smoking and hypertension during pregnancy were identified as positive determinants of premature rupture of membrane. This finding is supported by multiple logistic regression analysis result of wealth index (AOR: 0.102, 95% CI [0.033, 0.315]), inter-birth interval (AOR: 0.251, 95% CI [0.129, 0 0.488]), smoking (AOR: 17.053, 95% CI [2.145, 135.6]), and hypertension (AOR: 8.92, 95% CI (1.91, 41.605]). The association between PROM and its determinants indicated that evidence-based interventions should be needed and designed to have very high wealth index, and optimal interbirth interval, and prevent smoking and hypertension during pregnancy to decrease PROM occurrence in the study settings. Hence, we recommended that integration of prevention mechanism of modifiable determinants to the obstetrics health care system will reduce premature ruptures of a membrane.

Background It is known that antiretroviral therapy reduces the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS-related morbidity. The coverage of HIV drugs is increasing to control further spread of HIV and children living with HIV are the target groups in using these medications. However, loss to follow-up remains a critical challenge among these groups of the population. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the incidence and predictors of loss to follow-up among children attending antiretroviral therapy clinics. Methods A ten-year institution-based retrospective cohort study was employed among 448 children enrolled in antiretroviral therapy. Data were entered and cleaned using EpiData version 3.1 and then exported to STATA version 14 for further statistical analysis. The Kaplan–Meier survival curve was used to estimate the survival time and the Log rank test was used to compare the survival time between different categories of the explanatory variables. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was fitted to identify predictors of loss to follow-up and p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The incidence rate of loss to follow-up was 6.3 per 100 children years of observation. Being male (AHR = 2.1, CI = 1.37, 3.34), aged 1–5 years (AHR = 1.6, CI = 1.05, 2.46), poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy (AHR = 6.6; CI = 4.11, 10.66), fair adherence to antiretroviral therapy (AHR = 2.2; CI = 1.13, 4.20), regimen was not changed (AHR = 4.1; CI = 2.59, 6.45), World Health Organization stage III and IV (AHR = 2.2; CI = 1.40, 3.33) and height for age <−2 z score (AHR = 2.2; CI = 1.43, 3.44) were predictors of loss to follow-up. Conclusion Nearly seven out of 100 HIV-infected children were lost to follow-up from their link to ART clinics within a one-year follow-up. Non-modifiable demographic characteristics, clinical stage and nutritional status, and ART-related variables were associated with children’s loss to follow-up. Therefore, close monitoring of the “at risk” groups might decrease the rate of loss to follow-up. Improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy and nutritional support are also recommended.

Background. Undernutrition is a global problem and the biggest threat to human life and economic progress. It is the main cause of child morbidity and mortality especially in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. The severity of the problem is even worse when children are infected with human immunodeficiency virus. However the seriousness of the problem, there were limited studies conducted in the study area. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the magnitude of undernutrition and its associated factors among HIV-infected children on follow up in Amhara Region Referral Hospitals. Methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April 2020. The data were collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The collected data were coded and entered into Epi data 3.1 and exported to SPSS 26.0 for analysis. P-value <.05 was considered as statically significant. Results. The magnitude of undernutrition in this study was 30.3%. Dietary diversity (AOR = 1.73; CI 1.07-2.81), nutritional counseling (AOR = 2.42; CI 1.45-4.04), family size (AOR = 0.50; CI 0.27-0.93), WHO staging (AOR = 1.77; CI 1.08-2.88), and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (AOR = 1.75; CI 1.06-2.87) were predictors of undernutrition. Conclusions. Nearly one-third of the children included in this study had undernutrition. Poor dietary diversity, adherence to ART, nutritional counseling, family size, and WHO staging were factors significantly associated with undernutrition. Early screening and treatment of opportunistic infections, close attention to dietary counseling for caregivers and proper feeding habits will alleviate the problem.

Background Being-street mother is a challenging life situation for both the mothers and their children. However, the lived experiences of motherhood in street families are not explored very well in Ethiopia in general. Hence, this study explored street mothers’ well-being, perception of street life, and motivation to leave street life in Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia. Methods A phenomenological study was conducted on 10 street mothers from July 13, 2021 to July 17, 2021. The mothers were selected using purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using face-to-face in-depth interview method. Data were analyzed using framework approach. Results Four themes emerged from the data: well-being of mothers and their children with four subthemes (physical, social, mental, and spiritual wellbeing), perception of street life, motivations to leave street life and efforts to end street life. Nearly all of the street mothers perceived that living on the street was terrible for them and their kids. They described it as an absolutely revolting, bitter, awful, horrible, and difficult life. Generally, street mothers had the motivation to leave street life, but only some had exerted tangible efforts to end the street life. Conclusion Street mothers had a very poor status in almost all dimensions of well-being. The perception of mother about their street life was negative. The mothers had strong motivation to end street life but were unable to make strong tangible efforts showing that they need assistance mechanisms before they change to street extended families under misery.