Background According to the World Health Organization, viral diseases continue to emerge and represent a serious issue for public health. The elderly and those with underlying chronic diseases are more likely to become severe cases. Our study sets out to present in-depth exploration and analyses of the community’s risk perception and barriers to the practice of COVID-19 prevention measures in South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A qualitative study was done in three districts of South Gondar Zone. Community key informants and health extension workers were selected purposely for in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. The interviews were conducted by maintaining WHO recommendations for social distancing and use of appropriate personal protective equipment. The sample size for the study depended on the theoretical saturation of the data at the time of data collection. The qualitative data generated from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions was transcribed verbatim and translated into English language and thematically analyzed using open code software version 4.02. Results Three main themes and five categories emerged from the narrations of the participants regarding the perceived barriers for the practice of COVID-19 prevention measures. A total of 9 community key informants (5 women development armies (HDA), 2 health extension workers (HEW), and 2 religious leaders participated in the in-depth interview, while two focus group discussions (7 participants in each round) were conducted among purposely selected community members. The age of the participants ranged from 24 to 70 years with the median age of 48 years. The major identified barriers for practicing COVID-19 prevention measures were the presence of strong cultural and religious practices, perceiving that the disease does not affect the young, misinformation about the disease, and lack of trust in the prevention measures. Conclusions Socio-cultural, religious, and economic related barriers were identified from the participant’s narratives for the practice of COVID-19 prevention measures in south Gondar Zone. Our findings suggest the need to strengthen community awareness and education programs about the prevention measures of COVID-19 and increase diagnostic facilities with strong community-based surveillance to control the transmission of the pandemic.

Background: Worldwide, university students fall in the youth group which is prone to unattended sexual risks, including unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. One of the key strategies to prevent these problems is to use contraceptives. Therefore, the study was aimed at assessing contraceptive utilization and factors hindering their utilization. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess contraceptive demand, utilization, and associated factors among university female students in Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted. From seven universities, three of them were randomly selected. A multistage sampling method was used. Finally, a simple random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Data were entered via Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed. Results are presented using text, tables, and graphs. Results: A total of 1276 respondents participated in the study with a response rate of 98.8%. The median age of the participants is 21.37 years (SD=1.88 years). About 398 (31.2%) of the respondents had sexual intercourse within the last 12 months. However, only 207 (16.2%) of the respondents were currently using contraceptives. Marital status, year of study, history of having information and previous discussion on contraceptives were found to be significantly associated. Married participants had a 94.4% lower contraceptive utilization compared with unmarried participants [0.056 (0.03-0.12)]. Third year students were 50% less likely to use contraceptives compared to 2nd year students [0.50 (0.30-0.82)]. Those having previous information on contraceptives [7.7 (1.01-59.8)] and discussions with someone else [2.3 (1.5-3.6)] were 7.7-and 2.3-times more likely to use contraceptives than their counterparts, respectively. Conclusion: Contraceptive utilization among university female students is low. For students, new information, education and communication strategies for sexual and reproductive health issues should be launched.

Background: In most developing countries, meeting young people's sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs remains a problem. Despite policy initiatives and strategic measures aimed at increasing youth utilization of sexual and reproductive health services in Ethiopia, its utilization remains very low. Therefore, this study aimed to assess Ethiopia's youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services' utilisation and determinants. Methods: Scopus, Medline, Google Scholar, and CINAHL databases were searched for articles published until March 2021. The pooled prevalence and effect size of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health service use and associated factors were estimated using a weighted DerSimonian-laird random effect model. The I 2 statistics were used to determine the degree of heterogeneity. The funnel plot and Egger's regression test were used to examine publication bias. Subgroup analyses were performed to reduce underlying heterogeneity.Results: One thousand one hundred and ninety-one articles were generated from various databases, and a final 26 articles were included in the review, including 16246 participants. Ethiopia's pooled prevalence of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health service utilization was 42.73 % (95% CI: 35.38-50.09). The findings of this study showed that grade level 11-12, grade level 9-10, close to home sexual and reproductive health services, male sex, and discussion of sexual and reproductive health service with family, friends, and groups, ever experience sexual activity were associated with utilization of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Maternal educational status secondary school and above, age 15-19 years, age 20-24 years, having ever experienced reproductive problems, living with a partner, living alone, knowing about sexual and reproductive health, having a convenient working hour for youth-friendly service, and participation in a school clubs were also associated with the utilization of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Conclusion: We found several determinant factors for adolescent and youth utilization of sexual and reproductive health services. The review highlights the importance of improving service usage through youth education and promotion and the scaling up and institutionalizing of youth-friendly services through extensive capacity building.

Background Preeclampsia is one of the top maternal morbidity and mortality that disproportionately affects pregnant women in low and middle-income countries where access and quality of health services are limited. People in different areas perceive preeclampsia differently which directly or indirectly affects the timing and place of heath seeking. Positive perception about perceived causes, perceived complications, and prevention of preeclampsia is central for the prediction and early diagnosis of the disease. However, little is known about the perception of pregnant women towards preeclampsia in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the perception towards preeclampsia and perceived barriers to early health-seeking among pregnant women in selected Hospitals of South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A qualitative study using phenomenological approach was implemented among 20 purposively selected pregnant women who visited health facilities for antenatal care service in four selected Hospitals of the South Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region. Data were collected through an in-depth interview (IDI) using a semi-structured interview guide from January to February 2020. Thematic analysis was executed using Open Code Software version 4.03. Results The majority of the participants believed preeclampsia as a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disease and mainly associated it with overweight and nutritional problems. With regards to the perceived severity, the study participants agreed that preeclampsia can lead women to death. Personal delay, lack of awareness about the disease, transport problem, and low socioeconomic condition were perceived as the major reasons for the delay to early health-seeking (the 1st and the 2nd delay). While poor service provision and long waiting times were the barriers to receive services at the health facility level (the 3rd delay). Conclusion The majority of the participants believed preeclampsia as a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disease and mainly associated it with overweight and nutritional problems. The finding of this study implied that awareness creation about the danger of hypertension during pregnancy and its risk reduction mechanisms shall be emphasized. The care provision at health facilities shall be improved by decreasing long waiting time which discourages service utilizations aside from improving early seeking behavior of pregnant women through different interventions.

IntroductionUnderstanding the epidemiological dynamics of disease control, as well as the effectiveness, compliance, and success of the vaccination program requires an understanding of the local population's knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 vaccination and associated factors among the general public.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in the South Gondar Zone, among residents above the age of 18 years. The study used objective measures and the constructs of the Health Belief Model. Binary logistic regression was used and the result of the final model was presented in terms of adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), and statistical significance was taken and considered at a P-value < 0.05.ResultsThe study was conducted on 1,111 study participants. The mean age is 30.83 ± 7.106. About 575 (51.8%) of the respondents have good knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccination and 43.4% have a positive attitude toward COVID-19 vaccination. About 361 (32.5%) of the respondents were willing to take the vaccine if it is available and 113 (10.2%) of them were vaccinated. Participants with a positive attitude and good knowledge, those with a secondary level of education AOR = 5.70, 95% CI (2.60–12.60), those with a monthly income of >2,000 birr AOR = 6.30, 95% CI (2.50–15.60), those having a television (TV), and those who use Facebook AOR = 17.70, 95% CI (10.10–30.90) had a higher level of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. The Health Belief Model's constructs of perceived susceptibility AOR = 1.53, 95% CI (1.26–1.85), perceived benefit AOR = 1.49, 95% CI (1.28–1.75), and cues to action AOR = 0.54, 95% CI (0.45–0.65) were all linked to COVID-19 vaccine acceptability.ConclusionThe level of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination is much lower. Having a positive attitude score and good knowledge score, level of education, monthly income, presence of TV, the use of Facebook, and knowing the means of transmission of COVID-19 increase the level of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination.