BackgroundCervical cancer is the first most common cancer in women in sub-Saharan Africa followed by breast cancer. In Ethiopia, the incidence of cervical cancer is high i.e. 35.9 per 100,000 women. Low level of awareness, lack of effective screening programs, overshadowed by other health priorities (such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, tuberculosis and malaria) and insufficient attention to women’s health are the possible factors for the observed higher incidence rate of cervical cancers in the country. Data on knowledge of Ethiopian women regarding cervical cancer is lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of women about cervical cancer and associated factors.MethodsA community based cross-sectional survey was conducted from April 4-16, 2010 in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. A total of 633 women aged 15 years and above were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire by 8 trained data collectors and 2 supervisors. SPSS Windows version 15.0 was employed for data entry and analysis.ResultOf all the respondents, 495 (78.7%) of them had heard about cervical cancer and only 195 (31%) of them were knowledgeable about the disease.ConclusionThe knowledge of women on cervical cancer was found to be poor. Education about the disease must include information on risk factors, sign and symptoms of cervical cancer.

BackgroundReducing maternal morbidity and mortality is a global priority which is particularly relevant to developing countries like Ethiopia. One of the key strategies for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality is increasing institutional delivery service utilization of mothers under the care of skilled birth attendants. The aim of this study was to determine the level of institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from April 1–20, 2011, among mothers who gave birth 12 months before the study began in Munesa Woreda, Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Southeast Ethiopia. A stratified cluster sampling was used to select a sample of 855 participants.ResultsOut of all deliveries, only 12.3% took place at health facilities. Women who were urban residents (AOR = 2.27, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.40), women of age at interview less than 20 years (AOR = 6.06, 95%CI: 1.54, 23.78), women with first pregnancy (AOR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.97) and, women who had ANC visit during the last pregnancy (AOR = 4.18, 95%CI: 2.54, 6.89) were more likely to deliver at health institutions. Secondary and above level of mother`s and husband`s education had also a significant effect on health institution delivery with AOR = 4.31 (95%CI: 1.62, 11.46) and AOR = 2.77 (95%CI: 1.07, 7.19) respectively.ConclusionInstitutional delivery service utilization was found to be low in the study area. Secondary and above level of mother`s and husband`s education, urban residence and ANC visit were amongst the main factors that had an influence on health institution delivery. Increasing the awareness of mothers and their partners about the benefits of institutional delivery services are recommended.

BackgroundDepression and anxiety disorders are common among people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus than the non-infected individuals. The co-existence of these disorders are associated with barriers to treatment and worsening medical outcomes, including treatment resistance, increased risk for suicide, greater chance for recurrence and utilization of medical resources and/or increase morbidity and mortality. Therefore, assessing depression and anxiety among HIV patients has a pivotal role for further interventions.MethodsInstitution based cross-sectional study was conducted at ALERT hospital May, 2015. Data were collected using a pretested, structured and standardized questionnaire. Systematic sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify associated factors. Odds ratio with 95 % CI was computed to assess the strength of associations.ResultsThe prevalence of co-morbid depression and anxiety among HIV patients was 24.5 % and prevalence of depression and anxiety among HIV patients was 41.2 % (172) and 32.4 % (135) respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that individual who had perceived HIV stigma (AOR = 3.60, 95 % CI (2.23, 5.80), poor social support (AOR = 2.02, 95 % CI (1.25, 3.27), HIV stage III (AOR = 2.80, 95 % CI (1.50, 5.21) and poor medication adherence (AOR = 1.61, 95 % CI (1.02, 2.55) were significantly associated with depression. Being female (AOR = 3.13, 95 % CI (1.80, 5.44), being divorced (AOR = 2.51, 95 % CI (1.26, 5.00), having co morbid TB (AOR = 2.74, 95 % CI (1.37, 5.47) and perceived HIV stigma (AOR = 4.00, 95 % CI (2.40, 6.69) were also significantly associated with anxiety.ConclusionPrevalence of depression and anxiety was high. Having perceived HIV stigma, HIV Stage III, poor social support and poor medication adherence were associated with depression. Whereas being female, being divorced and having co morbid TB and perceived HIV stigma were associated with anxiety. Ministry of health should give training on how to screen anxiety and depression among HIV patients and should develop guidelines to screen and treat depression and anxiety among HIV patients.

Background. Appropriate complementary feeding practice is essential for growth and development of children. This study aimed to assess dietary diversity and meal frequency practice of infants and young children in Ethiopia. Methods. Data collected in the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) from December 2010 to June 2011 were used for this study. Data collected were extracted, arranged, recoded, and analyzed by using SPSS version 17. A total of 2836 children aged 6–23 months were used for final analysis. Both bivariate and multivariate analysis were done to identify predictors of feeding practices. Result. Children with adequate dietary diversity score and meal frequency were 10.8% and 44.7%, respectively. Children born from the richest households showed better dietary diversity score (OR = 0.256). Number of children whose age less than five years was important predictor of dietary diversity (OR = 0.690). Mothers who had exposure to media were more likely to give adequate meal frequency to their children (OR = 0.707). Conclusion. Dietary diversity and meal frequency practices were inadequate in Ethiopia. Wealth quintile, exposure to media, and number of children were affecting feeding practices. Improving economic status, a habit of eating together, and exposure to media are important to improve infant feeding practices in Ethiopia.

Introduction. Clinical reports have indicated positive outcomes associated with disclosure of HIV-positive status in children. This study assessed the level and associated factors of HIV-positive status disclosure to HIV-infected children in northwest Ethiopia. Methods. Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-positive children from March to April 2012. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire by face-to-face interview technique. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results. Of the 428 children, 169 (39.5%) were disclosed their HIV-positive status. The mean age of HIV-positive status disclosure was at 10.7 (±2.3) years. Having a nonbiological parent (AOR = 4.14, 95% CI: 1.22, 14.04), child's age older than 10 years (AOR = 8.54, 95% CI: 4.5, 15.53), and death of a family member (AOR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.16, 3.6) were significantly and independently associated with disclosure of HIV-positive status to infected children. Conclusions. The rate of disclosure of HIV-positive status to infected children still remains low in North Gondar. Hence, it is important to target children living with their biological parents and having young parents and children younger than 10 years. The guideline for disclosure of children with HIV/AIDS should be established in an Ethiopian context.

Introduction: Out of fifteen countries that have the highest death rate from clinical pneumonia in children younger than five-year-old, Ethiopia ranks as number four in the world. Regardless of this fact, efforts to identify determinants of pneumonia have been limited in Ethiopia. This study identifies the risk factors of pneumonia in children aged two months to five years in urban areas of Oromia Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Methods: The researchers used an institutional-based unmatched case control study. All selected cases were identified through enumeration and control cases were identified systematically. The researchers used structured interviews, and observational and anthropometric measurements to collect the required information. Result: Data were actually collected from 121 cases and 235 controls. The risk of pneumonia was diminished among children in the 2-11 months age group (OR = 0.15, 95%CI: 0.06, 0.36) and 12-23 months age group (OR = 0. 38, 95%CI: 0.15, 0.92) as compared to children in the 35-60 months age group. An increased risk of pneumonia was associated with the father's primary education (1-4) (AOR = 10.7, 95%CI: 2.69, 42.7) and (5-8) (AOR = 4.67, 95%CI: 1.2, 17.9) as compared to higher education. Similarly, child cared by housekeeper and their relatives were at higher odds (AOR = 2.79, 95%CI: 1.12, 6.9) of developing pneumonia as compared to child cared by their parents. Children's having, history of diarrhea (AOR = 3.06, 95%CI: 1.54, 6.11) and household history of acute lower respiratory infection (AOR = 3.04, 95%CI: 1.20, 7.77) respectively, were at higher odds of developing pneumonia compared to their counterpart. Conclusion: This study presents the independent predisposing factors of childcare practice, child history of diarrhea and household history of acute lower respiratory infection for the occurrence of pneumonia. Actions taken against the above risk factors may help to prevent pneumonia.

Disclosure of HIV serostatus by pregnant women to their sexual partners is critical for the successful prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. This study examined the magnitude and factors associated with disclosure of HIV serostatus by pregnant women attending antenatal care services to their sexual partners in northwest Ethiopia.Institutional-based cross-sectional study design was employed from June to September 2013. All HIV positive pregnant women attending antenatal care follow up at government health facilities of Gondar, Bahir Dar and Metema town during the data collection period were included in the study. Data were collected by using pretested and structured interview questionnaire. Data analyses were done using SPSS for windows version 17.0. Multivariable analyses were applied to identify the relative effect of explanatory variables on the dependent variable. This study showed that the magnitude of HIV serostatus disclosure by HIV positive pregnant women attending antenatal care services to their sexual partners was high. However, this doesn't mean that there will be no need for further intervention activities as significant proportions of the study population still demonstrates nondisclosure. So, it is crucially important for HIV prevention programs to focus on factors, such as residence, increasing people's awareness about HIV and ensuring smooth communication between sexual partners concerning HIV serostatus to address the problem.

Introduction: Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the most frequent causes of death in the world; however, timely provision of basic life support (BLS) by knowledgeable and skilful health professionals will make an important contribution to reduce avoidable death and disability. Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was carried out in April 2016 among 397 nurses working in Gondar University Hospital and Bahirdar Referral Hospitals. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between knowledge and practice of basic life support with potential predictor variables. AOR and 95% CI were computed to identify predictor variables. Result: A total of 388 nurses participated in the study with a response rate of 97.7 among the study participants, 38.6% and 28.4% had good knowledge and good practice of BLS, respectively. Educational status, assigned place, training, and previous exposure were significantly associated with knowledge of BLS. With regard to practice of BLS: training, previous exposure, confidence and knowledge were factors associated with practice of BLS at (p≤0.05). Conclusion: In general, the knowledge and practice of BLS among nurses were low. Thus subsequent training and education is mandatory to achieve the desired outcome.