Ethiopian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences

Factors associated with magnitude of exchange of sexually explicit contents among high school students: a cross sectional study

Belisty Mengist Zelek — 2024-09-24

Background: “Exchange of sexually explicit content” refers to behaviors such as sending or receiving nude or partially nude images, and sexually suggestive texts and calls via cell phones or other electronic media. As mobile technology is increasingly used to form and maintain social relationships, sexual content-sharing practices are becoming common among young people, contributing to technology-driven sexual risks. Despite this prevalence, there is a paucity of evidence on the prevalence of sexually explicit content-sharing among high school students.

Objective: This study aims to assess the magnitude of exchange of sexually explicit materials and associated risk factors among high school students.

Method: A cross-sectional study design using a stratified sampling technique was employed applied to 590 students from April 18, 2022 to May 03, 2022. Data was collected through structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data were coded and entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. The degree of association between dependent and independent variables was assessed using bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Variables with p-value of less than 0.05 were considered significant.

Result: Overall about 220(38.4%) (95% CI 34.4-42.5) of high school students were actively engaged in exchange of sexually explicit contents. Associated factors were being male (AOR=2.08, 95%CI 1.37, 3.16), being in grade 12 (AOR=3.29, 95%CI1.84, 5.89), living with mother (AOR=7.49, 95%CI 4.01, 14.01), living with father (AOR= 7.06,95% CI2.99,16.66), having a social media account (AOR=3.35, 95%CI1.87, 6.07), free internet access (AOR=2.29,95%CI1.49,3.49) and having a low religiosity scale (AOR=1.67, 95% CI1.10, 2.54).

Conclusion: This study indicated that being male, having a low religiosity scale, living with a single parent, and visiting variety of social media were the major predictors associated with exchange of sexually explicit contents in Debre Markos high school students. There is a vital need to inform students of the consequences of this behavior on sexual health. Guardians or parents should strengthen their child’s religious faith and parent their children together instead of individually. The purpose of information communication technology (ICT) materials in schools should be clearly explained to the students as being for the sole purpose of information gathering and not for illicit purpose.

Predictors of neonatal mortality in Tigray Regional State, Northern Ethiopia: a comparison of parametric survival models’ approaches

Gebru Gebremeskel Gebrerufael — 2024-09-24

Background: The neonatal age is the most vulnerable time for survival in which children appeare at the highest risk of dying in their lives.Ethiopia has pledged to lower under-five child mortality rates since 2015 despite being one of the SSA nations to have achieved the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG4). The neonatal mortality rate (NMR) is still a significant public health issue in Ethiopia, and it is getting worse in the Tigray region. Neonatal mortality dataset from retrospective cross-sectional study research is also scarce.

Objective: This study was aimed to assess the predictors of neonatal mortality in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia.

Method: A retrospective cross-sectional study design was conducted from 18, January, 2016 to 27, June 2016. In this study a total of 716 neonates were selected. Neonatal mortality risk factors include predictor variables such as neonate and mother demographics, health, and environmental factors. The study used descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier comparisons, and parametric survival models, and comparisons were also performed to select suitable forecasting model analyses.

Result:The overall NMR experienced was 4.3 neonatal deaths per 100 total live births. The estimated mean follow-up time of neonates was 10.0 days [95% CI: 9.67, 10.30] in the Tigray region. The multivariable Weibull-regression model analysis revealed that predictors being multiple birth type (AHR = 10.9, 95% CI: 3.4, 35.5) and home delivery (AHR = 10.5, 95% CI: 3.0, 36.6) were critically important risk predictors associated with a higher NMR.

Conclusion: The prevalence of NMR showed that the NMR in the Tigray region was greater than the national average.The current study identified the multiple birth type and home delivery of the neonates as crucial predictor factors for NMR. Interventions should be improved to these factors that significantly decrease the NMR problem among neonates.

Enhancing adolescent nutritional behaviour through school food club interventions

Mary Ibukunoluwa Tubi — 2024-09-24

Background: There is a growing concern over the rising prevalence of malnutrition among adolescents in Africa. This issue is largely attributed to the decline in dietary quality during this crucial stage, which compromises the ability to meet nutritional needs and increases vulnerability to various illnesses and nutrition-related diseases. Understanding the factors that can enhance adolescent nutritional behavior is essential to addressing this public health challenge.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of adopting School Food Clubs (SFC) on the nutritional behavior (NB) of adolescents in private secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Method: With a quasi-experimental design, two Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly assigned as the Intervention Group (IG; Ibadan South West) and Comparison Group (CG; Ibadan North). Three private secondary schools with existing SFCs were randomly selected from each group. A total of 162 adolescents (IG=85, CG=77) interested in SFC were recruited. Quantitative assessments were performed using a semi-structured questionnaire at baseline and post-intervention.

Result: Knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and practice scores significantly increased in the IG post-intervention compared to the CG. The SFC adoption positively influenced knowledge (21.7±3.1), attitude (22.3±2.8), self-efficacy (24.4±3.1), and practice (22.2±5.0) scores at the 3-month follow-up. The study revealed consistent improvements across these variables, indicating a significant positive relationship between SFC adoption and NB promotion.

Conclusion: The School Food Club demonstrated effectiveness in promoting the nutritional behavior of adolescents in Ibadan. The study suggests that SFCs have the potential for sustainable positive nutritional behavior changes among the target population and recommends their encouragement in other schools. This research contributes valuable insights into addressing the increasing prevalence of malnutrition among adolescents, emphasizing the need for interventions that focus on holistic nutritional behavior improvements through innovative and sustainable platforms like SFCs

The association between ABO blood groups and norovirus infections among patients suffering from diarrheal disease in Northwest Ethiopia

Dessie Tegegne — 2024-09-24

Background: Norovirus (NoV) infection is a significant cause of diarrhea worldwide. However, all individuals are not equally affected due to environmental, viral, and host factors, particularly ABO blood groups. Indeed, data that describes the association between NoV infection and the ABO blood group is limited in Ethiopia, and this needs to be investigated.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the relationship between ABO blood groups and NoV infection in Northwest Ethiopia.

Method: A health-facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2021 to November 2021 by enrolling 550 participants with diarrhea. Fecal samples were collected and analyzed by reverse transcription PCR to identify NoVs. To further genotype the positive samples, a viral protein-1-coding gene was sequenced. In addition, blood samples were collected and tested to identify blood groupsby using the tube hemagglutination technique. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Logistic regression analysis was done to assess the association between NoV infection and the independent variables.

Result: Among the 550 enrolled participants, 519 (94% response rate) provided the required clinical samples and epidemiological data. The majority of the study participants (249/519; 48%) had O blood group.Among the NoV-positive study subjects, the majority (34/46, 74%) were in blood group O, followed by blood group A individuals (9/46, 19.6%).The risk of NoV infection was higher for patients with blood group O than for blood group B (AOR = 1.5, 95%CI = 2–15, P= 0.01), but there was no association for other blood groups.At least one NoV-GII was identified in each of the blood groups, while NoV-GI affected individuals with blood groups O and A. Besides, GII.3 and GII.21 genotypes were common among blood group O individuals, while most (75%) blood group A individuals were susceptible to GII.17 infections.

Conclusion: The positivity rate of NoV infection was considerably high among individuals with blood group O. Norovirus-GII can infect all blood groups, while NoV-GI selectively affects blood groups A and O. Further large-scale studies are warranted to assess the relevance of this observation and other genetic factors.

Physicochemical and microbiological quality of water in public outdoor swimming pools in South Nations Nationalities People Regional State, Southern Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study

Mesfin Woku — 2024-09-24

Background: Swimming is a fashionable and wonderful form of recreational activity, sport, rehabilitative treatment and is generally considered to be healthy exercise for both young and old people. However, the risk of infection has been linked to faecal contamination of the swimming pool due to faeces released by bathers, contaminated source water or as the result of direct animal contamination. Swimmers are infected when they swallow contaminated pool water.

Objective: This study was aimedto assess the physicochemical and microbiological quality of water in public swimming pools in South Nations Nationalities People Regional State, Southern Ethiopia.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine quality of water in swimming pool from July, 2018 to November, 2018. A purposive sampling technique was used to select swimming pools. Physicochemical and microbiological tests were made on water sample from selected pools. Descriptive statistics were performed to construct tables for physical parameters, chemical parameters, total plate counts (TPC), thermotolerant coliform (fecal coliform), and E. coli.

Result: A total of 12 swimming pools were included in this study and 54 water samples were collected. All the swimming pool water samples were beyond World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation for both PH level and conductivity. Almost all, 91.7% (11/12) of the swimming pools were violated the WHO Standard of Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC). Five out of twelve swimming pools) were not comply with the WHO limit (<1/100ml) for thermotolerant (faecal) coliform count. Four of the total swimming pools were confirmed for the presence of thermotolerant Escherichia coli (E. coli).

Conclusion: All the participated swimming pools violate the WHO recommendation for PH value and conductivity. In addition, all water samples were contaminated with mold. Half of the outdoor swimming pools violate for the lower limit value of WHO for thermotolerant (faecal) coliform count. No parasites were detected in all the swimming pools.

The role of health extension workers in combating hypertension in Ethiopia

Destaw Fetene Teshome — 2024-09-24

Ethiopia faces a triple disease burden of communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and injuries (1), with hypertension affecting nearly one in four adults (2). Hypertension is the major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, accounting for more than half CVD-related deaths (3). Several community-based studies in Ethiopian cities revealed a high prevalence of hypertension, ranging from 25.1% to 31.9% in the Amhara region (4, 5), 25% to 32.3% in Addis Ababa (6, 7), and 19.7% to 35.2% in southern Ethiopia (8, 9). In rural areas, nearly one in five adults also suffers from hypertension (2), highlighting its growing public health significance.

Early detection and management of hypertension are critical for improving the care cascade (10), preventing complications (11), and saving lives (12). However, hypertension remains largely underdiagnosed and poorly managed, making hypertension an iceberg disease. The 2018 Ethiopian NCDI Commission summary report showed that less than 40% of hypertensive patients were diagnosed, 28% of those diagnosed patients received treatment, and only 26% of those treated had their blood pressure adequately controlled (13). A study in Ethiopia also showed that 77% of the population had never undergone blood pressure measurement (14), and 60% were unaware of their hypertension status (5). Another study in the rural districts of northwest Ethiopia also identified 84% of adults with hypertension were unaware of their condition (15), underscoring the urgent need for community-based interventions to improve early detection, treatment, and care.

Even though the Ministry of Health Ethiopia sets a goal in its second health sector transformation plan to increase the proportion of individuals with controlled blood pressure from 26% to 60% by 2025 (16), challenges such as a shortage of health care providers and limited access to healthcare remain the most significant barriers to providing care at the primary health care level (17). One strategy to bridge the gap between the community and the health system in other contexts is task-sharing, in which specific tasks are shared from more qualified healthcare providers to a less trained cadre, such as community health workers (18). This approach reduces time and transportation costs for patients and brings healthcare services closer to the community. A study in northwest Ethiopia indicated that community-based hypertension screening led by HEWs can improve awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the community (19). Health extension workers-led home-based multicomponent interventions, which provided home health education, behavioural counseling, and referral to a nearby health facility, have been shown to enhance linkage to hypertension care and lead to a significant reduction of high blood pressure, with a higher proportion of patients achieving optimal blood pressure control (20).

To implement this strategy, integrating it into primary healthcare services at the village and health post level in rural areas is essential. However, successful implementation of the strategy requires scaling up of hypertension training programs for health extension workers and their supervisors, provision of standardized protocols, provision of adequate blood pressure measuring equipment, and regular supportive supervision.