Search

Yirgalem Tola,1 Gistane Ayele,2 Negussie Boti,2 Manaye Yihune,2 Firdawek Gethahun,2 Zeleke Gebru2 1Arba Minch Health Science College, Department of Midwifery, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 2Arba Minch University, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Arba Minch, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Negussie Boti Tel +251-920997752Email Hanehalid@gmail.comBackground: It is generally accepted that pregnancy and childbirth are natural physiological processes. However, these significantly affect the quality of mothers’ lives. Little is known about the level of quality-of-life and associated factors among postpartum women in Ethiopia, particularly in the study area.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 409 randomly selected post-partum women who were living in Arba Minch town. Systematic random sampling was employed to select the study participants. The standard quality-of-life assessment tool which is known as the short-form SF 36 tool was used to assess health-related quality-of-life. The logistic regression model was used to identify associated factors. Statistically significant variables at a p-value< 0.25 in the bi-variable analysis were candidate variables for multi-variable analysis and statistical significance which was declared at a p-value< 0.05.Results: Among the study participants, 255 (62.3%) had lower level health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL). About 46.2% of the study participants had lower physical HRQoL and about 79% of the study participants had lower mental HRQoL. The overall mean score of HRQoL was 45.15 (± 8.13). Factors associated with lower overall HRQoL were age group 17– 24 years (AOR=2.73, 95% CI=1.22– 6.10), no formal education [AOR 2.02, 95% CI (1.05– 3.89)], and cesarean delivery (AOR=0.49, 95% CI=0.24– 0.97). A factor associated with lower physical HRQoL was cesarean delivery (AOR=0.34, 95% CI=0.13– 0.88). Factors associated with lower mental HRQoL were age group 17– 24 (AOR=3.37, 95% CI=1.60– 7.04), not receiving antenatal care (AOR=3.65, 95% CI=1.45– 9.16), and having postpartum depression (AOR=2.27, 95% CI=1.30– 3.93).Conclusion: The results suggest that the majority of post-partum women had a lower HRQoL, particularly women’s mental health was compromised. In this study, a suggestion is made that the respective bodies need to give particular attention to mothers during the post-partum period to prevent poor quality-of-life.Keywords: post-partum women, health-related quality-of-life

Agegnehu Bante,1 Abera Mersha,1 Azene Tesfaye,2 Behailu Tsegaye,3 Shitaye Shibiru,1 Gistane Ayele,4 Meseret Girma4 1School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 3School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 4School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Agegnehu BanteArba Minch University, PO Box 21, Arba Minch, EthiopiaTel +251-918-487-338Email agegnehubante@gmail.comIntroduction: COVID-19 is one of the huge general wellbeing crisis for the planet. Since its first recognition, over 90.2 and 1.9 million people are infected and dead, respectively. Although it is not easily available for low-income countries, after many trials vaccination is initiated by some industrialized nations. However, still now there is no effective treatment for the infection. Henceforth, adherence with COVID-19 preventive and control measures is the only option to stop its spread and minimize its disastrous impact, especially, in developing nations like Ethiopia. Knowledge and behavior change are pillars to engage with preventive measures. Thus, the motivation behind this study was to assess communities’ adherence with COVID-19 preventive measures and its associated factors among inhabitants of Dirashe district, Southern Ethiopia.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was directed among 648 inhabitants in Dirashe district from June 20 to July 5, 2020. A multistage sampling technique was applied to select the participants. A pretested, validated and reliable interviewer-administered survey tool comprising the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge (α = 0.78), and adherence with COVID-19 preventive measures (α = 0.73) was used. The data were assorted electronically using Open Data Kit (ODK) collect version 1.17.2 android application and exported to Stata version 15.0 for analysis. Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% CI was used to identify variables associated with the community’s adherence with COVID-19 preventive measures.Results: An aggregate of 644 inhabitants were participated in this study; of them, only 12.3% [95% confidence interval (CI): 9.8, 15.1] adhered to the recommended COVID-19 preventive measures. Likewise, 63.51% [95% CI: 59.7, 67.2] and 54.5% [95% CI: 50.6, 58.4] of the participants had good knowledge and favorable attitude towards COVID-19 preventive measures, respectively. Urban residence [aOR: 9.74, 95% CI: 4.72, 20.10], favorable attitude [aOR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.05, 3.68] and concerned about COVID-19-related stigma [aOR: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.02, 5.79] were independently associated with communities adherence with COVID-19 preventive measures.Conclusion: In general, communities’ adherence to the recommended COVID-19 preventive measures was very low in the area. Addressing underprivileged population groups, disseminating teaching aids in local languages, behavioral change communications, and law enforcement is imperative to strengthen COVID-19 prevention practice.Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019, public adherence, knowledge, prevention practice, southern Ethiopia

Negussie Boti,1 Sultan Hussen,1 Gistane Ayele,1 Abera Mersha,2 Selamawit Gebeyehu,1 Mekidm Kassa,1 Tesfaye Feleke,1 Gebremaryam Temesgen3 1School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 2School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 3Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Negussie Boti Tel +251-920-997-752Email Hanehalid@gmail.comBackground: Mental health disorders have identified as being one of the public health issues throughout the world. Recent evidence reveals that more than 21 million people diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, there is little information about community perception and attitude towards people with Schizophrenia in Ethiopia.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the community perception and attitude towards people with Schizophrenia among residents of Arba Minch Zuria Districts, Southern Ethiopia.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 617 randomly selected adults. Interviewer-administered standard tool was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics like frequency, mean, and median computed. A binary logistic regression model used to identify factors affecting community perception and attitude towards people with schizophrenia.Results: Of the study population, 469 (76%) of respondents had good perception and 390 (63.2%) had positive attitudes towards people with schizophrenia. The study participants identified talkativeness and self-neglect behaviors as the most common manifestations of schizophrenia. Besides, this study identified substance misuse and head injury as the perceived cause and spiritual or traditional methods as a preferred treatment for people with schizophrenia. Moreover, the study participants preferred spiritual or traditional methods for the treatment of schizophrenia. Young age [AOR=2.03, 95% CI: 1.21, 3.40], females [AOR=2.32, 95% CI: 1.58, 3.41], good perception towards people with schizophrenia [AOR=4.95, 95% CI: 3.25, 7.54] and no formal educational status [AOR=2.75, 95% CI: 1.33, 5.70], and primary education [AOR=3.72, 95% CI: 1.87, 7.39] were significantly associated with the attitude towards people with schizophrenia.Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that approximately one-third of the residents had unfavorable attitudes towards people with schizophrenia. Therefore, giving special attention to male, elders and those who were educated, and individuals who have poor perceptions of people with schizophrenia is crucial.Keywords: perception, attitude, schizophrenia, Arba Minch Zuria District, Southern Ethiopia

Malnutrition is one of the key factors in children's inappropriate physical and mental development. It is a significant issue that results in the deaths of 3.5 million children under the age of 5 every year worldwide. This study's primary goal was to pinpoint important family-related causes of underweight child malnutrition in Ethiopia.The data were gathered from the Central Statistical Agency's 2019 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. Data were examined using descriptive statistics and an ordinal logistic regression model after the sample was chosen using a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling approach.Overall 6101 underweight children were involved in the study of which 5019 (82.27%) were severely underweight, 28 (0.46%) were moderately underweight and 1054 (17.28%) were mild. The result showed that, birth order (wealth index combined, sex, and region have statistically significant effect on Severity of malnutrition. Female children were highly malnourished. Children in Amhara, Afar, and Tigray region were highly affected by severe malnutrition relative to other regions. Hence, the government is recommended to impose action on child nutrition in the area as it is a public health issue.

International audience

International audience

International audience

Gully erosion in the highlands of Ethiopia has reduced agricultural productivity and degraded ecosystem services. To better understand the processes controlling gully erosion and design effective control measures, a study was conducted in the headwaters of the Birr watershed for three consecutive years (2013-2015). Fourteen gullies with similar morphology were studied in three adjacent sub-watersheds. Stabilization measures were applied to 5 of the 14 gully heads. Three gully control measures were compared: a) reshaping gully banks and head to a 45 degree slope with stone rip rap on the gully heads, b) controlling gully bed grade, and c) planting grasses and trees on shallow gullies (i.e., < 3 m deep). Results demonstrated that gully control measures were effective in controlling the expansion of gullies as no further retreat was observed for the 5 treated gully heads, whereas the average retreat was 3 meters with a maximum of 22.5 m for the 9 untreated gullies. The migration of untreated gully heads produced an average soil loss of 38 tons per gully. Compared with simple reshaping of gully heads, the additional integration with stone rip rap was an effective and low cost measure. Vegetative treatment by itself could not stop the upslope migration of gully heads, though it had the potential to trap sediments. Re-vegetation at gully heads stabilized with stone rip rap occurred faster than at unprotected, reshaped heads and banks. From the fourteen rehabilitation treatments, gully head protection integrated with plantation showed the largest potential in decreasing gully development in terms of labor, time and material it requires., Paper presented at the International Conference of the Advancement of Science and Technology, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 17-18 July 2016

Document uit de collectie Chemische Procestechnologie

SUMMARYFrom 1978 to 1982,50 consecutive cases of acute infantile and childhood hemiplegias were followed up at our Neurology clinic. Fifteen cases (30%) were below the age of two years and 34 cases under five years of age (68%). Our youngest patient was six months and the oldest 13½ years. The male to female ratio was 1·3: 1. An acute onset of hemiplegia was noted in 64% of cases. A right side hemiplegia was more common than a left (1·5: 1). Idiopathic cases, where no clinical associations could be made, bacterial meningitis, head traumas, and encephalitis were the four leading causes of acute hemiplegias in our series. (A complete recovery was noted in 82% of cases without associated clinical causes.) Subsequent development of epilepsy was noted in 10% of cases at follow-up.

International audience; As part of an effort towards the future smart energy system, integration of different distributed generation technologies is proposed in literature. These technologies include heat pumps, gas boilers, combined heat and power (CHP) plants, solar photo-voltaic (PV) and so on. Some of these technologies couple different energy carriers in which case the independent analysis of each network could lead to unrealistic results. Optimization of heat pumps and CHP plants in coupled electricity and heating network, for example, needs consideration of both networks' parameters in order to get results that are optimal in both networks. The first step in such optimization process is to have a load flow model (as an equality constraint) for the two coupled networks. Even though many researchers tried to address optimization of energy mixes at a district level, they did not consider the details of network parameters. And hence, too little has been done to investigate the effect of different distributed generation technologies on the operational parameters of different energy networks. This paper deals with a pseudo-dynamic simulation of a district energy system that consists of coupled electricity and heating networks. The details of transmission line and pipe parameters together with the coupling devices are modelled using an extended energy hub approach. A network of six energy hubs with different distributed generation technologies such as heat pump, gas boiler, CHP and Solar PV is considered in the simulation. Time series data for demands and generations at different hubs are used on hourly basis. The CHP and heat pumps are scheduled to operate in certain period of the year while the PV output follows the annual solar radiation. Annual pseudo-dynamic load flow simulation is done to see how the operational parameters and power losses in the network vary with hourly changes in demands, generations and loading of coupling technologies.