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Introduction. The incidence of a pressure ulcer in intensive care units (ICU) is significantly higher than in noncritical care settings. The patients in the ICU are the most vulnerable group to disruption of the skin's integrity. Prior studies in Ethiopia failed to evaluate pressure ulcers in intensive care units and were limited to general wards. The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence and predictors of pressure ulcers in adult patients admitted to intensive care units in Southern Ethiopia. Methods. A single-arm prospective open cohort of 216 patients was used to determine the presence of a pressure ulcer in the intensive care units from June 2021 to April 2022. A consecutive sampling was used until the sample size was reached. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Stata 14. A cumulative incidence of a pressure ulcer was computed. The life table was used to estimate the cumulative survival. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression was used to identify independent predictors of a pressure ulcer. An adjusted hazard ratio with a 95% CI was used to measure the degree of association; a P value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results. Twenty-five patients developed a pressure ulcer (PU), making a cumulative incidence of 11.57%. Out of 25 incident cases of pressure ulcers, four-fifths (80%) of the study patients developed PU within 6 days of their admission to the ICUs. The incidence rate was 32.98 PU per 1000 person-days of ICU stay. Pressure ulcers were most commonly found on the sacrum, followed by the shoulder. Among the incident cases, 52% were stage 2 ulcers. The presence of friction or shearing forces, as well as being 40 years of age or older, was independently associated with pressure ulcers. Conclusion. The overall cumulative incidence of the pressure ulcer was lower than that in other studies but occurred at a faster rate. Age (40 years of age or older) and the presence of friction or shearing forces were the main predictors of pressure ulcers in the intensive care units. Therefore, nurses working in ICUs should continually anticipate the risk of a pressure ulcer. Moreover, special attention should be given to patients of advanced ages. Furthermore, monitoring the installation of a mattress, keeping bed linens unwrinkled, and keeping patients in a proper position on a bed to prevent or reduce friction or shearing forces are very crucial in the prevention of pressure ulcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ethiopia, the first 3 days (72 h) after admission to the emergency department (ED) account for more than half (59.8%) of all deaths. However, little is known about the prevalence of early mortality and its associated factors in southern Ethiopia. The main objective of this study is to assess the prevalence and associated factors of early mortality among deaths in adult EDs at selected public hospitals in Hawassa, southern Ethiopia. An institutional-based retrospective cross-sectional study design was applied. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 369 charts of patients who died in the adult EDs of selected public hospitals in the past 2 years. The data were collected using a standardized and pretested data abstraction tool using the Kobo Toolbox data collection tool. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to assess the strength of the association. Statistical significance was declared at p -value < 0.05, and an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval was used to report the strength of the association. According to the results of the current study, 288 patients, or 78% of the total, passed away within 72 h of admission to the ED. The following variables were significantly associated with early mortality: delayed initial intervention (AOR 2.338), red triage categories (AOR 3.9), lack of investigation (AOR 3.4), comorbid illness (AOR 3.2), absence of prehospital treatment (AOR 4.2), and road traffic accidents (AOR 4.1). There was an increased early mortality rate seen in this investigation. The following factors were significantly associated with an early death in the ED: comorbidity, delayed intervention, red warning score, road traffic accidents, absence of prehospital treatment, and lack of diagnostic testing. By addressing the variables that are strongly linked to an early mortality, every intervention should be undertaken to reduce the risk of an early death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Male partner involvement is an important and crucial determinant of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. It creates an opportunity to reverse the transmission of HIV during pregnancy, labor, and breastfeeding. Thus, involving male partners during HIV screening of pregnant mothers at ANC is the key to fight against MTCT of HIV. Objective: This study was designed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with male partner's involvement on PMTCT service utilization among pregnant women who attended focused antenatal care (FANC) in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 randomly selected pregnant women who enrolled in PMTCT service at ANC clinics. Pre-tested and structured self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the presence of statistically significant associations between the outcome variable and the independent variables with a p-value less than 0.05. Results: A total of 409 pregnant women who had ANC follow-up have participated in this study. The majority 160 (39.1%) of the participants were in the age group of 25– 29 years. The magnitude of male involvement in PMTCT service was 129 (29.8%). Number of ANC visits (3rd visit (AOR=2.36, CI=1.09, 5.10), 4th visit (AOR=3.49, CI=1.65, 7.38), birthplace interest (AOR=3.01, CI=1.16, 7.84), awareness about partner monthly income (AOR=2.17, CI=1.15, 4.11), source of family saving scheme (partner (AOR=2.99, CI=1.39, 6.43), self (AOR=8.59, CI=3.92, 18.82), both (AOR=5.13, CI=2.21, 11.92), maternal perception about the importance of consulting partner before HIV testing (AOR=9.30, CI=2.65, 32.64), and kinds of partner support (psychological (AOR=0.08, CI=0.02, 0.29), financial (AOR=0.33, CI=0.17, 0.68) were found to be significantly associated with male involvement in PMTCT. Conclusion: This study found out that male partner involvement in PMTCT is low. Therefore, improving male partner involvement in PMTCT is recommended for improving maternal FANC service utilization and adherence with notification of their partner and provision of psychological and financial support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess nurses caring behaviours and its associated factors among nurses working at public hospitals in the Gamo zone of southern Ethiopia in 2022., Design: Institutional based cross-sectional study was used., Setting: This study was conducted in five public hospitals in Gamo zone, southern Ethiopia., Participants: A total of 360 nurses of different level of qualification were included in this study using a proportional allocation method from the five hospitals and final study participants were recruited from all wards using a simple random sampling method from 20 June to 20 July 2022., Outcome Measurements: Caring behaviour was assessed using 24 standardised Caring Behaviour Inventory (CBI) scales. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and, analysed using the logistic regression method, and those variables with a p value of <0.05 in multivariable analysis were considered statistically significant., Result: The overall percentage of nurse caring behaviour in this study was 53.3%. Most of the respondents practiced technical aspects of caring behaviour rather than psychosocial aspects of caring. Being married (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.027 (0.003-0.263), having work experience of (0-5 years) (AOR=5.547 (1.42-21.64)), (6-10 years) (AOR=8.693 (2.317-32.6), being satisfied with motivation and prospect (AOR=0.473 (0.290-0.770)) and being satisfied with the nursing profession (AOR=1.716 (1.065-2.765) were significantly associated with nurses caring behaviour., Conclusion: The proportion of nurses with a good caring behaviour found in this study was relatively poor. Being married, having lower work experience, being satisfied with motivation and prospects, and nursing profession were associated with nurses caring behaviour. This study recommends the need to focus on including caring behaviour courses in the nursing curriculum and training nurses focusing on those with a few experiences on the meaning and importance of caring behaviour., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: This analysis is to present the burden and trends of morbidity and mortality due to lower respiratory infections (LRIs), their contributing risk factors, and the disparity across administrative regions and cities from 1990 to 2019., Design: This analysis used Global Burden of Disease 2019 framework to estimate morbidity and mortality outcomes of LRI and its contributing risk factors. The Global Burden of Disease study uses all available data sources and Cause of Death Ensemble model to estimate deaths from LRI and a meta-regression disease modelling technique to estimate LRI non-fatal outcomes with 95% uncertainty intervals (UI)., Study Setting: The study includes nine region states and two chartered cities of Ethiopia., Outcome Measures: We calculated incidence, death and years of life lost (YLLs) due to LRIs and contributing risk factors using all accessible data sources. We calculated 95% UIs for the point estimates., Results: In 2019, LRIs incidence, death and YLLs among all age groups were 8313.7 (95% UI 7757.6-8918), 59.4 (95% UI 49.8-71.4) and 2404.5 (95% UI 2059.4-2833.3) per 100 000 people, respectively. From 1990, the corresponding decline rates were 39%, 61% and 76%, respectively. Children under the age of 5 years account for 20% of episodes, 42% of mortalities and 70% of the YLL of the total burden of LRIs in 2019. The mortality rate was significantly higher in predominantly pastoralist regions-Benishangul-Gumuz 101.8 (95% UI 84.0-121.7) and Afar 103.7 (95% UI 86.6-122.6). The Somali region showed the least decline in mortality rates. More than three-fourths of under-5 child deaths due to LRIs were attributed to malnutrition. Household air pollution from solid fuel attributed to nearly half of the risk factors for all age mortalities due to LRIs in the country., Conclusion: In Ethiopia, LRIs have reduced significantly across the regions over the years (except in elders), however, are still the third-leading cause of mortality, disproportionately affecting children younger than 5 years old and predominantly pastoralist regions. Interventions need to consider leading risk factors, targeted age groups and pastoralist and cross-border communities., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Background: People with mental illness (PWMI) have declining health related quality of life (HRQoL), which is frequently equivalent to or greater than that of medical disorders. Although, HRQoL is rapidly being recognized as an essential treatment outcome indicator in modern psychiatry, research on the identification and significance of factors impacting QoL in PWMI is still in its early stages., Objective: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of HRQoL among people with mental illness who underwent outpatient follow-up in Sidama region, southern Ethiopia., Methods: We conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study from April-1, to May-30, 2022. A total of 412 participants took part in the study, using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. The HRQoL was measured using the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey-Version 2 (SF-12v2) scale. To describe different variables, descriptive statistics were employed. To find independent HRQoL predictors, we used multivariable linear regression analysis. P -value of <0.05 were declared statistically significant at 95% confidence interval (CI)., Result: Out of 412 participants, nearly two-third 261 (63.3%) were male and nearly half 203 (49.3%) were diagnosed as schizophrenia. HRQoL was positively associated with social support (β = 0.321) and being single (β = 2.680). Conversely, functional disability (β = -0.545), being a student (β = -4.645) and jobless (β = -3.279) by occupation, and being diagnosed with depression (β = -2.839) were negatively impacted HRQoL among PWMI., Conclusion: HRQoL of people with mental disorders in this study was significantly associated to social support, marital status, occupation, diagnosis and level of functional disability. Therefore, the mental health care system should develop HRQoL promoting measures that enhance PWMI functioning, social support and employment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Defar, Abraham, Reta, Deribe, Jisso, Yeheyis, Kebede, Beyene and Ayalew.)

Background: Male partner involvement is an important and crucial determinant of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. It creates an opportunity to reverse the transmission of HIV during pregnancy, labor, and breastfeeding. Thus, involving male partners during HIV screening of pregnant mothers at ANC is the key to fight against MTCT of HIV., Objective: This study was designed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with male partner's involvement on PMTCT service utilization among pregnant women who attended focused antenatal care (FANC) in Southern Ethiopia., Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 randomly selected pregnant women who enrolled in PMTCT service at ANC clinics. Pre-tested and structured self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the presence of statistically significant associations between the outcome variable and the independent variables with a p-value less than 0.05., Results: A total of 409 pregnant women who had ANC follow-up have participated in this study. The majority 160 (39.1%) of the participants were in the age group of 25-29 years. The magnitude of male involvement in PMTCT service was 129 (29.8%). Number of ANC visits (3rd visit (AOR=2.36, CI=1.09, 5.10), 4th visit (AOR=3.49, CI=1.65, 7.38), birthplace interest (AOR=3.01, CI=1.16, 7.84), awareness about partner monthly income (AOR=2.17, CI=1.15, 4.11), source of family saving scheme (partner (AOR=2.99, CI=1.39, 6.43), self (AOR=8.59, CI=3.92, 18.82), both (AOR=5.13, CI=2.21, 11.92), maternal perception about the importance of consulting partner before HIV testing (AOR=9.30, CI=2.65, 32.64), and kinds of partner support (psychological (AOR=0.08, CI=0.02, 0.29), financial (AOR=0.33, CI=0.17, 0.68) were found to be significantly associated with male involvement in PMTCT., Conclusion: This study found out that male partner involvement in PMTCT is low. Therefore, improving male partner involvement in PMTCT is recommended for improving maternal FANC service utilization and adherence with notification of their partner and provision of psychological and financial support., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2020 Ayalew et al.)