1. Pooled prevalence of malaria and associated factors among vulnerable populations in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Author
-
Demsash AW, Worku Z, Shibabaw AA, Walle AD, Lemu JC, Jifar WW, Bekana T, Gontie GB, Tesfahun E, Kitil GW, Chereka AA, and Gezimu W
- Subjects
- Humans, Ethiopia epidemiology, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Female, Pregnancy, Child, Malaria epidemiology, Vulnerable Populations statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Background: Malaria is a serious, fatal disease, and a high-risk determinant for human health globally. Children, pregnant women, and migrants are vulnerable groups for malaria infection in African regions. Recently, malaria is an endemic disease in Ethiopia., Objectives: This study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of malaria and its determinant factors among the most vulnerable populations in Ethiopia., Methods: Electronic databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Semantic Scholar, and Scopus were used for searching articles published since the 2020 Gregorian calendar and onwards. All peer-reviewed Ethiopian journals, health institutions, and Universities were considered for article searching. A PRISMA flow chart and Endnote software were used for article screening, and to remove duplications, respectively. The modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used for potential risk of bias assessments. The heterogeneity among the included studies was evaluated using the indicator of heterogeneity (I
2 ). Egger's test and funnel plot were used to examine the possible publication bias. A random-effects analysis was used to assess the pooled prevalence of malaria, and its determinant factors with a 95% CI. The screening process, data extraction, and quality assessment were done independently, and any disagreements were resolved through discussions., Results: A total of twelve studies were included in this study. The pooled malaria prevalence was 11.10% (95% CI: 6.10, 16.11). Stagnant water (AOR: 4.19, 95% CI: 2.47, 7.11), no insecticide-treated net utilization (AOR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.73, 5.73), and staying outdoors at night (AOR: 5.19, 95% CI: 2.08, 12.94) were the pooled estimated statistically risk factors for malaria prevalence. Whereas, insecticide-treated bed net utilization (AOR: 1.59, 95% CI: 0.23, 10.95) reduces the risk of malaria infection., Conclusions: The pooled prevalence of malaria is high among vulnerable populations. Creating awareness regarding utilization of insecticide-treated bed nets, and draining stagnant water from the environment are possible interventions to reduce the prevalence of malaria., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF