Ashenafi Abate Woya

Background: The full pentavalent (DPT-HepB-Hib) vaccination is the main strategy to prevent five communicable diseases in early childhood, especially in countries with huge communicable disease burdens like Ethiopia. Exploring spatial distributions and determinants of full pentavalent vaccination status in minor ecological areas in Ethiopia is crucial for creating targeted immunization campaigns and monitoring the advancement of accomplishing sustainable development goals. This study aimed to investigate the spatial disparities and determinants of full pentavalent vaccination among 12-23-month-old children in Ethiopia. Method: The data on pentavalent vaccine uptake was found in the Ethiopian Health and Demographic Survey (EDHS, 2019). A two-stage cluster sampling method was applied to collect the EDHS data. The enumeration area was the primary sample unit while the household served as the secondary sampling unit. The geographical variations of full pentavalent vaccine uptake were explored using Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) software. The significant predictors of full pentavalent vaccination were identified using a simple logistic regression model through R version 4.1 software. Result: The national full pentavalent vaccine uptake was 59.2%. The spatial distribution of full pentavalent vaccine uptake was not uniform in Ethiopia. Spatial cluster analysis revealed that most of low coverage regions for full pentavalent vaccine uptake were Afar, Somali, and Harari. The regions with the highest and lowest rates of vaccine uptake were Tigray and Harari region, respectively. Maternal age of 35–49 years (AOR = 3.42; 95% CI: 1.99, 5.87), and 25–34 years (AOR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.19), primary education attended (AOR = 1.51; 95%CI: 1.07, 2.11), richness wealth index (AOR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.40, 2.75), birth order of 1–3 (AOR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.19, 2.96), and delivery in the health facility (AOR = 3.41: 95% CI: 2.52, 4.61) were the determinants of full pentavalent vaccine uptake in Ethiopia. Conclusion: Ethiopia’s full pentavalent vaccine uptake was far lower than the global target. Older maternal age, maternal education, wealth index, birth order, and giving birth in a health facility were the determinants of full pentavalent vaccine uptake. Special attention should be given to Afar, Somali, and Harari regions, to strengthen the vaccine uptake. Moreover, improved socioeconomic status and getting maternal health services during delivery are necessary to enhance vaccine uptake.

Background Industry development indicators are metrics that are used to evaluate an industry's growth and performance. This study's primary goal was to evaluate the relationship among Ethiopia's industry development indicators using a multivariate time series model based on World Bank data covering the years 1982–2021. Method Annual data covering the years 1982–2021 were used in a time series approach. A vector auto-regressive model was performed for interdependency modeling. Certain elements of the relationships between the variables of interest are frequently analyzed using structural vector autoregressive techniques. Results The results of the vector autoregressive model indicated that the current industry growth is positively related to one period lagged value of itself, industry GDP and manufacturing exports. And also, there exists a positive relationship between manufacturing exports and the first lag of itself, industry growth and manufacturing GDP. For a 1% increase in manufacturing exports, the industry growth rate increased by 0.37% in natural logarithms on average, ceteris paribus. Conclusion The current manufacturing growth of Ethiopia is significantly affected by the first lag of industry growth, industry GDP, manufacturing exports, and manufacturing GDP. And also, there is a unidirectional causality from industry growth to industry GDP, industry growth to manufacturing growth, manufacturing exports to industry growth, manufacturing exports to industry GDP, manufacturing growth to industry GDP, manufacturing exports to manufacturing growth, and manufacturing GDP to manufacturing growth in the short run.

Background: Infant mortality remains a public health challenge in Ethiopia. Exploring infant mortality will aid in tracking the progress toward achieving sustainable development goals. Objective: The study aimed to explore the geographical variations and associated factors of infant mortality in Ethiopia. Method: A total of 11,023 infants from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data were extracted and included in the analysis. EDHS used a two-stage cluster sampling design with a census enumeration area as the primary sampling unit and households as the secondary sampling unit. Arc GIS software was used for spatial analysis using clusters for exploring geographical variations in infant mortality. A binary logistic regression was employed using R software to identify the significant determinants of infant mortality. Results: The study revealed that the spatial distribution of infant mortality was non-random in the country. Infants whose mothers not receiving ANC (AOR = 1.45; 95%CI: 1.17, 1.79), not breastfed status (AOR = 3.94; 95%CI: 3.19, 4.81), poor wealth index (AOR = 1.36; 95%CI: 1.04, 1.77), male infants (AOR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.29, 1.95), birth order of six or above (AOR = 3.11; 95%CI: 2.08, 4.62), small birth size (AOR = 1.27; 95%CI: 1.26, 1.60), birth spacing [(≤ 24 months (AOR = 2.29; 95%CI: 1.79, 2.92), 25–36 months (AOR = 1.16; 95%CI: 1.12, 1.49)], multiple births (AOR = 6.82; 95%CI: 4.76, 10.81), rural residence (AOR = 1.63; 95%CI: 1.05, 2.77) and regions [Afar (AOR = 1.54; 95%CI: 1.01, 2.36), Harari (AOR = 1.56; 95%CI: 1.04, 2.56), and Somali (AOR = 1.52; 95%CI: 1.03, 2.39)] were the determinants of infant death in Ethiopia. Conclusions: There is a great geographical disparity in infant mortality rates across regions. Afar, Harari, and Somali regions were verified as hot spot areas. ANC usage, breastfed status, wealth index, sex of the infant, birth order, birth size, birth spacing, birth type, residence, and region were the determinants of infant death in Ethiopia. Therefore, appropriate interventions need to be implemented in the hot spots to alleviate the risk factors for infant mortality.

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. In Ethiopia, 5.8% of deaths are attributed to cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the cancers preventive practice and associated factors in North West Ethiopia, 2019. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among Bahir Dar city residents. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 845 study participants. Data were collected through a validated interviewer administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was adapted from the American cancer association cancer prevention toolkit. Descriptive statistics were computed and presented in charts and texts. The model fitness was checked using Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit (P > 0.05). Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with cancer preventive practice. A p-value < 0.2 at bivariate analysis was candidate variables for multivariable logistic regression analysis. Finally, p-value of < 0.05 was considered as a statistically significant predictor for cancer preventive practice at the 95% confidence interval. Result: A total of 845 study participants took part in the study. Nearly 63% of the respondents were females. About 28% (95%CI: 24, 30) of the study participants had good preventive practice. Age ≥ 45 years (AOR = 0.31; 95%CI: 0.15, 0.62), female (AOR = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.35, 0.71) family member with cancer (AOR = 1.68, 95%CI: 1.07, 2.62) and had good knowledge (AOR = 1.66, 95%CI: 1.14, 2.42) were the identified determinants of cancer preventive practices. Conclusion: This study revealed that the level of cancer preventive practices was low. Family member with cancer, knowledge about cancer, older age, and being female were significantly associated with cancer preventive practices. This finding underscores the importance of interventions to enhance cancer preventive practices.

Background Mortality is one of the demographic variables that affect population trends. Among mortality of children, Infant mortality contributed to more than 75% of all under-five deaths globally. It disproportionately affects those living in the different regions of countries and within the region. Exploring the spatial distribution and identifying associated factors is important to design effective intervention programs to reduce infant mortality. Thus, this study aimed to assess the spatial distribution and associated factors of infant mortality in Ethiopia using the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). Method The Data this study were used Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey in 2016. A total of 11,023 live births from the EDHS data were included in the analysis. Spatial analysis was done to explore spatial distribution of infant mortality using ArcGIS version 10.4. Results This study revealed that the spatial distribution of infant mortality was non-random in the country with Moran’s index 0.1546 (P-value=0.0185). The Afar and Somali regions of Ethiopia were identified in this study on the hot spot of infant mortality. Conclusions The spatial distribution of infant mortality varies across the country. ANC usage, sex of a child, birth interval, birth size, birth type, birth order, wealth index, residence, region, and the spatial variable (Si) were significant predictors of infant mortality. Therefore, it needs interventions in the hot spot areas. Focusing on maternal health care services, rural residences, multiple births, infants having a smaller birth size, and male infants deserves special attention.

Anemia is one of the most widely spread public health problems, especially in developing countries including Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of anemia among children aged 6-59 months in Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study (the Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey 2016) was used as a source of data. Participants were 8385 children aged from 6 to 59 months selected in a two-stage stratified cluster sampling. The level of hemoglobin was determined by HemoCue analyzer. The risk factors of anemia were computed by logistic regression (α=0.05). The result revealed that more than half (57.3%) of children aged 6-59 months were found anemic of which 3.1% had severe anemia, 29.2% had moderate and 25% mild anemia. The anemia status of the children’s mother (OR: 3.01, CI: 0.34, 6.75), living in Somali region (OR: 5.73, CI: 1.86, 17.71), living in rural areas (OR: 1.84, CI: 1.38, 2.83), age of study participants (OR: 0.82, CI: 0.29,1.45) among 24-42 months old children (OR: 0.53, CI: 0.16,1.08) among 43-59 months old children, rich and medium parents (OR: 0.29, CI: 0.20,0.73), smoker mother (OR: 0.02, CI: 0.00, 0.05) were the risk factors of anemia among Ethiopian children aged 6-59 months. The overall prevalence of anemia among Ethiopian children aged 6–59 months was high. It is argued that measures that prevent childhood illnesses and maternal anemia need to be put in place in order to reduce anemia among Ethiopian children.

Background: Fontanels are anatomical features of the infant human skull comprising any of the soft membranous gaps between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a neonate. Various factors are taught to be responsible for the differences in the size of the fontanel at birth. Accordingly, this study is performed to examine the size of the anterior fontanel, associated factors, and the clinical significance in Northern Ethiopia at birth. Methods and Materials: A Cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 425 neonates. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive and summary statistics were presented in the form of tables and figures. All the data were presented as mean ± S.D. The association between dependent variables and independent variables was explored by using Pearson’s chi-square test and logistic regressions. P-values < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean anterior fontanel size for the study population was 3.07 cm with a 95% confidence interval (3.00, 3.14). For a unit increase of head circumference of a neonate, the odds of having abnormal fontanel increase by 52.6%. Term neonates were 74.4% less likely to have abnormal fontanel size than preterm. Vaginally delivered neonates were 64.2% less likely to have abnormal fontanel size than neonates born by caesarean section. Low birth weight neonates were at risk of abnormal fontanel size. The odds ratio of the normal weight of neonate at birth was 0.327473 [95%, CI, (0.153364, 0.6992422)]. Conclusion: Gestational age, mode of delivery, head circumference, and birth weight are the most important determinant factors associated with anterior fontanel size.

Background: Health insurance provides access to health care with financial risk protection. Knowledge and attitude have been found to influence enrolment in community-based health insurance, which avoids catastrophic health-care expenditure. However, knowledge and attitude levels towards health insurance are not well studied. The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude level of the informal workers of the Bahir Dar city towards community-based health insurance. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with systematically selected 335 informal workers. We conducted structured face-to-face interviews using a newly developed and validated questionnaire. The collected data were coded and then entered into Epi data and exported to SPSS software for analysis. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify potential associations between the study variables. Results: Out of 325 informal workers, 51% of them had good knowledge of community-based health insurance, while 56% of participants had a favorable attitude towards community-based health insurance. Being single (AOR=3.4, 95% CI; 1.3, 9.0), daily laborer (AOR=2.73, 95% CI; 1.36, 5.48), attending secondary education (AOR=0.29; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.71), and obtaining information from television (AOR=0.31, 95% CI; 0.14, 0.71) were found to be statistically associated with knowledge. While being single (AOR=0.23, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.67), married (AOR=0.29, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.73), daily laborer (AOR=2.84, 95% CI: 1.37. 5.88), getting information from television (AOR= 3.09, 95% CI: 1.37, 6.93) and family (AOR= 2.63, 95% CI: 1.23, 5.61) were found to be statistically associated with the attitude towards community-based health insurance. Conclusion: The knowledge and attitude level of the informal workers towards community-based health insurance were low. Therefore, community-based health insurance should be promoted to ensure the accessibility of health care to all.