BackgroundThe postpartum intrauterine contraceptive devices (PPIUCD) is the only family planning method for couples requesting highly effective, reliable, inexpensive, non-hormonal, immediately reversible, and long-acting contraceptive that can be initiated during the immediate postpartum period and it has no a negative effect on lactation. Despite these benefit, the acceptance and utilization of immediate PPIUCD were very low and the reasons for rejecting immediate PPIUCD usage have not been characterized in Southeast Ethiopia. Therefore, this study determined the level of acceptability and factors associated with immediate PPIUCD use among women who gave birth at Bale zone health facilities, Southeast Ethiopia.MethodsA facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to July 2017 in Bale zone health facilities. Four hundred twenty-nine women were successfully interviewed using structured and pre-tested questionnaire. Health facilities were selected by lottery method. Study participants were selected systematically. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and exported into SPSS version 21 for analysis. Logistic regression analyses were done. A significant association was declared at a p-value less than 0.05.ResultsThe acceptance of immediate PPIUCD usage was 12.4%. Non-acceptors reported their reasons for rejecting PPIUCD use; concern and fears of complications (24.8%), religious beliefs (19.8%), and husband refusal (17.7%). Respondents who had completed secondary education were more likely to accept PPIUCD usage than those who had no formal education (AOR = 3, CI = 11.81, 53.91). In addition, the odds of accepting PPIUCD insertion was higher among women who attended 3 antenatal care visits than those who did not attend antenatal care visits for the current birth (AOR = 1.81, CI = 0.34, 0.85).ConclusionsThe acceptance of immediate PPIUCD usage was still low. This might be attributed to the low achievement of education, perceived concern and fears of complications towards IUCD insertion. The male partner’s refusal and religious beliefs also have a role in the usage of postpartum IUCD. Due attention should be given to enhancing educational level of women and effective IUCDs counseling should be given during antenatal care visits to correct misconceptions and fears of complication about PPIUCD insertion.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40834-018-0071-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Producing food products from sweet potato flour are very feasible in worldwide due to wide availability, natural color, high-energy, low-protein, good biological activity in the human diet and low cost, as a result, become a key ingredient for the production of new products in the current global habitation. Sweet potato flours can be used for imparting desired properties, nutritional value, antioxidants, and natural color to processed foods and also used as thickeners and gelling agents. However, the paucity of information regarding the functional properties of the sweet potato flour greatly limits its exploitation. This review attempts at gathering data available on the functional properties of sweet potato flour, highlighting their unique properties and potential field of applications. A significant variation was observed in functional properties upon the variety and some processing methods. Also, the differences in the size of the granules and the various contents of starch, protein and amylose influenced functional characteristics such as viscosity, pasting temperature, gelatinization temperature, swelling power and solubility. The modified flours using steam and blanching are useful in food preparations to reduce paste thickness in food products such as confectioneries, as well as in pharmaceuticals industry as a drug binder and disintegrant as they exhibited high bulk density. Low-paste viscosity of the acetylated flour makes these flour to be used in formulations that require a high volume of solids. As thickening agents, enzymes modified that have high viscosity paste are good. The use of modified flours in food products would guarantee a suitable amount of digestible starch. This information can also be used to design protocols for the food processing industry, aiming at consumer's needs, such as diabetics and obese people who may benefit from low digestibility of starch. The range of characters and food developments observed makes the sweet potato flour amenable to different applications in food industries based on their properties. An awareness of their potential uses can help in large-scale cultivation of these crops and the production of flour from them.

Introduction The new coronavirus disease 2019 is an emerging respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious novel coronavirus which has currently overwhelmed the world. Realizing a comprehensive set of infection prevention measures is a key to minimize the spread of this virus and its impacts in all healthcare settings. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the compliance towards COVID-19 preventive measures and associated factors among health professionals in selected public hospitals, southeast Ethiopia. Methods A descriptive hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 660 health professionals in public hospitals of southeast Ethiopia from October 1 to 31, 2020. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected by interview using structured and pretested questionnaires. Ordinary logistic regression modeling was used to estimate the crude and adjusted odds ratio. To declare the statistical significance of factors associated with the outcome variable, P-value < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval were used. Results A total of 654 health professionals were involved in the study; of whom, 313 participants were nurses. The overall good compliance and knowledge of health professionals regarding COVID-19 preventive measures were 21.6 and 25.5%, respectively. Working in the general hospital (AOR = 0.55; 95% CI 0.38, 0.79), service year (AOR = 2.10; 95% CI 1.35, 3.21), knowledge (AOR = 1.80; 95% CI 1.14, 2.89), and water availability (AOR = 3.26; 95% CI 2.25, 4.72) were some of the factors found to have a statistically significant association to compliance of health professionals regarding COVID-19 preventive measures. Conclusion In this study, nearly one fifth of health professionals had good compliance towards COVID-19 prevention practices. Thus, a consistent supply of COVID-19 prevention materials, facilities, and improving the knowledge of health professionals through on and off-job training are crucial.

Purpose Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mainly spreads through respiratory droplets and close contacts. Wearing a facemask and other personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential in preventing the spread of COVID-19. However, the use of PPE alone does not provide a sufficient level of protection, and correct use and disposal are required. Hence, this study aimed to assess health professionals’ practice regarding proper use of facemask in the perspectives of COVID-19 prevention. Methods A web-based online survey was conducted from June 3, 2020, to August 11, 2020, to assess health professionals’ practice regarding correct use of facemask. The survey tool was prepared in Google form and distributed to the health professionals through their emails and social media pages. Data were analyzed using STATA version 14. A descriptive result was reported using frequency tables and bar charts. Factors associated with correct use of facemask were assessed using binary logistic regression model. Results A total of 368 health professionals have participated in this study. All of the participants’ work involves direct contact with patients and 98 (26.6%) of them work in direct contact with COVID-19 patients daily. The level of overall correct use of facemask was 10.1% (95% CI: 7.4–13.6). Two hundred fifty-five (69.3%) do not perform hand hygiene before wearing a facemask and 238 (64.7%) do not perform hand hygiene after removing the facemask. Three hundred twenty-three (87.8%) of the study participants reuse disposable facemasks. The odds of practicing correct use of facemask were more than two times higher among health professionals who received training related to personal protective equipment utilization (AOR= 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1–4.5) compared to their counterparts. Conclusion This study revealed that health professionals’ practice regarding the correct use of facemask in the context of COVID-19 prevention is very low. Receiving training related to proper utilization of personal protective equipment was found to favor the correct use of facemask. In this regard, health authorities should provide training to enable the rational and correct use of facemask among healthcare workers.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019, also known as 2019-nCoV cluster of acute respiratory illness with unknown causes, which occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China, was first reported to World Health Organization country office as of December 30, 2019. People with medical illness are at a higher risk for coronavirus disease, and the pandemic influences mental health and causes psychological problems, particularly in those with chronic medical illness. Hence, this study aimed to assess coronavirus disease 2019-related anxiety and the knowledge on its preventive measures among patients with medical illness on follow-up in public hospitals of Bale, East Bale, and Arsi zones Objective: To assess coronavirus disease 2019-related anxiety and knowledge toward coronavirus disease 2019 preventive measures among patients with chronic medical illness on follow-up in public hospitals of Bale, East Bale, and West Arsi zones. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in selected hospitals of Bale and West Arsi zones, Southeast Ethiopia. A total of 633 study participants were included in this study, and data were collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A descriptive summary was computed. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the associated factors. Results: Overall, the prevalence of anxiety among chronic patients in this study was 6.3% (95% confidence interval: 4.6%–8.5%) and 420 (66.35%) had good knowledge on the preventive measures of coronavirus disease 2019. Factors significantly associated with anxiety among chronic patients were being educated (95% confidence interval: adjusted odds ratio = 0.26 (0.09–0.74)), being male (95% confidence interval: 2.69 (1.11–6.53)), and use of mask (95% confidence interval: 0.11 (0.05–0.26)). Conclusion: The prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019-related anxiety among chronic patients was high and being males, uneducated, and not using face mask was significantly associated with coronavirus disease 2019-related anxiety.