Introduction COVID-19 is a current health concern in the world. People applying the prevention methods of COVID-19 are vital determinants of curbing the spread of the coronavirus. This study aimed to assess the practices and associated factors of the COVID-19 preventive measures among Dire Dawa residents. Methods A community-based, cross-sectional mixed method was used. We conducted the study between June 15th and July 15th, 2020. The subjects of the study were selected by using systematic random sampling. We collected data through face-to-face and in-depth interviews. Both bivariate and multiple logistic regression were employed to determine the predictor variables with the practice of COVID-19 prevention measures. Thematic content analysis analyzed qualitative data. Results The practice of COVID-19 preventive measures was 40.7% (95% CI: 37–44.4%). Being female [AOR= 1.8; 95% CI: 1.17–2.72], married [AOR=2.75; 95% CI: 1.68–4.48], family income >10,000 Ethiopia birr [AOR=7.3; 95% CI: 3.8–13.9], having history of a chronic disease [AOR=3.46 (1.69, 7.08)], not chewing khat [AOR= 2.15; 95% CI: 1.1–4.2], had a good knowledge about COVID-19 [AOR=5.23; 95% CI: 3–9], and had a favorable attitude about COVID-19 [AOR=3.87; 95% CI: 2.4–6.14] were significantly associated with practice of COVID-19 preventive measures. The qualitative result revealed the communities are not willingly practicing prevention measures because of carelessness and ignorant of the consequences of COVID-19, and some communities believed that COVID-19 is not a real pandemic rather government uses it merely to gain political profit. Conclusion The proportion of practice of COVID-19 preventive measures was low. Sex, marital status, income, history of chronic disease, history of khat chewing, knowledge, and attitude about COVID-19 were associated factors with COVID-19 preventive practices. The communities were not practicing the COVID-19 prevention method because of poor knowledge and a negative attitude.

Introduction: Neonatal mortality is one of the challenging issues in current global health. Globally, about 2.5 million children die in the first month of life, out of which Sub-Saharan Africa accounts >40% per annual. Currently, the neonatal mortality rate in Ethiopia is 30/1000 live births. In the study area, there was a limitation of data on mothers' knowledge towards neonatal danger signs. Therefore, this study aimed to assess mothers' knowledge of neonatal danger signs and associated factors. Patients and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional design study was conducted in Dire Dawa from March 01/2019 to April 30/2019. Data were collected from 699 randomly selected mothers through a face-to-face interview. Bivariate logistic regression with p-value <0.25 was entered into the multivariable logistic regression analysis. Finally, AOR with 95% confidence intervals at P-value <0.05 was considered a significant association with the outcome variable. Results: About 285 (40.8%) (95% CI: 37.3-44.3) of mothers had good knowledge of neonatal danger signs, and 97.1% (95% CI: 94.1, 99.3) of mothers sought medical care at a health facility. Mothers who were governmental employed (AOR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.17-3.9), whose fathers' educational level is secondary or above (AOR=2.3, 95% CI: 1.18-4.49), four/more antenatal care visit (AOR=4.3, 95% CI: 1.5-12.3), whose baby developed danger signs (AOR=3.5, 95% CI: 2.13-5.73), and those mothers received education on neonatal danger sign (AOR=7, 95% CI: 4.2-11.5), had a significant association with knowledge of neonatal danger signs. Conclusion: Maternal knowledge toward neonatal danger signs was low and a high number of mothers sought medical care at a health facility. Mother's occupation, fathers' education, development of neonatal danger signs, frequency of antenatal care visit, and received health education on neonatal danger signs were factors associated with mothers' knowledge towards neonatal danger signs.

S u m m a r yThis study was conducted to characterize honey produced in the Homesha district in Western Ethiopia. The effects of location and hive type on the quality of honey produced in the area were assessed. A total of 20 honey samples were collected from four locations in the district. The overall mean (±SD) contents of reducing sugars, sucrose, pH, moisture, ash, hydroxymethylfurfural, acidity and water-insoluble solids of the honey samples analyzed were 65 ± 3.02%, 6.1 ± 3.4%, 4.02 ± 0.26, 16.4 ± 1.07%, 0.17 ± 0.07%, 1.8 ± 0.24 mg/kg, 23.9 ± 7.4 meq/kg and 0.09 ± 0.14%, respectively. The sucrose content of honey samples purchased from the market was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the sucrose contents of honey samples collected from other locations. Hive type significantly (p<0.05) influenced the contents of moisture, HMF and water-insoluble solids of honey samples. It can be concluded that honey produced in the Homesha district is of good quality and can meet the national and international market demands.

Background Competence is defined as the ability to perform a task with desirable outcomes. Globally, an estimated 530,000 women and 2 million newborns die each year, because of no access to competent health professionals. But half of those deaths can be prevented with competent health professionals. However, the existing literature shows that most new graduates have a lack of competence in the clinical environment, none of them have assessed whether student or preceptor factors have an association with clinical competence or not. So, this study is crucial to fill data scarcity. Objective To determine the clinical practice competence and associated factors among midwifery and nursing students at Dire Dawa. Methods Institutional cross-sectional study was conducted on nursing and midwifery students from February 10/2020 to February 30/2020. Self-administered questionnaires were given to 318 students through a simple random lottery. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done for variables with a p-value <0.2 in binary logistic regression. The odds ratio was used to measure the degree of association. Results Only 19.2% are clinically competent. Students who were oriented about assessment methods were 4 times more likely competent [AOR = 4.096 p-value 0.035]. Students who have staff encouragement and have preceptors were 5 times [AOR = 4.900 p-value 0.12] and 11 times [AOR = 11.052 p-value 0.00] more likely competent, respectively. Confident students were 4 times more likely competent [AOR = 4.460, p-value 0.005]. Conclusion The prevalence of clinical competence is very minimal. This is due to assessment methods orientation, staff encouragement, clinical preceptor support and students’ confidence. This finding contributes to the federal ministry of health should work closely with teaching institutions, health facilities, and other stakeholders to overcome those gaps.

Background The highest rate of preterm birth in the world is in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. However, there is limited data in this study area. Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence and associated factors of preterm birth in Dire Dawa City, Eastern Ethiopia. Method An institutional-based, cross-sectional study was conducted with 420 respondents. Conclusion Preterm birth is still a major public health problem in Dire Dawa City.