Background: Diarrhea alone kills more children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. Knowing the determinants of a disease enables us to design an effective intervention. Objective: To identify the factors associated with acute diarrhea among Children less than five Years of Age in Derashe district, south Ethiopia. Methods: A community based unmatched case-control study was employed in rural kebeles of the district. The collected data were entered in Epi Info version3.5.3. Data analyses were done using SPSS for windows version 16.0. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the data. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to measure the association between the dependent variable and independent variables calculating odds ratio and its 95% confidence interval (CI). Statistical significance was set at α. ≤ 0.05. Multivariable analyses were applied to identify the relative effect of explanatory variables on the dependent variable. Results: The study revealed that the occurrence of diarrhea was significantly associated with the lack of latrine ownership (AOR: 2.43, CI:1.19-4.87), lack of home based water treatment (AOR: 2.25, CI:1.43-3.56) improper disposal of infant feces [AOR:3.35, 95% CI (1.45-4.13)]and lack of improved water sources (AOR: 1.98, CI:1.16-2.23).Conclusions and recommendation: The determinants of acute diarrhea in this study were that of high preventive value; latrine ownership, availability of home based water treatment and source of water. The authors of the study recommend health education on different mechanisms in diarrheal disease causation and prevention methods.

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine factors associated with active pulmonary tuberculosis seen in cases in Ambo Hospital, Ethiopia.DesignA facility-based prospective case-control study.SettingPatients attending Ambo Hospital from 01 December 2011 to 29 March 2012.ParticipantsThe sample included 312 adult patients attending Ambo Hospital. The main outcome measure was presence of active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).Explanatory measuresAge, gender, occupation, educational status, marital status, place of residence, patient history of TB, family history of TB, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, smoking, alcohol intake, khat chewing, body mass index (BMI), employment, diabetes, history of asthma, previous history of worm infestation, history of hospitalisation, number of adults living in the household (HH), person per room, housing condition.ResultsA total of 312 study participants, including 104 active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases (cases) and 208 non-active PTB cases (controls), were recruited for the present study. Having one or more family member with a history of TB (OR = 4.4; 95% CI: 1.50–12.90), marital status (OR = 7.6; 95% CI: 2.2–12.6), male gender (OR = 3.2; 95% CI: 1.4–7), rural residence (OR = 3.3; P = 0.012), being a current or past smoker (OR = 2.8; 95% CI: 1.1–7.2), BMI < 18.5 (OR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.03–4.2), HIV infection (OR = 8.8; 95% CI: 2.4–23.8) and a history of worm infestation (OR = 6.4; 95% CI: 2.6–15.4) remained significant independent host-related factors for active PTB.ConclusionPatients who came from a compound with more than two HHs were more likely to develop active PTB than those who came from a compound with only one HH. Those who lived in houses with no windows were more likely to develop active PTB than those who lived in houses with one or more windows, had a family history of TB, lived in rural areas. Sex of the patient was a predicting factor. Not being the owner of the house was significantly more associated with active PTB. Measures taken to reduce the prevalence and burden of active PTB should consider these determinant factors.

Background Despite decreasing overall perinatal and maternal mortality in high-income countries, perinatal and maternal health inequalities are persisting in Sub Saharan African countries. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects size of rates and determinants for perinatal mortality in Sub-Saharan countries. Method The sources for electronic datasets were PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Google, Google Scholar, and WHO data Library. Observational studies published in the English language from January 01, 2000, to May 30, 2019 were included. STROBE and JBI tools were used to include relevant articles for this review. We used a Comberehensive Meta-Analysis version 2 software for this analysis. The I2 and Q- statistic values were used to detect the level of heterogeneity. The Kendall’s without continuity correction, Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation and Egger’s linear regression tests were used to detect the existence of significant publication bias (P <  0.10). The effects size were expressed in the form of point estimate and odds ratio with 95% CI (P <  0.05) in the random effect analysis using the trim and fill method. Result Twenty-one articles were included in this review. However, only fourteen studies reported the perinatal mortality rate. Among 14 studies, the observed and adjusted PMR was found to be 58.35 and 42.95 respectively. The odds of perinatal mortality among mothers who had no ANC visits was 2.04 (CI: 1.67, 2.49, P <  0.0001) as compared to those who had at least one ANC visit. The odds of perinatal mortality among preterm babies was 4.42 (CI: 2.83, 6.88, P <  0.0001). In most cases, heterogeneity was not evident when subgroup analyses were assessed by region, study design, and setting. Only perinatal mortality (P <  0.0001), antenatal care (P <  0.046) and preterm births (P <  0.034) showed a relationship between the standardized effect sizes and standard errors of these effects. Conclusion In general, engaging in systematic review and meta-analysis would potentially improve under-represented strategies and actions by informing policy makers and program implementers for minimizing the existing socioeconomic inequalities between regions and nations.

Background. Iodine deficiency disorder is a major public health problem in Ethiopia that is more common in women of reproductive age. However, it is not well addressed and there is a lack of information on its prevalence and associated factors in women of reproductive age group. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess goiter prevalence and associated factors among women of reproductive age in the Demba Gofa woreda, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was used among 584 randomly selected women in the reproductive age group from February 05 to April 20, 2016. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study kebeles, and a systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study samples. Data were collected through a pretested questionnaire, and the goiter examination was done clinically for each participant. The collected data were coded and entered into a computer for statistical analysis using EpiData version 3.2 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Variables with a P value ≤0.25 in bivariate logistic regression analysis were entered into multivariate logistic regression analysis, and finally, variables with a P value <0.05 in multivariate logistic regression were considered significantly associated with the dependent variable. Results. The total goiter rate was 43%, 95% CI = 39.2–46.9. Cassava consumption (AOR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.03–4), salt wash before use (AOR: 3.14, 95% CI: 1.1–11.3), salt use after >2 months of purchase (AOR: 11, 95% CI: 5–26), family history of goiter (AOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 1.4–15.8), and poor knowledge of iodized salt (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4–5.5) were significant factors associated with goiter. Conclusion. Iodine deficiency was found to be severe in women of reproductive age in the study area. This showed that women of reproductive age, especially during pregnancy, are exposed to iodine deficiency and its adverse effects at delivery. Thus, they need urgent supplementation with iodine, improved access to foods rich in iodine, and intake of iodized salt. Additionally, health education should focus on the importance of iodized salt, the proper method of use, and the prevention of iodine deficiency, which are highly recommended to minimize the problem.

Background: The age of children up to 59 months is a critical period for children's growth and development and the age when optimal complementary feeding is crucial. Aim: To assess optimal complementary feeding practices and associated factors among children aged 6–23 months in rural Haramaya district, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24 was used for the analyses. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were conducted at p-value < 0.05 and an Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Results: The percentage of mothers that practiced optimal complementary feeding practices was 53.5% (95% CI: 49.2%, 57.6%). Average monthly income of the family, $37.5 to $75 (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.98), institutional delivery (AOR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.46), postnatal care follow-up (AOR = 2.53, 95% CI: 1.67, 3.82), having an awareness about IYCF (AOR = 3.05, 95% CI: 1.85, 5.02), less than 30 min foot-walking to reach health facility (AOR = 2.61,95% CI: 1.65, 4.09), separate child's feeding plate (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.16, 2.64), and attendance of Infant and Young Child Feeding demonstration (AOR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.33, 3.07) were significantly associated with optimal complementary feeding practices. Conclusion: The magnitude of optimal complementary feeding practices was below the minimum recommended level for the growth and development of children in the study area. Lack of access to and underutilization of maternal and child healthcare services were significant risk factors for suboptimal complementary feeding practices. Maternal and child health services would be essential to mitigate suboptimal feeding practices for children aged 6–23 months.