The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Despite strong efforts that have been taking place to control the pandemic globally, the virus is on the rise in many countries. Hence, this study assessed the maternal health care services utilization amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in West Shoa zone, Central Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 844 pregnant women or those who gave birth in the last 6 months before the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. Logistic regressions were performed to identify the presence of significant associations, and an adjusted odds ratio with 95%CI was employed for the strength and directions of association between the independent and outcome variables. A P-value of <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. The prevalence of maternal health service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic was 64.8%. The odds of maternal health service utilization was higher among mothers who had primary (AOR = 2.16, 95%CI: 1.29–3.60), secondary (AOR = 1.97, 95%CI: 1.13–3.44), and college and above education (AOR = 2.89, 95%CI: 1.34–6.22) than those who could not read and write. Besides, mothers who did travel 30–60 minutes (AOR = 0.37, 95%CI: 0.23–0.59) and 60-90minutes (AOR = 0.10, 95%CI: 0.05–0.19) to reach the health facility had a lower odds of maternal health service utilization than those who did travel <30 minutes. Moreover, mothers who earn 1000–2000 (AOR = 3.10, 95%CI: 1.73–5.55) and > 2000 birrs (AOR = 2.66 95%CI: 1.52–4.64) had higher odds of maternal health service utilization than those who earn <500 birrs. Similarly, the odds of utilizing maternal health service were higher among mothers who did not fear COVID-19 infection (AOR = 2.79, 95%CI: 1.85–4.20), who had not had to request permission from husband to visit the health facility (AOR = 7.24, 95%CI: 2.65–19.75), who had practicedCOVID-19 prevention measure (AOR = 5.82, 95%CI: 3.87–8.75), and used face mask (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.28–3.31) than their counterpart. Empowering mothers and creating awareness on COVID-19 preventionis recommended to improve maternal health service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Despite strong efforts that have been taking place to control the pandemic globally, the virus is on the rise in many countries. Hence, this study assessed the maternal health care services utilization in the amid of the COVID-19 pandemic in West Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia. Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 844 pregnant women or those gave birth in the last 6 months before the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. The data were collected through face-to-face interview using a semi-structured questionnaire. Logistic regressions were performed to identify the presence of significant associations, and adjusted odds ratio with 95%CI was employed for the strength and directions of association between the independent and outcome variables. A P-value of <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. The prevalence of maternal health service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic was 64.8%. The odds of maternal health service utilization was higher among mothers who had primary (AOR=2.16, 95%CI: 1.29-3.60), secondary (AOR=1.97, 95%CI: 1.13-3.44), and college and above education (AOR=2.89, 95%CI: 1.34-6.22) than those who could not read and write. In addition, mothers who did travel 25-74 km (AOR= 0.37, 95%CI: 0.23-0.59) and 75-99 km (AOR= 0.10, 95%CI: 0.05-0.19) to reach health facility had a lower odds of maternal health service utilization than those who did travel < 24 km. Moreover, mothers who earn 1000-2000 (AOR= 3.10, 95%CI: 1.73-5.55) and > 2000 birr (AOR=2.66 95%CI: 1.52-4.64) had higher odds of maternal health service utilization than those who earn <500 birr. Similarly, the odds of utilizing maternal health service were higher among mothers who did not fear COVID-19 infection (AOR= 2.79, 95%CI: 1.85-4.20), who had not had to request permission from husband to visit the health facility (AOR= 7.24, 95%CI: 2.65-19.75), who had practiced COVID-19 prevention measure (AOR=5.82, 95%CI: 3.87-8.75), and used face mask (AOR= 2.06, 95% CI: 1.28-3.31) than their counterpart. Empowering mothers and creating awareness on the COVID-19 prevention is recommended to improve maternal health service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background. Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) communication is most likely to promote healthy sexual practices and to reduce risky sexual behavior among adolescents. Communication is the principal means for parents to transmit sexual values and knowledge to their children. Although there are few studies conducted on parent-adolescent communication, there is no study conducted in the town of Ambo. This study was aimed at assessing the level of parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues and its associated factors among school students in Ambo town, Oromia, Ethiopia. Method. An institution-based concurrent mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted among 591 secondary and preparatory school students in Ambo town from February 24th to March 9th, 2019. A systematic sampling technique was used to select the study subject. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, and FGD was conducted with parents of students. Data was entered using EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23.0 for statistical analysis. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to ascertain the association using a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value (<0.05). Results. The proportion of students who had communication on sexual and reproductive health issues with their parents was 222 (37.6%). Being female ( AOR = 2.07 , 95% CI: 1.40-3.07), private school ( AOR = 2.77 , 95% CI: 1.17-3.69), a father with secondary education ( AOR = 2.93 , 95% CI: 1.05-8.12) and diploma and above ( AOR = 3.27 , 95% CI: 1.23-8.71), considering sex education necessary ( AOR = 2.83 , 95% CI: 1.22-6.57), got information about SRH issues from school ( AOR = 2.01 , 95% CI: 1.06-2.36) and media ( AOR = 2.92 , 95% CI: 1.49-3.71), and mother’s openness to communicate about SRH issues ( AOR = 3.30 , 95% CI: 1.31-4.05) were found to be significantly associated with parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues. Conclusions. The study showed that parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues is low. Being female, those from a private school, father’s education, perceived importance of sex education, source of information about SRH issues (school and media), and mother’s openness to communicate about SRH issues were identified to be factors associated with the communication. Therefore, the concerned body should consider the identified factors to improve the current level of parent-adolescent communication and adolescent reproductive health.

IntroductionIntegrated primary health care service provided by skilled birth attendants is linked to safe childbirth and postnatal care, vitally improves maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes. Despite a significant reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality in Ethiopia, low maternal service utilization, and dropout from the maternal continuum of care continues to be a major challenge. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the individual and community predictors of dropout from the maternal continuum of care in Ethiopia.MethodsWe used data from the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey (EDHS). Women who had a birth in the 5 years preceding the survey were included. Dropout from the maternal continuum of care was the outcome of this study. This includes, attending less than four antenatal care visits (<4 ANC), a dropout from skilled birth attendance (SBA) after having 4 or more ANC, and dropout from postnatal care (PNC) after having SBA. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was employed. The mixed effect and variation in the outcome were expressed by the intracluster correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsHigher dropouts from SBA to PNC (85%) and from ≥4 ANC to SBA (43.4%) in the maternal continuum of care were observed. Women from the poorest wealth quantile (AOR=2.31,95% CI 1.69,3.16), not covered by health insurance (AOR=1.44, 95% CI, 1.01,2.06), and residing in a community with high poverty (AOR=1.28,95% CI, 1.01,1.63) were more likely to attend inadequate ANC. On the other side, distance from a health facility (AOR=1.45, 95% CI, 1.12,1.88), lower community media exposure (AOR=1.6, 95% CI, 1.14,2.23) and rural residency (AOR=3.03, 95% CI, 1.75,5.26) were associated with dropout from SBA after attending ANC visits. Living in Somali, Harari, and Dire Dawa significantly associated with drop out from the PNC after SBA.ConclusionThe pattern of dropout from the maternal continuum of care was higher in Ethiopia. Maternal education, wealth index, community media exposure, and distance from a health facility were the factors associated with dropouts from the maternal continuum of care. Home care strategies and contextual understanding of the barriers to the PNC service is needed.