BackgroundGlobally about 159, 101, and 52 million children are stunted, underweight, and wasted, respectively. According to the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, about 38% of Ethiopian children are stunted and 46, 28.4, and 9.8% of children in Amhara Region are stunted, underweight and wasted, respectively. This study aimed to assess undernutrition and associated factors among children aged 6-23 months old at Dessie town, 2021.MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October – November 2021 in Dessie Town. A total of 421 Mothers/caregivers with children aged 6-23 months old were selected by a systematic sampling method from the health extension registration book. Epi-data 3.01 was used for data entry, SPSS version 20 for statistical analysis, and WHO Anthro version 3.2.2 software for calculating the z scores. Binary logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the data. AOR with 95% CI and P-values less than 0.05 were considered to see the statistical significance.ResultsA total of 421 mothers or care givers paired with 6-23 months old children participated in the study. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting were 36.8% (95% CI: 32%, 41.6%), 27.6% (95% CI: 23.6%, 32.2%), and 11.5% (95% CI: 8.4%, 14.7%) respectively. Sex of the child (AOR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.34), handwashing practice (AOR = 2.32; 95% CI: 1.05, 5.11) and maternal family planning use (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.19, 0.77) were significantly associated with stunting. Age of child 12-17 months (AOR = 4.62; 95% CI: 2.65, 8.06) and sex of the child (AOR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.21, 3.07) were associated with underweight. Age of child 12-17 months (AOR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.06, 4.78) and treatment of drinking water (AOR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.59) were associated with wasting.Conclusion and RecommendationIn this study, the prevalence of undernutrition among children aged 6-23 months was higher for stunting (36.8%), underweight (27.6%) and wasting (11.5%) compared to WHO classification. Improved access to water, hygiene and sanitation, family planning services, avoiding gender discrimination during child feeding, and age-appropriate feeding practices are recommended. Moreover, implementation of public policies on food and nutrition is required for children 6-23 months of age.

Background The time before surgery is a traumatic period for patients. Despite this fact, no research has been conducted on nurses’ preoperative patient education in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess preoperative patient education practices and associated factors among nurses working in East Amhara comprehensive specialized hospitals, Ethiopia, 2022. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 416 nurses. Pretested, structured questionnaires were used to collect the data. Bivariable analysis was performed for each independent variable with a P-value < 0.25 on the data imported to multivariate logistic regression analysis. AOR with a 95% CI and a P-value < 0.05 at a 5% level of significance were considered. Results Only 38.5% of nurses were found to have good practices for preoperative patient education, with a response rate of 98%. Nurses with 6 years of work experience (AOR = 3.15, 95% CI: 1.692–5.874), adequate time (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.119–4.889), training (AOR = 4.27, 95% CI: 1.548–11.796), age 25–29 (AOR = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.070–0.331), age 30–34 (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.137–0.479), and knowledge (AOR = 3.73, 95% CI: 2.222–6.273) were significantly associated. Conclusion Preoperative patient education practices among nurses were poor. Work experience, knowledge, training, and adequate time were found to be significant. Organize preoperative patient education programs for nurses that share experiences and provide ongoing training.

Background In Ethiopia, refractive error is the second leading cause of vision impairment and the third main cause of blindness. Because refraction services are scarce and difficult to obtain, many people with refractive error live with impaired vision or blindness for the rest of their lives. Objective The primary goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of refractive errors and associated factors among patients who visited Boru Meda Hospital. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2018, all patients who visited Boru Meda Hospital's secondary eye unit were deemed our source population; the sample frame was the secondary eye unit outpatient departments register. To select samples, simple random sampling was used. Data was entered by using Epi-data version 3 and analysed with Statistical Package for Social Science 20. Tables and graphs were used to display descriptive statistics, and logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. At p < 0.05, statistical significance was inferred. Results Refractive error was detected in 42 (18.3%) of study participants. The average age was 46.69 ± 20.77. There were 136 men and 93 women in this group (59.4 and 40.6%, respectively). Myopia was the most frequent refractive defect, accounting for 52.4% of all cases. Conclusion & recommendation Refractive error is a widespread problem in our study area that affects people of all age groups. We recommend patients to have screening on regular basis so that refractive anomalies can be detected early.

Background and aims Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease which causes significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the main form of leishmaniasis that affects the skin. Knowledge and perception of people about leishmaniasis has a great impact to prevent the disease in endemic areas. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and preventive measures of Wegeltena secondary school students towards CL in Delanta district, one of the endemic areas in Northeast Ethiopia. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 4 to 20, 2021 at Wegeltena secondary school in Delanta district, Northeast Ethiopia. A pre-tested, interviewer administered structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was utilized to measure the degree of association between outcome and independent variables. Statistically significant association with the outcome variables was declared at a p -value of <0.05. Results A total of 388 students were participated in the study. In overall, 27.6% and 34.5% of participants had good knowledge and favorable attitude towards CL, respectively. Being grade 12 (AOR = 2.56; 95% CI: 1.23–5.29) and dwelling in urban areas (AOR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.09–2.89) were determinants of good knowledge. However, female sex (AOR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.21–3.18) and had good knowledge about CL (AOR = 3.75; 95% CI: 2.26–6.21) were significantly associated with favorable attitude of respondents towards the disease. Conclusion In this study , nearly three-fourth of participants had poor knowledge about CL and two-third of them had unfavorable attitude towards the disease. Level of education and residence were determinants of respondents' knowledge about CL. Moreover, sex and level of knowledge about CL were determinants of respondents' attitude towards the disease. Therefore, an intensified health education program shall be implemented in schools that are found in endemic areas.

Background Ethiopia's elderly care service is relatively young and little is known about the practices or readiness of nurses to provide care. Nurses need to have good knowledge, a positive attitude, and experience when it comes to caring for the elderly or patients who are chronically providing quality care. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards care for elderly patients and associated factors among nurses working in adult care units of public hospitals in Harar, 2021. Methods An institutional-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from February 12 to July 10, 2021. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 478 study participants. Data were collected by trained data collectors using a pretested self-administered questionnaire. From the pretest, Cronbach's alpha for all items was above 0.7 for all items. Data were entered into Epi Data v.4.6 and exported to the Statistical Package for Social Science Version 26 for binary logistic regression analysis. A P-value of 0.05 was used to declare a significant association between variables. Results The study revealed that 311 (69%) had inadequate knowledge. Having a first degree and an unfavorable attitude towards nurses showed a statistically significant association with nurses’ inadequate knowledge. A total of 275 (61.0%) nurses were found to have an unfavorable attitude and were significantly associated with having a diploma and first degree, learning in a private organization, 6 to 10 years of experience, lack of training, and inadequate knowledge of nurses. A total of 297 (65.9%) study units had inadequate practice towards the care of elderly patients. Nurses’ practices showed a significant association with the type of hospital, work experience, and adherence to guidelines with a response rate of 94.4%. Conclusion The majority of nurses had inadequate knowledge, an unfavorable attitude, and inadequate practice towards the care of elderly patients. Having a first-degree and an unfavorable attitude with inadequate knowledge, lack of training and inadequate knowledge, unfavorable attitudes and less than 11 years of experience, working in non-academic hospitals, and unavailability of guidelines with inadequate practices were significantly associated.