Knowledge and practice of nurses about surgical site infections (SSIs) are not well studied in Ethiopia. This paper contains findings about Northwest Ethiopian nurses' knowledge and practice regarding the prevention of SSIs. The main objective of the study was to assess knowledge, practice, and associated factors of nurses towards the prevention of SSIs. The study was done using a questionnaire survey on randomly selected 423 nurses who were working in referral hospitals during the study period. The study showed that more than half of the nurses who participated in the survey had inadequate knowledge about the prevention of SSIs. Moreover, more than half of them were practicing inappropriately. The most important associated factors include lack of training on evidence based guidelines and sociodemographic variables (age, year of service, educational status, etc.). Training of nurses with the up-to-date SSIs guidelines is recommended.

Introduction: Clinical teaching behavior is a critical determinant for quality of clinical learning. Nursing students’ and instructor’s perception of effective clinical teaching behavior (ECTB) is important to modify and facilitate clinical education. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to assess the effective clinical teaching behavior (ECTB) as perceived by students and nursing instructors. Methods: Facility based cross-sectional descriptive study design was conducted among 178 participants. Data were collected using pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire. Effective clinical teaching behaviors were measured by Nursing Clinical Teacher Effectiveness Inventory. Data were analyzed using descriptive and independent sample t-test. An adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval computed to determine the level of significance. Results: The most important rated ECTB as perceived by students was teaching ability. For instructors, nursing competences was the most rated ECTB. The overall mean of ECTBs of the students and instructors were 4.26 (0.52) and 3.52 (0.74) respectively. There was statistically significant mean difference between them (t = 5.888). Conclusion: There was a statistically significant mean difference between the students' and instructors’ perception of ECTBs. Thus, authors suggest nursing instructors to consider the presence of students who prefers different teaching methods.

Background: The magnitude of loss to follow-up is high and remains a major public health problem in developing countries. Therefore, the aim of this study determines the incidence rate and predictors of loss to follow-up among children with HIV on ART at the University of Gondar comprehensive specialized referral hospital. Methods: An institution-based retrospective data analysis was conducted on 361 children with HIV. The simple random sampling technique was used, and data were entered into Epiinfo version 7.1 and were exported to Stata version 14 for analysis. The proportional hazard assumption was checked, and Cox regression was fitted. Finally, an adjusted hazard ratio with a 95% CI was computed, and variables with P-value <0.05 in the multivariable analysis were taken as significant predictors of loss to follow-up. Results: The overall incidence rate of lost to follow-up was 6.2 events per 100 child-years observations (95% CI: 4.9-7.7). Children who have got care from their biological parents (AHR 2.6, 95% CI: 1.2-5.5), WHO clinical stage III/IV (AHR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.8), history of regimen substitutions (AHR 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.9), poor/fair medication adherence (AHR 2.5, 95% CI 1.4-4.2) and history of TB treatment (AHR 2.7, 95% CI: 1.6-4.4) were the significant predictors of lost to follow-up. Conclusion: The incidence rate of loss to follow-up among children was found to be high. Children who have got care from their biological parent, WHO clinical stage III/IV, history of regimen substitution, poor/fair medication adherence, and history of TB treatment were the independent predictors of loss to follow-up. Therefore, strengthening HIV care intervention and addressing these significant predictors is highly recommended in the study setting.

BackgroundPre-maturity is the primary cause of neonatal mortality in the world. Although prematurity was the leading cause of neonatal mortality, the survival rate and its predictors may be varied from setting to setting and time to time due to different reasons. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the survival probability and predictors of mortality among preterm neonates at Felege Hiwot comprehensive specialized hospital.MethodsThis is a retrospective follow-up study that included 542 randomly selected preterm neonates admitted at Felege Hiwot comprehensive specialized hospital from the period of 2016-2020. Semi-parametric and parametric survival models were fitted to identify the survival probability of preterm neonates and its association with different predictors. The best fit model was selected using Akaike's information criteria, Bayesian information criteria and likelihood ratio criteria.ResultsThe cumulative incidence and incidence rate of mortality among preterm neonates were 31 per 100 live births and 3.5 per 100 neonate days, respectively. From the adjusted cox-proportional-hazard model, predictors with higher preterm mortality risk include the presence of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome [AHR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.23; 3.74], perinatal asphyxia [AHR = 4.26, 95% CI: 1.35; 6.79] and jaundice [AHR = 3.25, 95% CI: 2.14, 7.24]. However, admission weight of 1,500–2,499 g (AHR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.56) and ≥2,500 g (AHR = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02; 0.32), early breastfeeding [AHR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.36; 0.48] and kangaroo mother care [AHR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03; 0.15] were protective factors of preterm mortality.ConclusionThe cumulative incidence of mortality among preterm neonates was consistent with the national incidence of preterm mortality. Factors such as respiratory distress syndrome, perinatal asphyxia, breastfeeding, kangaroo mother care, admission weight, and jaundice are significant predictors of survival. Therefore, considerable attention such as intensive phototherapy, optimal calorie feeding, oxygenation, and good thermal care should be given for admitted preterm neonates.

Background The burden of HIV is disproportionately higher among women of reproductive age contributing more than half of the global share. The situation in Ethiopia is not exceptional. The present study was done to determine the proportion of HIV among pregnant women in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Method Institutions-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2020 to December 2020. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 538 study participants from pregnant women who had ANC follow-up in Referral Hospitals of the Amhara Regional State. Data on socio-demographic, clinical, obstetric, behavioral as well as psychosocial characteristics were gathered using an interviewer administered structured and standardized instruments. The data was entered into Epi-Data Manager V4.6.0.0 and exported to STATA version 14 for data analyses. Descriptive statics were computed to summarize the participant’s characteristics. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the association between dependent and independent variables. Independent variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant at 95% confidence level (CI). Results The proportion of HIV infection among pregnant women was 8.68% (95% CI: 6.5, 11.4). Completing secondary school education (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.04—0.53), graduated from college (AOR = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01—0.22), and family monthly income greater than 8001 ETB (1 USD = 56 ETB) (AOR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.04—0.87) were protective factors associated with maternal HIV. On the other hand, history of previous abortion (AOR = 7.73; 95% CI: 3.33—17.95) and positive syphilis status (AOR = 10.28; 95% CI: 2.80—37.62) were risk factors associated with maternal HIV status. Conclusion The proportion of HIV infection among pregnant women was found to be high. Advanced level of education, relatively higher monthly income, history of abortion and previous syphilis status were associated factors with HIV status. Strengthening women's formal education; empowering women in all spheres of life (especially improving their economic standing that prevents women from engaging in risky sexual practices); educating women about HIV transmission methods and HIV prevention and control strategies using behavior change intervention strategy prepared for women to reduce their vulnerability; advocating for the use of family planning to reduce unsafe abortions and syphilis; as well as regular screening and testing for syphilis are recommended.