31 research outputs found
sj-docx-1-smo-10.1177_20503121221094454 – Supplemental material for The magnitude of undiagnosed hypertension and associated factors among HIV-positive patients attending antiretroviral therapy clinics of Butajira General Hospital, Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-smo-10.1177_20503121221094454 for The magnitude of undiagnosed hypertension and associated factors among HIV-positive patients attending antiretroviral therapy clinics of Butajira General Hospital, Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia by Bitew Tefera Zewudie, Shegaw Geze Tenaw, Mamo Solomon, Yibeltal Mesfin, Haimanot Abebe, Zebene Mekonnen, Shegaw Tesfa, Bogale Chekole Temere, Agerie Aynalem Mewahegn, Tadele lankrew and Yihenew Sewale in SAGE Open Medicine</p
Challenges and Prospects of Property Insurance: A Study on Selected Six Insurance Companies in Jimma Town.
No full textThis study investigates challenges and prospects of the property insurance in Jimma Town.
Employing descriptive survey research design, quantitative and qualitative research approaches
of the study, by using census sampling to select 7 insurance managers from 6 insurance firms;
purposive sampling method in order to draw 21 representative sample personnel staffs and
applying snowball method with purposive to determine 64 customer samples from the insurance
Companies, relevant data were gathered. The instruments used for data collection were
employee-questionnaire, customer- questionnaire and management interview. Findings showed
that the extent of effectiveness ofinsurers in Jimma Town in terms of materializing property
insurance was leveled only to a ‘’satisfactory’’ value; findings suggest in that the human resource,
the customers’ aspects were full of challenges as far as the organizational capacity, competition
and motivational factors are concerned. Prospect wise, the next few years will be much critical
for all the insurance companies, if the insurers are critically poised for higher growth. While the
insurers will be endeavoring to protect their market share, the new entrants will be vigorously
aiming to further improve their market standing. Each company in the industry will have to focus
on harnessing its strengths and improving its competitive position. Towards the end, some
contextual and relevant remedial points were recommended as to improve the challenges of
property insurance business and to strengthen the companies’ scope on prospective dimensions
Factors affecting customers ‘bank selection decision: In case of commercial Banks in Jimma Town of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia
No full textThe study features to identify the key factors affecting on customer in Ethiopia particularly in
Jimma town bank selection decision . Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires
to a sample of 288 of Banks customers. Their responses rate (85%) 245valid on the importance
of 6 different selection criteria were rated and analyzed. Mean analysis and exploratory factor
analysis is applied to rank the most important determinants of bank selection. The collected data
were analyzed through SPSS version (20). The descriptive and inferential statistical tools such
as mean, percentage, ANOVA, correlation and multiple linear regressions were used to analyze
collected data. The regression model summary shows that the all independent variables explain
68.7% variability on bank selection decision. The findings revealed that; service quality factors,
bank approach factors, convenience factors and bank pricing factors, have a significant and
positive effect on bank selection decision while bank image and reputation and bank personal
factors have insignificant effect on bank selection decision. As customers place more concentrate
on factors like service quality, bank approach, convenience, and bank price, such factors
healthier to be. Considered seriously by banks in their marketing strategies which help them to
attract new as well as retain the existing customer
The Pragmatic Analysis of Gurage Riddle
No full textThis paper is based on a pragmatic analysis of Gurage riddles that lay an important role in enlightening both children and adults as well. In line with this, it aimed to investigate how Gurage people discuss pragmatic discourses and introduce them into society over riddles. The data were collected through interviews from the local people and documents. The document -‘Yegurage Wemaka’ from which fourteen riddles were collected for analysis was the primary data gathering tool for the study. A purposive sampling technique was employed to choose the informants and the document which clearly contains Gurage riddles. The collected riddles were clustered according to their theme and grammatically founded meaning, and they are transcribed into alphabetic script since they were in Ethiopic scripts. Then, the pragmatic roles of the collected data were analyzed qualitatively from the perspectives of Relevance theory hence, the study focused on the interpretive aspects of riddles. The finding showed that pragmatically Gurage riddles play a great role to promote the culture of ‘Enset’ as the main source of food and its production, to introduce the materials that are used in their day to day life and way of house building (folk materials), to promote Gurage people’s transportation system and infrastructures, to show as the coffee ceremony is the main social coexistence, to promote the culture of Gurage people agriculture, death, and destruction. Finally, it also found out that context and cultural knowledge play a major in interpreting and understanding Gurage riddles.  
How Can Disease Control Program Contribute to Health System Strengthening in Sub-Saharan Africa : A Concept Note for Engaging in the Global Debates on Health Systems Strengthening
No full textRecently, there has been broad consensus in the global health community on the need for health systems strengthening (HSS) to make further progress toward the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is still divergence
on how HSS should be framed, what HSS practically entails, and how it should be done.
We set out to clarify HSS for managers of disease control programs (DCPs).
In September 2000, the United Nations
created a new movement in the fight against poverty: 189
countries in the General Assembly expressed their commitment
to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Millennium
Declaration (World Health Organization 2004). The
recognition of health as one of the key determinants of
human development is translated in three health-related
MDGs. MDG 4 and 5 focus respectively on children and women
as priority target groups, and MDG 6 focuses on priority
diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other major diseases),
representing the bulk of the disease burden in low-income
countries. In section two, the author first focuses on how
national health systems can be understood, with their
strengthening in mind, with a special focus on service
delivery and on its pluralistic nature. In section three,
the author uses the Anna Karenina principle to explain an
approach to health systems assessment at the national level.
Finally, in section four, the author develops an approach on
how Disease Control Program (DCP) can contribute to Health
systems Strengthening (HSS) at country level
Unequal access: sexual and reproductive health services among agrarian and pastoralist adolescents in Ethiopia
No full textAbstract Introduction Adolescents worldwide face significant sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges, including unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and sexually transmitted infections. While many studies have focused on SRH service utilization in urban and well-served communities, evidence from underserved regions remains limited. This study presents findings on SRH service utilization among adolescents in remote rural and pastoralist communities of southern Ethiopia. Method We collected data from 493 adolescents, equally representing agrarian and pastoralist communities, between May and June 2023. Participants provided insights into their knowledge, acceptance, organizational and cultural influences, and SRH service utilization history. The data was entered using EpiData 4.6 and analyzed with SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize key characteristics, while bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses identified determinants of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) utilization. Results were reported as adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to assess statistical significance. Results Nearly three-quarters of adolescents (369, 74.8%) reported that ASRH services were not accepted in their communities, with rejection rates higher among pastoralist communities. Nonetheless, slightly more than a quarter of adolescents utilized SRH services (27.4%, 95% CI: 26.9–27.8). A significant disparity in utilization was observed between agrarian and pastoralist communities, with 36% (95% CI: 35.5–36.5) utilization among agrarian compared to 18.7% (95% CI: 18.3–19.1) in pastoralist adolescents. Key determinants of ASRH service utilization included education level, as uneducated adolescents were significantly less likely to access services (AOR = 0.187, 95% CI: 0.065–0.536). Positive predictors of ASRH utilization included parental encouragement (AOR = 2.817, 95% CI: 1.120–7.089) and proximity to services (AOR = 3.645, 95% CI: 1.423–9.337). In a separate analysis of agrarian adolescents, those uneducated were 85.5% less likely to use ASRH services compared to their educated peers (AOR = 0.145, 95% CI: 0.045, 0.465). Among pastoralist adolescents, discussing SRH with parents increased the likelihood of ASRH service use by 3.7 times (AOR = 3.729, 95% CI: 1.315, 10.574), and living within 30 min of a health facility increased the likelihood by nearly 6 times (AOR = 5.913, 95% CI: 2.419, 14.451). Conclusion ASRH service utilization is notably low among agrarian and pastoralist communities compared to urban and semi-urban settings, pastoralists being more underserved. Promoting parental involvement, establishing SRH centers in schools and health institutions, and expanding access through mobile services for pastoralist communities are essential. Strengthened efforts by the health sector and stakeholders are critical to addressing gaps and ensuring equitable service availability
Soil loss estimation in Ethiopia: a comprehensive review of the RUSLE model integrated with geospatial technologies
No full textAbstract Soil erosion in Ethiopia harms agricultural production, water quality, and overall ecosystem health. Effective soil loss estimation can help minimize these outcomes. The implementation of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) in Ethiopia has not been sufficiently evaluated. Thus, the main objective of this review is to systematically review the comprehensive strengths and limitations of the RUSLE model applications for soil loss estimation. Specifically, it evaluates the specific parameters used, the type of input data, the validation approaches, and the role of GIS and remote sensing in the computation process of the RUSLE Model. An extensive search method was employed to classify suitable research papers about applying the RUSLE model in estimating soil erosion in Ethiopia. The review underscores that different approaches have been used to compute the five parameters of the RUSLE model. Key strengths of the RUSLE model include its widespread acceptance and adaptability to various environmental conditions; however, notable limitations are evident, regarding the validation and calibration processes. This review highlights that the scale of study areas varies widely, from 18.33 to 1,119,683 km2. Soil loss estimates across the reviewed studies ranged from 12.94 to 576 t ha−1 yr−1. The findings of this review presented here are critical for using the RUSLE model to estimate soil loss integrating it with other process-based models and the advanced machine learning technologies. Ultimately, this review aids in improving soil resource management and ecological sustainability in Ethiopia
Mycobacteria and zoonoses among pastoralists and their livestock in south-east Ethiopia
No full textGlobally, tuberculosis (TB) causes millions of deaths per year. Ethiopia ranks seventh among the world’s 22 countries with high tuberculosis burden. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) is the most common cause of human TB, but an unknown proportion of cases are due to M. bovis. Although cattle are considered to be the main hosts of M. bovis, isolations have been made from many other livestock and wildlife species and transmission to humans constitutes a public health problem. BTB became rare in human and cattle in developed countries as the result of milk pasteurization and test and slaughter policy. A Test and slaughter control option is difficult to apply in developing countries due to high cost of implementation. TB caused by M. bovis is clinically indistinguishable from TB caused by M. tuberculosis and can only be differentiated by laboratory methods. A considerable amount of suspected human TB and TB like-lesions specimens in animals were identified as non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in numerous reports. Conventional diagnostic laboratory methods are not accurate enough to identify NTM from Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based molecular techniques are appropriate methods to differentiate NTM from MTC.
BTB is endemic in Ethiopian cattle in central highlands and the situation is not well known in pastoral areas. Further more a zoonotic link of M. bovis was not documented in Ethiopia.
Limited information is available on the status of brucellosis and Q-fever in livestock of southeast Ethiopian pastoralists. In the present study we investigate the presence of zoonotic transmission of tuberculosis at the human-livestock interface and assess the status of brucellosis and Q-fever in pastoral livestock of southeast Ethiopia in Oromia and Somali Regional States.
Comparative intradermal tuberculin test (CIDT) was conducted in 894 cattle from Dhuko, Sirba, Arda-Bururi and Siminto pastoral association (PA) in Oromia and Hayadimtu, Bifatu, Melkalibe and Bakaka PAs in Somali region. In addition 479 camels and 518 goats were included from the same PAs in Somali region. The test results were interpreted based on the Office Internationale des Epizooties (OIE) recommended 4 mm and a recently suggested 2 mm cut-off for the CIDT test in cattle and >4 mm was used for camels and goats. The individual animal prevalence of tuberculin reactors was 4.0% (95% CI= 2.7-5.3%) and 5.4% (95% CI= 3.9-6.8%) when using the 4 mm and the 2 mm cut-off, respectively. BTB prevalence was 0.4% (95% CI= -0.2-1.0%) and 0.2 %( 95% CI=-0.2-0.6%) in camels and goats, respectively. In Somali region prevalence of avian PPD reactors in cattle, camels and goats were 0.7% (95% CI= 0.2-2.0%), 10.0 %( 95% CI= 7.0-14.0 %) and 1.0% (95% CI= 0.3-4.0%), respectively, whereby camels had an odds ratio (OR) of 16.5 (95% CI=5.0- 55.0) when compared to cattle. As compared to Somali regions high prevalence of BTB reactor cattle were from Oromia region with some hot spot PAs; Arda-Bururi and Siminto in Oromia and Hayadimitu in Somali region and risk factors to be further investigated. The high proportion of camel reactors to avian PPD needs further investigation of its impact on camel production.
Sputum and fine-needle aspirate (FNA) specimens were collected from 260 patients with suspected pulmonary TB and from 32 cases with suspect TB lymphadenitis, respectively. In parallel, 207 suspected tuberculous lesions were collected from livestock slaughtered at abattoirs. Specimens were processed and cultured for mycobacteria; samples with acid-fast stained bacilli were further characterized by molecular methods including genus and deletion typing as well as spoligotyping. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) were sequenced at the 16S rDNA locus. Culturing and molecular typing of acid-fast bacilli collected from humans yielded 174 (67%) and 9 (28%) mycobacterial isolates from sputum and FNA, respectively, of which 161 were characterized as M. tuberculosis, three were M. bovis, and the remaining 10 were typed as NTMs. Similarly, a yield of 40 (23%) mycobacterial isolates was recorded from tuberculous lesions of livestock animals, including 24 M. bovis and 4 NTMs from cattle, 1 M. tuberculosis and 1 NTM from camels, and nine NTMs from goats. Isolation of M. bovis from humans and M. tuberculosis from animal confirmed transmission between livestock and humans in the pastoral areas of southeast Ethiopia.
Simultaneous surveys of brucellosis and Q-fever were conducted in animals tested for tuberculin skin test. Sera were collected from all livestock tested for BTB to assess the status of brucellosis and Q-fever in pastoral livestock of study area. A total of 1830 animals comprising 862 cattle, 458 camels and 510 goats were screened initially with Rose Bengal test (RBT) for brucellosis. All RBT positive and 25% of negative animals were further tested using ELISA. These comprise a total of 460 animals (211 cattle, 102 camels and 147 goats). Besides, sera from a total of 368 animals (180 cattle, 90 camels and 98 goats) were tested for Q-fever using ELISA kit. The sero-prevalence of brucellosis in RBT tested animals was 1.4% (95% CI= 0.8, 2.6%), 0.9% (95% CI= 0.3, 2.7%) and 9.6% (95% CI =5.2, 17.1) in cattle, camels and goats, respectively. Twelve percent (12.0%) of negative camel sera were positive for ELISA. Thus, ELISA is more sensitive than RBT in the present study. The sero-prevalences of Q-fever were 31.6% (95% CI=24.7-39.5%), 90.0% (95% CI= 81.8-94.7%) and 54.2% (95% CI= 46.1-62.1%) in cattle, camels and goats, respectively. Both brucellosis and Q-fever are prevalent in the study area. High seropositivity of Q-fever in all livestock species tested and higher seropositive in goats for brucellosis implies risks of human infection by both diseases. Thus, warrant further study of both diseases in animals and humans in the area.
The simultaneous study of mycobacteria in humans and livestock, and other zoonoses in the present study demonstrates an added value of a “One Health” approach of closer cooperation of human and animal health sectors in Ethiopian pastoralist
Networks of care for optimizing Primary Health Care Service Delivery in Ethiopia: Enhancing relational linkages and care coordination.
No full textIntroductionEthiopia has made notable progress in reducing maternal and perinatal mortality, yet challenges remain in meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Persistent issues such as low service utilization, coupled with poor quality, fragmented care, and ineffective referral systems hinder progress. The "Improve Primary Health Care Service Delivery (IPHCSD)" project, implemented by JSI and Amref Health Africa since April 2022, seeks to address these gaps through a Networks of Care (NoCs) approach. This paper describes the lessons learned from implementing the NoCs approach to optimize primary health care in Ethiopia.MethodsThe project incorporates embedded implementation science, guided by the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework. Key implementation strategies co-designed included strengthening community engagement, establishing NoCs, and introducing quality improvement initiatives using the Model for Improvement. Routine program monitoring data, NoCs process evaluation, and facility service statistics were utilized for this study. Service statistics were analyzed using Student's t-test and interrupted time-series analysis to compare maternal and child care outcomes before and after the NoCs intervention, with counterfactual estimates generated to assess the intervention's impact. Qualitative data from key informant interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to identify themes and patterns using Atlas.ti.ResultsThe NoCs approach has significantly enhanced relational linkages between primary health care facilities and health care providers, fostering stronger collaboration and communication. This has fostered trust, improved care coordination, optimized primary health care performance, and increased health service utilization within woreda health systems. The interrupted time series analysis indicated that the rate of ANC 8+ visits was 29.8% per month higher than expected without the NoCs strategy (Coef: 2.39; p-value ConclusionThe NoCs approach in Ethiopia has proven effective in enhancing the relational elements, care coordination, and quality of primary health care services, leading to better maternal and child health outcomes. The findings expand the existing body of research on NoCs implementation best practices and further confirm that it provides a scalable model for strengthening health services in low-resource settings
Bivariable analysis of factors associated with the applicability of the basic preventive measures of the pandemic COVID-19 among residents in Guraghe Zone, 2020 (n = 634).
No full textBivariable analysis of factors associated with the applicability of the basic preventive measures of the pandemic COVID-19 among residents in Guraghe Zone, 2020 (n = 634).</p
