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Sexually transmitted infection is a common public health issue, and it is characteristically transmitted through sexual intercourse. Around the globe, particularly in less developed countries, delayed treatment of this infection could lead to a health and economic burden. Even though the health and economic burden of sexually transmitted infections is high, studies to identify the pooled proportion and the possible factor of delayed treatment seeking are rare in sub-Saharan African countries. To assess the prevalence of delayed treatment for STIs and its determinants in sub-Saharan African countries. Articles searched on search engines like Medline via PubMed, HINARI, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, and websites like Google Scholar. The searching mechanism was using keywords and medical subject heading terms by combining the key terms of the title. To assure the quality of the included articles, Joana Brigg's Institute critical appraisal checklist was used. To assess the heterogeneity of the studies, a sensitivity analysis was conducted. The PRISMA checklist was used, and to estimate the pooled odds ratio, a random effect model was considered. The pooled odds ratio of 95% CL was used to identify the factors. About 13 studies with 46,722 participants were incorporated. Despite considerable heterogeneity, the pooled prevalence of delayed treatment for STI in Sub-Saharan Africa was 47% (95% CI: 42%-51%, I2 = 98.42, p<0.001). Geographically, the higher pooled prevalence of delayed treatment for STI was in the eastern part of Africa (50%) (95% CI: 41%-59%, I2 = 98.42, p<0.001). Rural residence (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.03-2.01, I2 = 39.3%, p-value = 0.19), poor knowledge about STI (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.04-2.13, I2 = 93.1%, p-value = <0.001), perceived as STIs not serious (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.86-2.36, I2 = 73.7%, p-value = 0.022), misconception for STD cause (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12-1.72), no education (OR = 4.1, 95% CI: 3.4-5.1), primary education (OR = 3.17, 95% CI: 2.23-4.2), and secondary education (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.1-2.76) as compared to secondary and above education were factors associated with delayed treatment for STIs. The pooled prevalence of delayed treatment for STIs in Sub-Saharan African countries was high. Poor knowledge, attitude, and educational status affect the treatment delay for STIs. Thus, improving knowledge, educational status, and attitude are highly recommended to reduce the delayed treatment of STIs.

Background. Self-care practice is the mainstay of management for good glycemic control. Despite the presence of a few pocket studies, no comprehensive study was conducted in Ethiopia to demonstrate the overall good self-care practice among diabetic patients in Ethiopia. Therefore, we intended to conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the overall good self-care practice among people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Ethiopia. Methods. We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane library, Google scholar, and direct Google to retrieve relevant studies. Forest plot was used to present the pooled estimate of good self-care practice using DerSimonian and Laird’s random-effects model. We checked publication bias using Egger’s test and funnel plot. Potential heterogeneity was tested using the I-squared statistic. Moreover, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. Results. In this review, 12 primary studies (with a total sample size of 4030) were included. Because of the presence of heterogeneity, we employed a random-effects model. After running the random-effects model, the pooled estimate of overall good self-care practice was 51.12% (95% CI: 41.90–60.34). Furthermore, the pooled estimate of good dietary practice was 50.18% (95% CI: 32.75–67.60), good physical exercise practice was 48.29% (95% CI: 34.14–62.43), the good footcare practice was 63.61% (95% CI: 45.56–81.66), and appropriate self-monitoring of the blood glucose level was 31.89% (95% CI: −4.62–68.41). In this meta-analysis, there was serious interstudy variation, but there was no publication bias. Conclusions. The overall good self-care practice among people living with T2DM was low which necessitates the need for designing strategies to increase the self-care practice. The health sector has to bolster awareness creation to allow better plasma glucose control and preventing diabetes-related complications. This trial is registered with CRD42019147694.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the psychosocial determinants of psychological distress among people with disabilities in Ethiopia.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted at an institution from 01 to 30 May 2021, using a census sampling approach.Setting and participantsA total of 269 individuals aged 18 and older with disabilities were present at the University of Gondar in Ethiopia.Main outcomeThe Kessler psychological distress scale (K10), the multidimensional scale of perceived social support, the actual help-seeking behaviour and the stigma scale for chronic illness-8 were used to assess the dependent and independent variables, respectively. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed; a p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant at a 95% CI.ResultIn this study, the prevalence of psychological distress was 34.6% with a 95% CI (29.40 to 40.10). Factors, such as older age (adjusted ß=1.09; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.15), low perceived social support (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.83; 95% CI 1.16 to 2.89), experiencing stigma (AOR=2.50; 95% CI 1.12 to 5.61) and cognition problems (adjusted ß=0.73; 95% CI 0.62 to 0.85), were significantly associated with increased psychological distress. Of the participants with psychological distress, professional help-seeking behaviour was 7.5%.ConclusionPsychological distress was notably high among individuals with disabilities, while professional help-seeking remained very low. This underscores the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions to reduce stigma, strengthen social support and improve access to appropriate psychological care.

Background Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of communicable diseases that principally impact the world’s poorest people. The use of digital health technologies is an emerging and promising way to improve disease prevention, diagnosis, case detection, treatment delivery, and patient follow-up and facilitating health facility appointments thereby improving health outcomes. While the growing implementation of digital health technologies is evident, there is a lack of comprehensive evidence on the impact of digital health technologies in the control of NTDs. The main objective of this review was to map different pieces of evidence on the use of digital health technologies for case detection, management, and treatment outcome of the neglected tropical diseases. Methods We conducted a scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The studies were searched using electronic databases like MEDLINE (PubMed), Science Direct, Cochrane Library, and manual searching engines. Two authors extracted the data and compared the results. Discrepancies were resolved by discussion or the third reviewer made the decision. We produced the distribution of geographical locations, residents (setting), types of publications, and digital health technologies used on neglected tropical diseases using tables and graphs. Findings A total of 996 potentially relevant studies were generated from the initial search, and six studies were found to satisfy all the inclusion criteria and included in the final review. The review found that telehealth, eHealth, mHealth, telemedicine, and electronic health record were used digital health technologies to assess their impact on case detection, disease management, and treatment outcome of neglected tropical diseases. Mobile health was a feasible digital health technology for lymphatic filariasis patient identification and mHealth, eHealth, and electronic health records found to improve the service access, outcomes, and monitoring of visceral leishmaniasis at the community health system. Conclusion The scoping review identified that there were limited studies to see the impact of digital health technologies on case detection, management, and treatment outcomes for neglected tropical diseases. We also found that digital health technologies like ehealth, electronic medical linkage, telemed, and telehealth were practicable for patient identification, for treatment and diagnosis through contact with health professionals and teleconsultation, and support in improving health service delivery at the community-health system for managing the disease in both rural and urban settings.

Background Tuberculosis is the oldest infectious disease and it is still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Even though several primary studies have been conducted on the incidence of tuberculosis among HIV-infected individuals in Ethiopia, national-level tuberculosis incidence is unknown. Therefore, this study is aimed to assess the TB incidence rate and its predictors among HIV-infected individuals after the initiation of ART in Ethiopia. Methods We conducted an extensive search of literature as indicated in the guideline of reporting systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA). The databases used were PubMed, Google Scholar, and HINARI literature. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument for critical appraisal of studies. The meta-analysis and Meta regressions were conducted using STATA 14 software. Met-analysis and meta-regression were computed to present the pooled incidence rate and predictors of tuberculosis among HIV-infected patients after initiation of ART with a 95% confidence interval. Results Among a total of 189 studies, 11 studies were included in this analysis. The estimated pooled incidence rate of TB per 100-person year observation (PYO) among HIV-infected patients after initiation of ART therapy was 4.8(95% CI 3.69–5.83). In subgroup analysis, the estimated pooled incidence of tuberculosis showed a slight difference between adults and children after initiation of ART treatment, which was 4.3 (95% CI 2.96, 5.71) and 5.0 (95% CI 3.51, 6.50), respectively. Significantly pooled estimates of predictors of TB incidence by a meta-analysis were being anemic (2.30, 95% CI 1.75, 3.02); on clinical stages III and IV (2.26, 95% CI 1.70, 3.02); and not on cotrimoxazole preventive therapy (CPT) (2.16, 95% CI 1.23, 3.72). Besides, a meta-regression revealed that CD4 <200 cells/mm 3 (2.12, 95% CI 1.17, 3.86) was a positive significant predictor of TB among HIV patients after the initiation of ART. Conclusions The current study showed that the pooled incidence of TB among HIV patients was found to be lower than the WHO 2018 national estimate. Being anemic, WHO stages III and IV, not on CPT, CD4<200cells/μl, and being male were significant predictors of tuberculosis. Therefore, the existing strategies to decrease TB should be strengthening. Study protocol registration CRD42020155573.

Hypertension is a major public health problem globally and it is a leading cause of death and disability in developing countries. This review aims to estimate the pooled prevalence of hypertension and its determinants in Ethiopia. A systematic literature search was conducted at the electronic databases (PubMed, Hinari, and Google Scholar) to locate potential studies. Heterogeneity between studies checked using Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 test statistics and small study effect were checked using Egger's statistical test at 5% significance level. Sensitivity analysis was checked. A random-effects model was employed to estimate the pooled prevalence of hypertension and its determinants in Ethiopia. In this review, 38 studies that are conducted in Ethiopia and fulfilled the inclusion criteria with a total number of 51,427 study participants were reviewed. The overall pooled prevalence of hypertension in the country was 21.81% (95% CI: 19.20-24.42, I2 = 98.35%). The result of the review also showed that the point of prevalence was higher among males (23.21%) than females (19.62%). When we see the pervasiveness of hypertension from provincial perspective; the highest prevalence of hypertension was observed in Addis Ababa (25.35%) and the lowest was in Tigray region (15.36%). In meta-regression analysis as the mean age increases by one year, the likelihood of developing hypertension increases by a factor of 0.58 times (β = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.31-0.86, R2 = 36.67). Male sex (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.03-1.61, I2 = 81.35%), age > 35 years (OR = 3.59, 95% CI: 2.57-5.02, I2 = 93.48%), overweight and/or obese (OR = 3.34, 95% CI: 2.12-5.26, I2 = 95.41%), khat chewing (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: I2 = 62%), alcohol consumption (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.21-1.85, I2 = 64%), family history of hypertension (OR = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.64-3.99, I2 = 83.28%), and family history of diabetes mellitus (OR = 3.69, 95% CI: 1.85-7.59, I2 = 89.9%) are significantly associated with hypertension. Hypertension is becoming a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Nearly two out of ten individuals who are older than 18 years living with hypertension. Sex, age, overweight and/or obese, khat chewing, alcohol consumption, and family history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus are statistically significant determinant factors for hypertension in Ethiopia. Primary attention should be given for behavioral risk factors to tackle the alarming increase of hypertension in Ethiopia.

Introduction: Occupational respiratory symptoms are manifestations of respiratory diseases because of exposure to dust or chemicals such as asbestos, silicon and aluminium in the workplace like cement factory, tannery, textile and/or street sweeping, all of which affect the health condition and productivity. In Ethiopia, several primary studies were conducted regarding the magnitude of occupational respiratory symptoms with the prevalence of 68.89% in street sweepers and associated factors with inconsistent results. This meta-analysis aimed to pool the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and their associated factors among Ethiopian adults working in different workplaces. Methods: PubMed, African Journals Online, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Direct Google were systematically searched to identify primary studies. Two authors performed data abstraction and quality assessment for each included study independently. Cochran’s Q-statistic and I2 (I-squared) statistic were used to check heterogeneity. DerSimonian and Laird random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled prevalence and associated factors of respiratory symptoms. Publication bias was checked by funnel plot and Egger’s test, and also sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Ten primary studies with 3441 study participants were included for the narrative synthesis and meta-analysis of the pooled prevalence of occupational respiratory symptoms. The pooled prevalence of overall occupational respiratory symptom was 54.58% (95% CI: 45.37–63.79). Dry cough was the most encountered respiratory symptom [34.93, 95% CI: 29.52–40.35], followed by breathlessness [28.67%, 95% CI: 20.13–37.22]. Work experience of over 5 years [OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.21–4.16] and educational level of Grade 8 and lower [OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.06–1.55] were significantly associated with occupational respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: In this review, the pooled prevalence of occupational respiratory symptoms was high. The findings of this study dictate the need for the implementation of workplace safety measures. Special attention is required to employees with lower educational level and longer duration of work experience. Prospero registration: CRD42020176826

HIV testing during pregnancy is an integral component and first step of prevention for mother to child transmission, initiation of antiretroviral treatment and diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. However, Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan African countries face challenges in meeting the first target of the 95-95-95 global initiatives. This study examines trends, spatial distribution, and factors influencing HIV testing among pregnant women in Ethiopia from 2005 to 2016, using data from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys. The study was based on three consecutive demographic and health survey in Ethiopia. A total weighted sample of 13,020 women who gave birth within 2 year proceeding each survey year was included in each survey. Logit based decomposition analysis technique was employed to identify factors contributing to the change in HIV testing uptake among pregnant women overtime. ArcGIS version 10.7.1 and SaT Scan version 10.1software were used for the spatial analysis and geographically weighted regression. HIV testing uptake among pregnant women has significantly increased from 0.51% in 2005 to 32.4% in 2016 with 2.9% annual rate of increment in Ethiopia. About 75.9% of the overall increase in HIV testing uptake among pregnant from 2005-2016 was due to increases in women's composition with knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV (3.2%), HIV counseling (10.3%), 4 or more antenatal care visits (31.4%), health facility delivery (6.3%), not perceiving distance from the health facility as a big problem (1.1%), and urban residence (0.6%). Spatial variation of low proportion of HIV testing was non-random in all three surveys (Moran index, p-value<0.05). Hot spot clusters exhibited in all the three waves includes Tigray and SNNPRs in 2005 and consistent hotspot areas in Benishangul-Gumuz, Somali, SNNPR, and Gambella in 2011 and 2016 EDHS. Lack of knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV, lack of antenatal care visit, lack of media exposure, and health facility delivery were significant predictors for the spatial variation of low proportion of HIV testing uptake across regions in Ethiopia in 2016. Over all, there has been a substantial increase in HIV testing uptake among pregnant women overtime in Ethiopia, but it still far away from achieving the 2025 HIV testing targets. Knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV, HIV counseling, Number of Antenatal care visit, previous place of delivery, residence and distance to health facility were significant contributing factors for the change in HIV testing uptake. There was geographical disparity in HIV testing uptake across regions in all three EDHS. Lack of knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV, lack of ANC visit, lack media exposure, and health facility delivery were significant predictors. Geographic-based interventions, together with broader public health strategies, are essential for advancing HIV testing uptake.

Pregnant women should engage in a range of physical activities as it is not only safe but also has many maternal benefits. This systematic review and Meta -analysis aimed to assess the pooled effect of physical exercise during pregnancy on delivery outcomes. We conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Embase, Scopus, HINARI, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and backward and forward citations for studies published since 2010. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English, assessing the effect of exercise on the mode of delivery as a primary or secondary outcome, were included. Quality assessment was performed using Cochrane guidelines, and the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach. A random-effects model was used for meta-analysis, and results were reported as risk ratio (RR) and weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed using I² statistics, and potential publication bias was examined. The primary outcome was the mode of delivery, while secondary outcomes included duration of labor, Apgar score, and birth weight. A total of 16 RCTs involving 3,387 women (1,704 exercise and 1,683 control)were included. Compared to the control group, pregnant women with exercise interventions had a higher rate of normal vaginal delivery (RR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.08-1.21, I² = 25.6%, moderate certainty of evidence) and a significantly lower rate of cesarean delivery (RR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.55-0.80, I² = 22.47%, high certainty of evidence). However, no statistically significant association was found between exercise and instrumental delivery (RR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.70-1.02, moderate certainty of evidence). The mean duration of the first stage of labor was significantly shorter in the exercise group (WMD = -61.30 minutes, 95% CI: -80.63 to -41.97, moderate certainty of evidence). However, no significant differences were observed for second stage of labor birth weight, Apgar scores at one and five minutes (moderate certainty of evidence). This systematic review and meta-analysis consolidate existing evidence, demonstrating that physical exercise is associated with an increased likelihood of normal vaginal delivery, a reduced rate of cesarean delivery, and a shorter first stage of labor. These findings reinforce the importance of encouraging pregnant women without contraindications to engage in appropriate physical activity during pregnancy, contributing to informing clinical practice.

Background Worldwide cardiovascular disease is the major cause of disability and premature death. This is due to the ascending trend of consuming an unhealthy diet and obesity which increases the risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thus this study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of the cardiovascular disease in Ethiopia. Methods Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar search engines were accessed using medical subject heading (MeSH) terms for studies based in Ethiopia, from 2000 to 2018. However, studies done among a specific group of the population were excluded from the study. Data were extracted by one reviewer and then checked independently by a second reviewer. Studies were qualitatively synthesis in terms of design, quality, study population, outcomes, and result. Sub-group analysis and sensitivity tests were conducted to identify potential influences on the prevalence estimates. Quantitative results were pooled in a statistical meta-analysis using STATA version 14 software. Result Nine eligible cross-sectional studies were included in the analysis. The prevalence ranges from 1 to 20%. The pooled prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) was 5% (95% CI: 3–8%). The prevalence was higher in the population who visits hospitals, 8% (95% CI: 4–12%) compared to the general population, 2% (95% CI: 1–5%). There was no significant difference in the overall prevalence of CVD between males and females. Conclusion The prevalence of cardiovascular disease was high. A higher prevalence of CVD was found among patients who visited health institutions than the general population and no observed significant sex difference in the prevalence