Estimating the Economic Impact and Assessing Owners' Knowledge and Practices of Epizootic Lymphangitis in Equine Cart Animals in Central and South Gondar Zones, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Epizootic lymphangitis (EL) is a chronic, contagious, fungal disease of equids. The disease is highly prevalent in cart pulling equines of Ethiopia affecting the livelihood of the cart owning households and welfare of the cart animals. This study estimated the economic impacts of EL and assessed cart owners' knowledge and practices related to the disease in northwest Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling approach was implemented to select cart animal owners for the study. A total of 274 cart animal owners were interviewed to collect data for the study. The average annual economic loss per cart owner was estimated at Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 8447. Of this loss, the ETB 4364, 2838, and 1245 were due to mortality, working power loss, and treatment costs, respectively. When the loss was computed only for affected car owners, it was on average ETB 9835 per affected cart owner. The average annual animal level loss was estimated at ETB 6587 per cart animal. Mortality was the largest contributor of the overall economic losses. There was a statistically significant difference in average economic losses per household between study towns (P &amp;lt; 0.05). The knowledge and practice study revealed that 51.2% of the respondents had good knowledge level (knowledge score above the mean score) of EL, but only 45.2% of the respondents had a good practice related to EL. A multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that socio-demographic factors such as educational level and town of residence were significantly associated with EL knowledge level of the respondents (P &amp;lt; 0.05), and on the other hand, knowledge level and residence of the respondents were significantly associated with EL practice level (P &amp;lt; 0.05). The study generally indicates that EL causes significant economic impact on the cart business, but cart owners had insufficient knowledge and poor control and preventive practices to combat the disease. Attention should be accorded to control the disease and reduce its impact on the livelihood of cart owners. As part of the control measure, more awareness creation about the disease and its preventive and management measures for cart owners will very important.</jats:p

Parent-Adolescent Communication about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Its Association with Gender and Pre-Marital Sex Among Secondary and Preparatory School Students in Woldia Town, North East Ethiopia, 2019

Abstract Background : Adolescent today faced different health threats which are predominantly behavioral. Parent-adolescent communication about sexual matters is one of the means that encourages adolescents to adopt responsible sexual behavior. Many children in Africa is uncomfortable to have a Communication about sexual and reproductive health issues with their parents because the subject is a taboo topic in most homes. So, this study aimed to assess magnitude of communication between adolescents and parents on SRH issues and its association with gender and premarital sexual practice among school adolescents of Woldia Town. Methods : School based cross-sectional study was conducted on 368 unmarried Secondary and preparatory school adolescents (15-19 years) in Woldia Town. Simple random sampling were employed to select study participants. Self-administered questionnaire were used. Data were entered by EPI-Data version 3.0.2 and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Result : In this study 56.3% of school adolescents had parental communication on sexual and reproductive health issues. The result of this study showed that there was a significant negative association between pre-marital sexual practice and adolescent-parent communication on SRH issues where by adolescents who had history of sexual intercourse where 64% less likely to communicate with parents (AOR: 0.36 95% CI: 0.20, 0.65). Conclusion and recommendation : This study showed that adolescent-parent communication about sexual and reproductive health issues was low in Woldia Town. Therefore, programs focusing on meeting young people sexual and reproductive health needs in the area should focus on changing the social and cultural views of communicating sexual issues in addition to working on changing individual behaviors on contraceptive use.</jats:p

Intention to Catha edulis chewing cessation and associated factors among Catha edulis chewers of Bahir Dar University students, Northwest Ethiopia: Application of the Trans theoretical model.

Over 10 million people chew Catha edulis worldwide. Evidence shows that the prevalence of Catha edulis chewing in Ethiopian university students ranged from 6.7% to 56.8%. This study was designed to assess the Catha edulis chewing cessation intention and its associated factors among university students. An institution-based cross-sectional study, using trans theoretical model, was conducted from November 1-30, 2022, among 419 Catha edulis chewers University students North West, Ethiopia. A stratified random sampling technique was used. A structured, pretested, and self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Epi Data version 4.6 was used for data entry, and SPSS version 26 was used for analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and p-values <0.05 in the multivariable model were used. Of the 419 study participants, 61.8% (95% CI, 55.8-67.8) of them had Catha edulis chewing cessation intentions within the next six months. Of these, one hundred forty-two (33.9%) were in the contemplation stage, and 117(27.9%) were in the preparation stage. High consciousness-raising [AOR = 4.58, (95% CI:2.43-8.66)], high self-reevaluation [AOR = 4.85 (95% CI:2.45-9.58)], high social liberation [AOR = 2.03, (95% CI:1.10-3.73)], positive decisional balance [AOR = 0.26, (95% CI:0.14- 0.47)], medium Catha edulis dependency [AOR = 0.25, (95% CI:0.07-0.84)], and high Catha edulis dependency [AOR = 0.35, (95% CI:0.19-0.63)] were significantly associated. The magnitude of Catha edulis chewing cessation intention was Low. High consciousness-raising, self-reevaluation, and social liberation were positively associated, while positive decisional balance and high Catha edulis dependency were negatively associated. Stage-based interventions should be implemented. Moreover, Programs targeted at increasing self-efficacy to combat chewing and preventive measures are needed by all stakeholders at different levels. Future research needs to look into the effects of khat on educational performance and quality of life among university students