Birth weight is an important determinant of child survival and development. So far, the prevalence and traditional maternal feeding practice correlates of low birth weight have not been explored well in Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of low birth weight among mothers who delivered at governmental hospitals, Northern, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional mixed study design was carried out in 3 zonal hospitals among 308 mothers and their respective live born baby consecutively using interviewer administered piloted questionnaire and 3 focus group discussions were conducted for the qualitative part. The mothers were interviewed and assessed within 6 hours of delivery; all babies were weighed on standard beam balance from Aug 2 to Sep 12. Data were entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify the predictors at p < 0.05. For the qualitative study design, following iterative hearing of the discussions verbatim interpretation was done & categorized in to themes and finally triangulated with the quantitative results. The prevalence of low birth weight was found to be 14.6 % (95 % CI = 12.56-16.61) and the mean and standard deviations of the birth weights were 3094.9 ± 587.6 grams. Low birth weight was associated with rural place of residence (AOR = 4.34 (95 % CI = 1.99-9.48)), preterm birth/gestational age less than 37 weeks (AOR = 18.5 (95 % CI = 4.94-69.4)), presence of any chronic medical illness (AOR = 5.3 (95 % CI = 1.12-25.45) and maternal weight <50 kg (AOR = 2.26 (95 % CI = 1.06-4.80)). It was found that tradition of selection and preference of nutritionally poor food items during pregnancy was deep-rooted in the community. The prevalence of low birth weight was found to be high and it was associated with rural place of residence, gestational age <37 wks, presence of any chronic medical illness & maternal weight <50 kg. Emphasis should be given to nutritional counseling and disease specific ANC provision by skilled health professionals; Discussions with the community and religious leaders are mandatory aspect on the tradition of feeding of pregnant mothers to tackle the problem. This study also calls for community based further studies.

Background: Adverse birth outcome which attributes to most perinatal deaths is an important indicator of child health and survival. Hence, this study aims to identify determinants of adverse birth outcome among mothers who gave birth in public hospitals of Tigrai region, North Ethiopia. Methods: Hospital based case-control study was conducted in Tigrai region, Ethiopia between December 2015 and January 2016 among 405 (135 cases and 270 controls) consecutively selected mothers who gave birth in four randomly selected public Hospitals. Mothers with adverse birth outcome (preterm birth; < 37 gestational weeks at birth, low birth weight; < 2.5 kg at birth, or still birth) were the cases while mothers without adverse birth outcome (live birth, birth weight ≥ 2.5 kg and of ≥37 gestational weeks at birth) were the controls. Data were collected by interview and reviewing medical records using structured questionnaire. The collected data were entered into database using EPI info version 3.5.1 then exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Finally, multivariate logistic regression was used to identify determinants of adverse birth outcomes at P value < 0.05. Result: The mean age of cases and controls was 27.3 (SD = 6.6) and 26.14 (SD = 4.9) years, respectively. In a multivariate analysis; less than four antenatal care visits [AOR = 4.35, 95% CI: 1.15–13.50], not receiving dietary counseling [AOR = 11.24, 95% CI: 3.92–36.60], not using family planning methods [AOR = 4.06, 95% CI:1.35–17.34], less than 24 months inter pregnancy interval [AOR = 5.21, 95% CI: 1.89–13.86], and less than 11 g/dl hemoglobin level [AOR = 4.86, 95% CI: 1.83–14.01] were significantly associated with adverse birth outcomes. Conclusion and recommendation: The number of antenatal care visits, ever use of family planning methods, not receiving dietary counseling during antenatal care follow up visits, short inter-pregnancy interval, and low hemoglobin level were identified as independent determinants of adverse birth outcome. A concerted effort should be taken improve family planning use, and antenatal care follow-up with special emphasis to maternal nutrition to prevent adverse birth outcomes.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem and it is among the top 10 causes of death worldwide. One of the challenges against attaining an effective TB control program is delay in seeking health care to diagnosis and treatment of TB patients. The aim of this study was to assess health care-seeking delay among pulmonary TB patients. An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among new pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients > 15 years of age who were enrolled in the intensive phase TB treatment from November 1, 2015 – January 30, 2016. Data were collected by an interviewer administered technique using a structured questionnaire. Health care seeking delay was categorized by using a median cutoff point of > 30 days as a prolonged health care seeking delay. Logistic regression analyses were employed to determine factors independently associated with the delays in health care seeking. A total of 422 PTB patients were included in this study. The median age of respondents was 37 years (interquartile range (IQR) =35–44). The median time of health care seeking delay was 30 days (IQR) = 21-60). Respondents occupation, knowledge about pulmonary tuberculosis, health facility visited first, seeking treatment from traditional or religious healers before visiting health facilities, reason for not seeking treatment early from health facilities, and reason for first consultation were found to be significantly associated with health care seeking delay. The study showed the magnitude of health care seeking delay among pulmonary tuberculosis patient was very long and the factors associated with health care seeking delay were: occupation, knowledge status, health facility visited first and seeking treatment from religious or traditional healer before health facilities. To overcome delay of health care seeking among tuberculosis patients, efforts should required availing tuberculosis diagnostic and treatment services at the primary health care level.

Background. Cervical cancer is the major cause of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide with an estimated 528,000 new cases and 266,000 deaths annually. In Ethiopia, there are 7095 new cases and 4732 deaths of cervical cancer every year. But cervical cancer screening utilization remains limited. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess cervical cancer screening utilization and associated factors among women in the Shabadino district, Southern Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Shabadino district, Southern Ethiopia, using a structured questionnaire. A systematic random sampling method was used to recruit 536 study participants. The collected data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to assess factors associated with cervical cancer screening utilization at a 95% level of significance and a p value of less than 0.05. Results. The study revealed that among 506 women, only 52 (10.3%) have been screened for cervical cancer. Women who are educated (completed primary school and above) (AOR=1.9; 95% CI=1.18-3.05), who have a history of the presence of sexually transmitted diseases (AOR=2.6; 95% CI=1.26-5.23), who have multiple sexual partners (AOR=4.0; 95% CI=1.86-8.66), and who knew methods of cervical cancer prevention (AOR=4.3; 95% CI=1.18-13.05) were significantly associated with high cervical cancer screening utilization. Conclusion. The magnitude of cervical cancer screening utilization among women was very low. Educational status, history of multiple sexual partners, history of sexually transmitted diseases, and knowing methods of prevention were significant factors of high cervical cancer screening utilization. Recommendation. It is very crucial to implement an appropriate awareness creation method. Additionally, the STI clinic should be linked to the cervical cancer screening service to increase the knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and the utilization of cervical cancer screening.

Soil-transmitted helminthes are among the most common infections worldwide and affect the poorest and most deprived communities. A health facility based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women attending at Maytsebri primary hospital. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 20 software. Multivariate analyses were used to identify determinant factors associated with soil transmitted helminthiasis. A total of 448 pregnant women were examined microscopically with a Katokatz technique for parasitological study to each women. Out of the total 448 pregnant women examined in the primary hospital, 229 (51.5%) women were infected by at least one of the soil transmitted helminthiasis. Hookworm was the most prevalent 179 (78.16%) soil transmitted helminthes infection. Women who had a habit of eating soil were 2.6 times more likely to be infected by soil transmitted helminthes compared to who do not eat soil. Participants who wear shoe always were 95% less likely to be infected by soil transmitted helminthes. Efforts should be done to advance the awareness of women how to prevent soil transmitted helminthes.

Background: Disclosure of HIV positive status to sexual partners, friends or relatives is a main tool for prevention and care strategies. Significant proportions of HIV positive adults never disclose their HIV positive status. Identifying factors associated with disclosure is necessary to freely disclose of HIV positive status result to their sexual partners, parents and friends to achieve a goal ‘zero new infection.’ Objective: This study was aimed to assess the HIV positive status disclosure and associated factors among HIV positive adults attending in Axum health facilities, Northern Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from July - August, 2013 in Axum St. Marry hospital and Axum health center. After verbal consent was obtained data were collected by trained counselors and ART nurses using pre-tested structured questionnaire. Data were entered into SPSS version 16 databases. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify associated factors for disclosure of HIV positive status at 95% confidence intervals and p-value of 0.05. Results: A total of 361 respondents were participated in the study of which gives 99.7% of response rate. The majority (80.1%) disclosed their HIV positive result to at least one person and among currently have sexual partner, 81.2% disclosed to their current sexual partner. marital status of the respondents, [(AOR = 3.70; 95% CI, 1.206 – 11.39)] knowledge of partner’s HIV status [(AOR= 3.43; 95% CI, 1.02– 11.5)] and member of Anti- HIV/AIDS association [(AOR = 4.81; 95% CI, 1.01 – 23.05)] had significant association with disclosure of HIV positive status. Conclusion: The rate of HIV positive status disclosure among HIV positive adults still continued to be low. Marital status of respondents, knowledge of partners HIV status, and a member of Anti- HIV/AIDS association were identified as predictors of HIV positive status disclosure.