Publications by authors named "Addisu Alemu"

Background: Improving the quality of intrapartum and immediate postnatal care is critical for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This review aimed to assess the extent of Person-Centred Maternity Care (PCMC) practices during childbirth in LMICs.

Methods: We retrieved studies from four databases, including PubMed/Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Maternal and Infant Care, up to 30 May 2023 and updated 26 April 2024.

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Background: Antenatal care (ANC) coverage in low- and middle-income countries has increased in the past few decades. However, merely increasing care coverage may not enhance maternal and newborn health unless the recommended service components are also provided. Our aim was to assess the quality of ANC and its associated factors in Ethiopia.

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Background: Readiness of healthcare facilities is essential for delivering quality healthcare services. There is limited evidence on the antenatal care (ANC) readiness of healthcare facilities in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the readiness of ANC services and its influencing factors in Ethiopian healthcare facilities.

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Background: It is crucial to consider cultural, religious, and socio-behavioural factors that may influence the acceptability of Minimally Invasive Tissues Sampling (MITS). MITS is being used to understand the causes of child death and conducted in nine countries within Africa and South Asia with the highest child mortality. Progress has been made in the development of laboratory infrastructures and training for physicians to do MITS, but many communities are concerned about the religious acceptability of taking samples from deceased children.

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Introduction: Maternal mortality is a global issue, with developing countries accounting for over 99% of maternal deaths, with 30% of Ethiopian mothers dying from pregnancy-related causes. This study aimed to assess the magnitude, associated factors, and reasons for home delivery among women who gave birth after antenatal care follow-up in the last 6 months in Jabitehnan District, Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods: A mixed community-based study was conducted on women who gave birth after antenatal care follow-up in the last 6 months.

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Background: Although Ethiopia has substantial improvements in various health indicators such as maternal and child mortality, the burden of neonatal mortality remains high. Between 2016 and 2019, neonatal mortality increased from 29 deaths per 1,000 live births to 33 deaths per 1,000 live births. This study aimed to explore the spatial patterns and factors contributing to neonatal mortality in Ethiopia.

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Introduction: Pneumatosis Intestinalis (PI) is a rare disease, majority of which are self-limited processes, in which the intestinal sub mucosa and sub serosa are filled with gas-filled cysts. The exact cause and pathogenesis is not well known yet but there are different theories. The two well accepted fundamental pathogenesis is: mechanical and bacterial.

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Introduction: Determining aetiology of severe illness can be difficult, especially in settings with limited diagnostic resources, yet critical for providing life-saving care. Our objective was to describe the accuracy of antemortem clinical diagnoses in young children in high-mortality settings, compared with results of specific postmortem diagnoses obtained from Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS).

Methods: We analysed data collected during 2016-2022 from seven sites in Africa and South Asia.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on how well doctors' pre-death diagnoses match up with findings from autopsies for children under five who died in Ethiopia, specifically looking at lung issues.
  • - Out of 75 cases reviewed, only 52% were accurately diagnosed before death, with a significant 35% discrepancy rate between antemortem and postmortem diagnoses.
  • - Major reasons for misdiagnoses were identified as lack of knowledge and poor teamwork among healthcare providers, emphasizing the need for better education and collaboration to improve diagnostic accuracy.
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Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is essential health care and medical support provided to pregnant women, with the aim of promoting optimal health for both the mother and the developing baby. Pregnant women should initiate ANC within the first trimester of pregnancy to access a wide range of crucial services. Early initiation of ANC significantly reduces adverse pregnancy outcomes, yet many women in Sub-Saharan Africa delay its initiation.

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Background: Depression during pregnancy is a significant health concern that can lead to a variety of short and long-term complications for mothers. Unfortunately, there is a lack of information available on the prevalence and predictors of prenatal depression in rural eastern Ethiopia. This study assessed prenatal depression and associated factors among pregnant women attending public health facilities in the Babile district, Eastern Ethiopia.

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Background: The Ethiopian Ministry of Health (EMOH) has recently introduced a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program for healthcare workers to ensure they maintain the necessary competencies to meet the community's health needs. However, there is limited information on healthcare workers' knowledge and perceived need for CPD. This study aims to assess healthcare workers' CPD knowledge, perceived needs, and factors associated with these in eastern Ethiopia.

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Background: Unsafe abortion is a serious reproductive health problem in developing countries including Ethiopia. The attitude of healthcare providers toward abortion is one of contributing factors to unsafe abortion. This study aimed to determine the pooled effect of healthcare workers' attitudes toward safe abortion care and its determinants factors in Ethiopia.

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Background: HIV/AIDS is one of the top global public health threats that causes significant cases, deaths, and socioeconomic impact. Even though both HIV testing and counseling are identified as essential HIV interventions during pregnancy, large population-representative data shows that service coverage and determinants are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the coverage and determinants of HIV testing and counseling services among pregnant mothers attending antenatal care services in sub-Saharan African countries using different nationwide data.

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Introduction: Multiple pregnancies are much more common today than they were in the past. Twin pregnancies occur in about 4% of pregnancies in Africa. Adverse pregnancy outcome was more common in twin pregnancy than in singleton pregnancy.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on critical modifiable risk factors for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and diarrhoea in children under five in sub-Saharan Africa, using recent data from 25 countries with a sample of over 253,000 children.
  • Key risk factors for ARIs include unclean cooking fuel, poor maternal education, delayed breastfeeding initiation, and inadequate toilets, which together account for 41.5% of ARI cases.
  • For diarrhoea, the major contributors are unclean cooking fuel, delayed breastfeeding, household poverty, and poor maternal education, responsible for 34.0% of diarrhoea cases.
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Background: Competence describes actions that will be demonstrated or observed and assessed while competency refers to the skill itself. Following appropriate theoretical and practical training, clinical experience is required to achieve the highest level of clinical competence. It is estimated that many women and newborns die each year due to a lack of qualified health professional around the world.

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Neonatal sepsis is the primary cause of increased newborn morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. In Ethiopia, the factors of neonatal sepsis are not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with neonatal sepsis in the study area.

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Background: The short birth interval is a common public health issue that affects women's and children's health in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite a higher burden of short birth intervals reported in Ethiopia, there is limited evidence to indicate the primary risk factors, particularly in rural eastern Ethiopia. Therefore, this study assessed the determinants of the short birth interval among married multiparous women in Chinaksen district, Eastern Ethiopia.

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Background: Person-centered maternity care is a crucial scheme for a positive childbirth experience. It enhances facility-based delivery, improves patient-provider communication, and increases women's satisfaction. However, there is limited evidence on the magnitude of person-centered care and certain variables were missed in Ethiopia.

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The World Health Organization [WHO] recommends a genotype-specific human papillomavirus [HPV] vaccination as a primary prevention strategy to control the burden of cervical cancer globally. In Ethiopia, where the non-vaccine-targeted HPV genotypes have not been adequately studied, a vaccination initiative was launched in 2018 targeting HPV-6,-11, -16, and -18 for girls aged 14-18 years. The co-existence of both vaccine-targeted and non-targeted genotypes is a serious concern, as it can accelerate cancer progression.

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Background: Compassionate and respectful maternity care during childbirth has been identified as a potential strategy to prevent and reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Despite its importance, there is a paucity of information on the level of disrespect and abuse meted out to mothers in eastern Ethiopia. This study assesses the level of disrespect and abuse suffered by women during childbirth, and the associated factors, in public health facilities in the rural East Hararghe Zone in eastern Ethiopia.

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Globally women face inequality in cancer outcomes; for example, smaller improvements in life expectancy due to decreased cancer-related deaths than men (0.5 vs 0.8 years, 1981-2010).

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Introduction: Supportive cancer care is vital to reducing the current disparities in cancer outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including poor survival and low quality of life, and ultimately achieving equity in cancer care. This is the first review aimed to evaluate the extent of unmet supportive care needs and identify their contributing factors among patients with cancer in SSA.

Methods: Six electronic databases (CINAHL, Embase, Medline [Ovid], PsycINFO, PubMed, and Cochrane Library of Databases] were systematically searched.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines breast cancer (BC) subtypes across four Ethiopian regions, highlighting a lack of research in areas outside Addis Ababa.
  • Researchers analyzed 227 tissue samples using immunohistochemistry to determine the presence of key markers and found high rates of ER and PR negativity, as well as a significant prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) at 33.1%.
  • The findings indicate that a substantial proportion of patients may not benefit from standard endocrine treatments, and the high occurrence of aggressive tumors in younger patients suggests a need for tailored treatment approaches.
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