Background: Preterm birth is defined as the birth of a baby alive before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Preterm birth is an important public health problem because it is associated with increased risks of neonatal illness, disability, and mortality. Objective: The main objective of this study was to identify and prioritize significant risk factors associated with preterm birth among mothers who delivered babies in hospitals in Bale and East Bale Zones. Design: A case-control study was conducted to assess factors associated with preterm birth. Participants: A total of 533 selected mothers who delivered babies from January to December 2024 in hospitals located in Bale and East Bale Zones were included in the study. Main Outcome: The main outcome of the study was to identify significant risk factors associated with preterm birth. Results: Of the 533 mothers who participated in the study, 91 (17.1%) experienced preterm birth. Several factors were significantly associated with preterm birth, including maternal age, place of residence, antenatal care (ANC), previous history of preterm birth, hypertension (HTN), gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus (DM), cardiovascular disease (CVD), urinary tract infection (UTI), premature rupture of membranes (PROM), pregnancy type, child birth weight, birth outcomes, and pre-eclampsia. Conclusion: Residence in pastoralist communities, previous history of preterm birth, and gestational diabetes mellitus were among the strongest factors associated with preterm birth in the study population.
Background: Patient satisfaction reflects the extent to which individuals perceive that their needs and expectations have been met in relation to the cost and quality of healthcare services received. Satisfied patients are more likely to adhere to treatment plans, seek continued care, and provide constructive feedback, all of which are particularly important in the management of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP), a lifelong condition requiring long-term rehabilitation. As children with CP are often unable to adequately express their perceptions of care, parental perspectives serve as a crucial proxy for assessing satisfaction with healthcare services. Objective: To determine the level of satisfaction with physiotherapy services among parents of children with Cerebral Palsy attending rehabilitation centers in Kathmandu Valley and to examine the relationship between individual questionnaire items and overall satisfaction. Methods: The MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction (MRPS) with physiotherapy services was administered to 82 parents of children with Cerebral Palsy receiving care at rehabilitation centers in Kathmandu Valley. Results: Parents reported a high level of satisfaction with physiotherapy services as measured by the MRPS (Mean = 4.37, SD = 0.38). Bivariate correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between individual item scores and global satisfaction. Internal factors demonstrated the strongest correlations with global satisfaction, while external factors showed weak to moderate correlations. Conclusion: Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of the quality of physiotherapy services and should be assessed regularly to ensure optimal care delivery. This study found a high level of satisfaction with physiotherapy services among parents of children with Cerebral Palsy attending rehabilitation centers in Kathmandu Valley.
Introduction: Anemia is a public health problem mainly affecting young children aged less than 5 years old globally. The aim of the present study was to assess the pooled prevalence of anemia and its determinants in “children aged 6-23 months” in Ethiopia. Methods: “EMBASE”, “Web of Science”, “Medline”, “Scopus”, “PubMed”, and “Google Scholar” electronic databases were utilized to search published articles on this topic. Results: The estimated pooled prevalence of anemia in “children aged 6-23 months” was 58.78% (95%CI: 52.13, 65.43). Subgroup analysis showed that the pooled prevalence of anemia was 54.63% (95%CI: 47.41,61.86) among regional-based studies, 68.15% (95%CI: 61.57, 74.73) among national-based studies, 58.25% (95%CI: 51.40,65.10) for articles published 2015-2019, 59.33% (95%CI: 48.71, 69.94) for articles published 2020-2021, 62.93% (95%CI: 54.00,71.86) for sample size >600, and 54.43% (95%CI: 48.03, 60.82) for sample size <600. Poor dietary diversity (AOR=2.81, 95%CI: 2.51, 3.11), having history of diarrhea over the last two weeks (AOR=3.97, 95%CI: 2.39, 5.56) and household food insecurity (AOR=2.72, 95%CI: 2.34, 3.10) were determinants of anemia. Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of anemia in “children aged 6-23 months” was high. Dietary diversity status, history of diarrhea over the last two weeks, and household food insecurity were determinants of anemia. Health education program should be provided.
Background: The first 24 hours following delivery are referred to as the immediate postnatal phase. The first 24 hours following birth account for a significant fraction of mother and newborn fatalities. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding their delivery, providing prompt postnatal care lowers maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. There was limited evidence on immediate postnatal maternal satisfaction among mothers who gave birth in public hospitals in South West Shoa. Therefore, this study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach to assess maternal satisfaction with immediate postnatal care and to explore underlying factors influencing their experiences. Objectives: To assess women`s satisfaction with immediate postnatal care and associated factors among mothers who gave birth at Public Hospital, in South West Shoa, Ethiopia, 2023. Methods: A facility-based, cross-sectional study design supplemented by a qualitative study / convergent study design/ was conducted among 403 mothers for the quantitative study and 17 women for the qualitative study. Purposive and systematic sampling methods technique was used to select study participants for the qualitative and quantitative study, respectively. EpiData version 3.1 was used for data entry, then exported to statistical package for social science. Multivariable logistic regression models were used for study variables with p-values less than 0.25. In the multivariable model, the adjusted odds ratio and its 95% confidence interval were calculated, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. Thematic analysis was used to examine qualitative data. Graphs, tables, and text were used to display the results. Results: A total of 403 participants were recruited for the study, of whom 394 mothers completed the interview, yielding a response rate of 97.77%. The overall proportion of women satisfied with immediate postnatal care was 242 (61.4%) [95% CI: 57%–66%]. Birth plan (AOR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.16–3.51). Labor duration (AOR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.09–2.76). Women who experienced complications (AOR = 2.42; 95% CI: 1.15–5.10), and initiating breastfeeding (AOR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.12–3.11). Conclusion and Recommendation: Over 50% of women expressed satisfaction with the immediate postnatal care they received. Managers of healthcare institutions and medical professionals collaborate closely to increase postpartum mom satisfaction.
Background: Stroke is a leading cause of chronic neurological disability resulting in dysfunction of upper limbs and limitation in activity performance among survivors. Substantial constraint in accessing rehabilitation resources necessitate the need to provide alternative scalable home-based treatment options that can complement or where necessary, substitute hospital-based rehabilitation. The study reports findings from the feasibility testing of a context-specific home-based Action Observation Therapy (AOT) programme developed to improve upper limb functions among Nigerian stroke survivors (SSVs). Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with ten SSVs recruited from the Medical Rehabilitation Department at the Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife. The SSVs participated in a six-week home-based AOT programme, consisting of five sessions per week, which included observation and imitation of goal-directed activities involving the upper limbs. Evaluations of motor and sensory function, hand dexterity and basic activities of daily living (BADL) were conducted using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), Box and Block Test (BBT) and Barthel Index (BI) respectively at baseline, 3rd, and 6th weeks. A repeated-measures ANOVA was applied to analyze the data, with a significance level of p < 0.05. Findings: The results showed a significant improvement in upper extremity motor function (F=58.22; p=0.001), indicating progressive motor gains during the six-week intervention. However, no significant differences were identified in upper limb sensation, hand dexterity and BADL (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The context-specific home-based AOT programme significantly improved UE motor function among Nigerian SSVs with no significant recovery of sensory function, hand dexterity and BADL. Future study involving larger sample that employ a randomized control trial design is suggested to determine the functional and clinical relevance of this motor recovery.
