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<jats:p>Tannery effluent plays a significant role in increasing pollution in the environment; in particular, it contains toxic heavy metals which cause toxic effects on plant genetic materials. Among tannery effluent chemicals, chromium and lead have cytotoxicity and genotoxicity potentials on Allium cepa. This investigation was undertaken to assess the physicochemical properties of tannery wastewater and their effect on the genetic materials of A. cepa. Effluent’s physicochemical characteristics were investigated using digital instruments for direct measurement and standard methods of atomic absorption spectrophotometer colorimetric analysis. A series of six onion bulbs were grown in 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% concentrations of wastewater (v/v) ratio, and root tips from each onion bulb were cut and processed for analysis by aceto-orcein squash technique. Most of effluent components were above the discharge limit standards set by Federal Environmental Protection Agency and Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority. The cytotoxicity effect on the root growth showed a significant reduction at high concentration. Simple regression analysis showed that the results of mitotic index were statistically significant (P &lt; 0.05) in different concentrations. A decrease in mitotic index with increasing concentration of the effluent was observed. The effluent had induced chromosomal abnormalities such as laggard, fragmentation, stickiness, bridge, micronucleus, and binucleated and morphologically changed nuclei in A. cepa root cells among others. The results showed that cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and chromosomal aberrations were induced by the tannery effluent. Industries shall think of biological waste treatment methods.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Background. Low birth weight and preterm delivery are birth outcomes that can predict newborns’ survival, development, and long-term health outcomes. This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with low birth weight and preterm delivery in the Ho Municipality of Ghana. Methods. This retrospective, cross-sectional study analysed data from 680 birth records between October and December 2018. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models predicted low birth weight and preterm delivery factors. Results. The prevalence of low birth weight and preterm delivery was 12.9% and 14.1%, respectively. Increasing maternal age (AOR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.28–0.98), multiparity (AOR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30–0.94) and increasing doses of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (AOR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.22–0.84) significantly reduced the odds of low birth weight. However, caesarean section (AOR: 1.94; 95% CI: 0.1.16–3.27) and hypertension (AOR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.27–03.33) significantly increased the likelihood of low birth weight. An increasing number of antenatal care visits (AOR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.18–0.80) and doses of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (AOR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.19–0.97) were significantly associated with decreased odds of preterm delivery, while caesarean section increased the odds of preterm delivery by two folds (AOR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.15–3.99). Conclusion. This study shows that maternal age, parity, number of antenatal care visits, hypertension, SP/IPTp, and caesarean section were independently associated with low birth weight and preterm delivery. Education and interventions should be prioritised as vitally important on these factors to reduce the risk and complications associated with these birth outcomes.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Background. Community-based health insurance is widely recognized as the most effective way to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) with adequate financial protection against healthcare costs, to promote equal access to high-quality healthcare, increase financial security, and enhance social cohesion and solidarity. Objective. The objective of this study was to determine community-based health insurance utilization and its associated factors among rural households in Akaki District, Oromia special zone surrounding Finfinnee, Oromia, Ethiopia, in May 2021. Methods and Materials. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 households in May 2021. A multistage sampling technique was used to select households. Data were collected using pretested and standardized questionnaires entered into Epi Info version 7.2.4 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were computed to identify the factors associated with community-based health insurance utilization. A <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mi>P</mi> </math> </jats:inline-formula> value &lt;0.05 with 95% CI was used as a cut-off point to declare the level of statistical significance. Results. The magnitude of community-based health insurance (CBHI) utilization was 398 (66.3%) (95% CI: 0.63, 0.70). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds of CBHI utilization for males were 2 times higher (AOR = 1.629; 95% CI: 1.063, 2.497) compared to female-headed households; household family size &lt;5 was 3 times higher (AOR = 2.99; 95% CI: 1.987, 4.139) compared to household family size &gt;5; farmer was 4 times higher (AOR = 3.763; 95% CI: 1.371, 10.327) compared to other occupational status; household income &lt;30,000 ETB was 2 times higher (AOR = 2.474; 95% CI: 1.514, 4.043) compared to the household income of 30000 ETB, and all these were factors significantly associated with CBHI utilization. Conclusion. The magnitude of CBHI utilization was low (66.3%) compared to the HSTP II target (80%) and other studies. The results of the study showed that age, sex, household family size, household income, and trustworthiness were among the factors significantly associated with community-based health insurance utilization.</jats:p>

<jats:p>This study aims at validating the Staff Satisfaction Index (SSI) and the Happy Career (HC) scale for in-service firefighters. The SSI consists of two dimensions, namely, protection against hazards at work and welfare, with 16 subdimensions. A total of 6970 data points were collected via the Internet. Both dimensions of the SSI were regressed on the HC scale using partial least square structural equation modelling. The dimensions satisfied all measurements and structural model assessments. Protection against hazards at work (β = 0.370, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>&lt;</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>) and welfare (β = 0.375, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>&lt;</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>) explained 46.6% of the happiness variance. Both dimensions displayed small-to-medium effect sizes and relevance to predicting happiness (Q2 = 0.339). Implications of the findings are discussed further.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Background. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the challenges and impact of vaccine hesitancy and the role of health care institutions in mounting an effective pandemic response. The study objective was to determine the prevalence and predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among health care workers in tertiary health care institutions in Nigeria. Methods. A cross-sectional analytical design that used convenience and snowballing techniques to enroll 347 health care workers from tertiary health care institutions in Imo State, Nigeria, from September 28 to October 14, 2021. Data was collected using a structured online questionnaire and bivariate and multivariate analyses were done using SPSS at a level of significance set at <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>≤</mo> <mn>0.05</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>. Result. The prevalence of vaccine hesitancy was 35.4%. HCWs of the Pentecostal faith (aOR: 2.52) and males (aOR: 2.72) were significantly more likely to be COVID-19 vaccine hesitant. About 30% of the respondents reported that they trusted information from the Internet and social media relating to COVID-19 and its vaccine. However, respondents who felt there was enough information about the vaccine and its safety were more than two and a half times more likely to be vaccine-hesitant (aOR: 2.77). About 20% and 31% of the respondents, respectively, stated that the government has an ulterior motive and that they did not trust the vaccine manufacturers. However, respondents who do not trust the government were more than two and a half times more likely to be COVID-19 vaccine hesitant (aOR: 2.69). Conclusion. The issues of vaccine hesitancy among health care workers in a developing country appear to be fundamental and very challenging to resolve. Therefore, the approach of instituting government vaccine uptake mandates for health care workers may be the solution for tackling vaccine hesitancy in health care institutions.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Background. The average duration of recovery from COVID-19 and influencing factors, which would help inform optimal control strategies, remain unclear. Moreover, studies regarding this issue are limited in Ethiopia, and no region-wise studies were conducted. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the median recovery time from COVID-19, and its predictors among patients admitted to Amhara regional state COVID-19 treatment centers, Ethiopia. Methods. A facility-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted at Amhara regional state COVID-19 treatment centers from 13 March 2020 through 30 March 2021. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1, and STATA version 14 was used for analysis. A Kaplan–Meier curve was used to estimate survival time, and the Cox regression model was fitted to identify independent predictors. <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mi>P</mi> </math> </jats:inline-formula> value with 95% CI for the hazard ratio was used for testing the significance at alpha 0.05. Results. Six hundred twenty-two cases followed, and 540 observations developed an event at the end of the follow-up. The median time to recovery was 11 days with an interquartile range of 9–14 days. Most of the patients were recovered from COVID-19 between days seven and fourteen. In the first six days of admission, only 4.2% of cases had recovered, but by day 14, 73.8% had recovered. Patients without comorbid illness/s were faster to recover than their counterparts (AHR = 1.44 : 95% CI: 1.10, 1.91) and those who have signs and symptoms on admission (AHR = 0.42 : 95% CI: 0.30, 0.60) and old-aged (AHR = 0.988; 95% CI: 0.982, 0.994) took longer to recover. Conclusion. In conclusion, a relatively short median recovery time was found in this study. Significant predictors for delayed recovery from COVID-19 were older age, presence of symptoms at admission, and having at least one comorbid condition. These factors should be placed under consideration while developing a strategy for quarantining and treating COVID-19 patients.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Toward 2019, Uganda experienced an extensive outbreak of measles and rubella. The Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization implemented a mass measles-rubella vaccination campaign aimed at halting the ongoing transmission. This study determined the changes in the disease burden thereafter. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study on measles-rubella positivity and its associated factors in Uganda using 1697 case-based surveillance data for 2019 and 2020 stratified into two dispensations: prevaccination and postvaccination campaigns. Statistical tests employed in STATA 15 included chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and binomial tests. Measles positivity rates in the period before and after the mass immunization campaign were 41.88% (95% CI: 39.30–44.51) and 37.96% (95% CI: 32.81–43.40), respectively. For rubella, the positivity rate in the precampaign season was 21.73% (95% CI: 19.61–23.99) and in the postvaccination season was 6.65% (95% CI: 4.36–10.00). Binomial tests indicated that postcampaign positivity rates were significantly lower than the precampaign rate for measles (<jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.003</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>) and rubella (<jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>&lt;</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>). Generally, age (χ2 = 58.94, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>/χ2 = 51.91, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>&lt;</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>) and vaccination status (χ2 = 60.48, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>/χ2 = 16.90, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>) were associated with the measles positivity rate in both pre/postcampaign periods. Rubella positivity rate was associated with vaccination status (χ2 = 32.97, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>&lt;</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>/<jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>) in both periods and age in the precampaign season (<jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M9"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>&lt;</mo> <mn>0.001</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>). The measles-rubella mass campaign lessened rubella burden remarkably, but barely adequate change was observed in the extent of spread of measles. Children aged less than 9 months are at higher chances of testing positive amidst low vaccination levels among the eligible. The immunization programme must attain and maintain routine immunization coverage at 95% or more and roll out a second-dose measles-rubella vaccination to sustain the reduced disease burden.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Timely attendance of the first antenatal care (ANC) is the period in which pregnant women visit ANC less than four months of pregnancy. There is a paucity of data on timely first ANC attendance and its associated factors among pregnant women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Juba. The aim of this study was to investigate timely attendance of the first ANC visit among pregnant women living with HIV. Institutional cross-sectional study was conducted in three public health facilities in Juba by convenience sampling from January 2019 to December 2019. Pearson’s chi-squared test was conducted for bivariate analysis and variables with probability values (<jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mi>p</mi> </math> </jats:inline-formula> values) less than 5% were considered as statistically significant for multivariable analyses using Fisher’s exact test. At the multivariate level, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted. Out of the 192 participants studied, 27 (14.1%) had timely first ANC attendance as recommended and 165 (85.9%) attended first ANC at four months and above. Distances (adjusted risk ratio [aOR], 7.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40–36.68), ANC card (aOR, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.17–10.40), waiting time ([aOR], 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01–0.75), and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services (aOR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.03–0.56) were the factors associated with timely first ANC attendance. Health education interventions targeting pregnant women attending ANC at health facilities should focus on increasing knowledge and awareness of the importance of timely first ANC attendance.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Background. Despite the implementation of various interventions towards the reduction of breast cancer prevalence, many women still report late symptoms to health facilities, and this decreases their chances of survival. Breast self-examination (BSE) is the most convenient form of examination to detect the development of breast cancer. We examined the factors that influence the practice of breast self-examination among female tertiary students in Ho, Volta Region of Ghana. Methods. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that recruited 506 female students from four tertiary institutions in the Ho Municipality in Ghana using questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics comprising frequency, percentage, Chi-square, and binary logistic regression were used in analyzing the data. Results. About 73% of the respondents had ever practised BSE. Out of the respondents who have ever practiced BSE, 79% were practising it at the time of the study. Students in their fourth year were above 4 times more likely (95% CI = 1.73–9.29, <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.014</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>) to practise BSE than those in their first year. Also, students with good knowledge of BSE were 4 times more likely to practice BSE [(95% CI = 1.1–13.46), <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.036</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>] and students with good perception about BSE were 12 times more likely to practice BSE [(95% CI = 1.21–122.73), <jats:inline-formula> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <mi>p</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.034</mn> </math> </jats:inline-formula>]. Conclusion. The study found that 27% of the female students had never practised BSE. Those who practice BSE did not practice regularly and appropriately. Also, good knowledge and perception are associated with the practice of BSE. The implication of this result is the late presentation of breast cancer cases to health facilities and increases in breast cancer-related deaths in the country. Therefore, it is recommended that the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, and other stakeholders in Ghana’s healthcare should develop and implement innovative approaches and policies such as peer and support groups’ learning, and mass media BSE awareness aimed at ensuring better understanding and access to BSE education. This should be intensified during the foundation years such as the secondary and tertiary education levels to ensure the adoption of breast self-examination practice. It is also recommended that another study must be done using a qualitative approach to get an in-depth understanding of the steps and ways, by which female students practice BSE.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Background. Disclosure of HIV-seropositive status is important for HIV prevention and maintenance of health for people living with HIV and the community at large. Most of the disclosure in our country and elsewhere were after putting the partner at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. This study aimed to assess prompt HIV-seropositive status disclosure to partner and its associated factors among people living with HIV and attending care and treatment at a health center, in central Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out from September 15, 2019, to March 15, 2020, among 438 people living with HIV who were more than 18 years old and had sexual partner attending ART clinic at Holeta Health Center, central Ethiopia. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The data were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the magnitude of prompt HIV seropositive status disclosure to partner and multivariable logistic regression analysis was computed to identify factors associated with prompt HIV seropositive status disclosure. Results. A total of 434 study participants took part in this study giving a response rate of 99%. Three hundred thirteen (72.1%) respondents disclosed their seropositive status to their partners promptly. Being married (AOR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.09–8.21), less than 24-months duration on treatment (AOR = 0.185, 95% CI = 0.076–0.454), discouraging response of partner about the test (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.0149–0.780), knowing serostatus of one’s own partner (AOR = 10.42, 95% CI = 4.19–25.19), and using condom always with a partner (AOR = 11.44, 95% CI = 3.37–38.79) were factors significantly associated with prompt HIV seropositive status disclosure to partner. Conclusion. The proportion of prompt disclosure of HIV seropositive status to partner was low when compared to the overall partner disclosure rate. Being in marriage, less than 24 months duration on treatment, discouraging response of partner about the test, knowing serostatus of one’s partner, and using condom always with a partner were identified as predictors of prompt HIV seropositive status disclosure to partner.</jats:p>