Publications by authors named "Asnakew Achaw Ayele"

Background: Community pharmacy professionals have great potential to deliver various public health services aimed at improving service access, particularly in countries with a shortage of health professionals. However, little is known about their involvement in child health service provision in Ethiopia.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of involvement of community pharmacy professionals in child health service provision within Ethiopia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Childhood obesity has become a major public health problem for both developed and developing nations. It is uncommon to find under-nutrition in many low and middle-income countries; as well, obesity is a double burden in these settings. This study aimed to investigate the pooled prevalence of overweight /obesity among under-five (under-5) children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Worldwide, there is remarkable progress in child survival in the past three decades. Ethiopia is off-track on sustainable development targets in under-five mortality since 2020. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate time to death and its associated factors among under-five children in Ethiopia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In countries with limited access to healthcare services, community pharmacists' management of minor symptoms experienced by pregnant women could be beneficial in terms of alleviating the burden of other health professionals and cost of services. However, evidence is limited regarding the practice of community pharmacy professionals in responding to minor pregnancy-related symptoms more generally, particularly in Ethiopia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate actual and self-reported practice of community pharmacists in the management of minor symptoms during pregnancy in Ethiopia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Maternal mortality is a significant healthcare issue that the United Nations aims to address by reducing the global ratio to 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
  • Ethiopia has been actively working towards this target over the past decades, focusing on the commitments set by the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Despite a decline in maternal mortality rates from 2000 to 2016, the current levels remain too high, necessitating continued efforts to meet the 2030 goal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Inappropriate polypharmacy can lead to adverse drug events, high healthcare costs, and mortality, with deprescribing proposed as a solution to reduce these risks.
  • A survey conducted among 82 healthcare providers at the University of Gondar revealed that 89% are reluctant to actively deprescribe, with physicians particularly influenced by patients' physical health conditions.
  • The study suggests that attitudes towards deprescribing differ among healthcare professionals, indicating the need for further research on the barriers and facilitators specific to Ethiopia's healthcare context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted during the United Nations meeting in 2015 to succeed Millennium Development Goals. Among the health targets, SDG 3.2 is to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age by 2030.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: COVID-19 has caused a global public health crisis affecting most countries, including Ethiopia, in various ways. This study maps the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia.

Methods: Thirty-eight potential indicators of vulnerability to COVID-19 infection, case severity and likelihood of death, identified based on a literature review and the availability of nationally representative data at a low geographic scale, were assembled from multiple sources for geospatial analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study assessed the unmet supportive care needs of cancer patients at the University of Gondar Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia using a specific survey tool.
  • A total of 150 patients participated, revealing that a significant portion had metastasized cancer and a high overall unmet need score of 3.49, particularly in health system and information needs.
  • The findings indicated that unmet needs varied significantly by factors such as sex, age, residence, occupation, and income, highlighting the need for targeted supportive care interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study assessed the level of glycemic control among type II diabetes patients at Debre Tabor General Hospital, finding that a significant 71.4% had poor glycemic control.
  • Key factors influencing better glycemic control included educational status, family history of diabetes, how long a patient had been diagnosed, and adherence to dietary guidelines.
  • The findings highlight the need for focused health promotion efforts to improve glycemic control among diabetic patients, especially those with a longer disease duration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Community pharmacists are pivotal in the provision of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services, yet level of involvement, practice and barriers and facilitators in providing these services is largely unknown.

Objective: The objective of this review is to summarize available evidence on the involvement and practice of community pharmacists in MCH services.

Methods: Seven electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest Health, Cochrane library, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science) were searched for articles published in English since inception of the database to November 30, 2019.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates diabetic health literacy levels among type 2 diabetes patients in Ethiopia and their relationship with glycemic control.
  • Out of 400 participants, a majority (56.5%) demonstrated high health literacy, with 34% showing good medication adherence.
  • Higher diabetic health literacy correlates significantly with better glycemic control, with patients having high literacy being 1.85 times more likely to achieve target blood glucose levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The types of drug-related information request from patients and health professionals, the extent of inquiry and capability of existing drug information centers are seldom studied in Ethiopia. This study aimed to identify the types and potential areas of drug information inquiry at the Drug Information Center (DIC) of Gondar University specialized Hospital (GUSH), Ethiopia. An observational study was employed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Little is known about acceptance of provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PICT) as an intervention for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. This study aimed at assessing the utilization and acceptance rate of PICT as an intervention for PMTCT among pregnant women attending University of Gondar referral and teaching hospital (UoGRTH), Ethiopia. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 364 pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic at UoGRTH through an interviewer-administered questionnaire.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Different studies reported that higher diabetes-specific Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) has a negative impact on glycemic control potentially by decreasing medication adherence. However, information about regimen complexity and its association with adherence and glycemic control in Ethiopian patients with diabetes is unknown.

Aim: To evaluate medication regimen complexity and to assess its impact on medication adherence and glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a global public health emergency in the twenty-first century. Diabetes patients who had to adhere to good self-care recommendation can prevent the complication associated with diabetes mellitus. Self-care management of diabetes mellitus in Sub-Saharan Africa was poor including Ethiopia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polypharmacy among older patients has been associated with a decline in their quality of life. We aimed to assess the medication-related quality of life (MRQOL) among older patients with polypharmacy at Gondar University Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia. A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out among 150 elder patients who had visited the internal medicine ward and ambulatory ward of Gondar referral hospital from March 25 to May 15, 2017, using a validated scale, Medication-Related Quality of Life Scale version 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates contraceptive use among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women in Ethiopia, highlighting the need for consistent contraceptive utilization.
  • Women living with HIV had a higher usage of intrauterine devices (28.4%) and male condoms (26.7%) compared to their HIV-negative counterparts.
  • The findings suggest that better contraceptive practices can help reduce unintended pregnancies, emphasizing the importance of dual contraceptive use for HIV-positive women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study in northwest Ethiopia found that 74.3% of type 2 diabetes patients had poor adherence to dietary recommendations, primarily due to high consumption of sugary foods and low intake of fruits and healthy fats.
  • Most notable barriers included lack of knowledge, limited access to nutrition education, financial constraints, and overall poor awareness of dietary benefits.
  • Identifying factors such as low education, existing health conditions, lack of prior dietary education, and low income highlights the need for targeted health education to improve dietary habits among these patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Neoplasm, AKA cancer (Ca), is associated with major morbidity and mortality.

Aim: Measurement of health related quality of life (HRQoL) of Ca patients is uncommon in Ethiopia. The present study determined the HRQoL and its determinants among people living with Ca in north Ethiopia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To assess older patients' attitude towards deprescribing of inappropriate medications.

Design: This was an institutional-based, quantitative, cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Outpatient clinics of the University of Gondar Referral and Teaching Hospital in Ethiopia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ceftriaxone is among the most commonly utilized antibiotics owing to its high potency, wide spectrum of activity, and low risk of toxicity. It is used to treat different types of bacterial infections including pneumonia, bone infections, abdominal infections, Skin and soft tissue infections, urinary tract infections. However, evidence around the globe shows the misuse of Ceftriaxone.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The present study aimed at evaluating the knowledge and level of involvement of community pharmacists in the provision of patient counseling and health education services for patients with DM and perceived barriers that limit the delivery of such services.

Materials And Methods: A self-administered questionnaire based-survey was undertaken from January to March, 2017 with 412 pharmacists working in community pharmacies in six cities of Amhara regional state of Ethiopia: Debre Markos, Gondar, Dessie, Bahir Dar, Woldya, and Debre Birhan. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and Student's -test were employed to examine different variables.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Community pharmacy professionals are increasingly recognized as valuable resources for managing minor ailments due to their central community location.
  • A study conducted in Gondar town, Ethiopia, utilized simulated patient visits and interviews to assess pharmacy professionals' involvement in treating three specific minor ailments and identified barriers they face.
  • Results indicated that while a high percentage of cases received some form of medication, major barriers like inadequate clinical training and low community awareness hindered the effectiveness of minor ailment management by pharmacists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF