Publications by authors named "Hirpa Miecha"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on improving community understanding and practices regarding neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) through tailored social and behavior change communication (SBCC) integrated into mass drug administration (MDA) efforts in rural Ethiopia.
  • A community-based evaluation showed that 88.8% of participants were exposed to the SBCC intervention, which significantly enhanced knowledge and preventive practices, especially for Onchocerciasis (OC) compared to Soil-transmitted helminthes (STH).
  • The findings highlight that educational level and marital status influenced the effectiveness of the intervention, indicating a need for localized strategies in future public health campaigns to combat NTDs.
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Background: Soil-transmitted helminthes (STH) infections are one of the most common neglected tropical diseases. It has become one of a significant public health problem programmatically aimed for prevention and control in Ethiopia. Limited evidence is available on communities' knowledge, perceptions, and practices regarding STH particularly in rural settings of Jimma, Ethiopia.

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Background: In Ethiopia, Onchocerciasis is a prevalent neglected tropical disease, currently targeted for elimination with mass drug administration and community behavioral changes towards sustained control and eventual elimination. This study aimed to elucidate the awareness, perceptions and practices of endemic communities in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia.

Methods And Materials: Community-based cross-sectional study triangulated with qualitative method was conducted from October-November, 2021.

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Several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) employ mass drug administration (MDA) as part of their control or elimination strategies. This has historically required multiple distinct campaigns, each targeting one or more NTDs, representing a strain on both the recipient communities and the local health workforce implementing the distribution. We explored perceptions and attitudes surrounding combined MDA among these two groups of stakeholders.

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Background: Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) programs require separate and distinct drug regimens for treatment. This has required countries to undertake multiple independent mass drug administration (MDA) programmes, each targeting one or more diseases. The possibility of safely combining different drug regimens together in one MDA may offer several advantages to national programs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Interventions in Oromia Region, Ethiopia successfully reduced trachoma prevalence, leading to a recommendation for surveillance surveys two years later to assess ongoing needs without further antibiotic treatment.
  • A cross-sectional survey examined 31,991 individuals across 11 evaluation units, revealing that 8 units had trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) prevalence in children aged 1-9 years above the 5% threshold, indicating resurgence.
  • Access to improved water and sanitation was limited, with only one-third of households having better drinking water sources and 5% with improved latrines, highlighting the need for further operational research to understand the disease dynamics and enhance elimination efforts.
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Purpose: To determine the prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF), trachomatous trichiasis (TT), water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) access in 131 evaluation units (EUs) after implementation of trachoma elimination interventions in Oromia Region, Ethiopia.

Methodology: A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in each EU using the World Health Organization-recommended two-stage cluster-sampling methodology. Twenty-six clusters, each with a mean of 30 households were enumerated in each EU.

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Ethiopia aims to diagnose and treat all clinical malaria within 24 hours of fever onset in its stride to eliminate the disease by 2030. Microscopy remains to be the mainstay for diagnosis at the health center and hospital level. Continuous evaluation and performance upgrading of malaria microscopists is one of the cornerstones in this effort.

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