Publications by authors named "Zemenu Y Kassa"

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: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Objective: To explore the impact of COVID-19 on intrapartum care in Ethiopia.

Design: A concurrent mixed-methods design was employed.

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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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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines rising obesity rates among women of reproductive age in ten Asian countries due to urbanization and lifestyle changes, using data from 2000 to 2022.
  • Key risk factors identified include marital status, age, wealth, television habits, and urban living, which collectively account for 73.3% of obesity cases.
  • The study highlights the importance of education and lifestyle interventions, particularly in wealthier urban areas, to combat obesity, with a specific focus on Pakistan and the Maldives.
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Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a major global public health threat that has impeded health infrastructures in low- and middle-income countries. This systematic review examines the impact of COVID-19 on maternal health service uptake and perinatal outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. We searched four databases in August 2020 and updated the search on 22 December 2023: PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Maternity and Infant Care, and EMBASE.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examines how intimate partner violence (IPV) affects childhood health outcomes, highlighting its significant role in child morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • - Analyzing data from 37 countries, findings reveal that children under 5 years old with mothers exposed to various forms of IPV had notably higher odds of developing health issues like undernutrition, diarrhoeal disease, and acute respiratory infections.
  • - The results emphasize the importance of addressing IPV as a means to improve child health and survival rates, indicating that maternal experiences of violence lead to detrimental health impacts on their children.
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, drought and internal conflict have worsened Ethiopia's already weak healthcare system. Antenatal and intrapartum care are especially prone to interruption under these circumstances.

Objective: To explore women's experiences receiving antenatal and intrapartum care during the pandemic.

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Background: Men exhibit higher prevalence of modifiable risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, leading to greater cancer incidence and lower survival rates. Comprehensive evidence on global cancer burden among men, including disparities by age group and country, is sparse. To address this, the authors analyzed 30 cancer types among men in 2022, with projections estimated for 2050.

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Background: Around half of preterm births lack identifiable causes, indicating the need for further investigation to understand preterm birth risk factors. Existing studies on the intergenerational association of preterm birth showed inconsistency in effect size and direction.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to review existing studies and provide comprehensive evidence on the intergenerational association of preterm births.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study analyzed data from 35 countries in SSA and found that significant contributors to neonatal deaths include delayed breastfeeding initiation and lack of maternal education, among others.
  • * The findings indicate that these key factors account for nearly 40% of neonatal deaths, with consistent patterns observed across different SSA regions, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to pose a global public health threat. The pandemic overstretched already weak health systems in low- and low-middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. There is a paucity of studies on the impact of COVID-19 on antenatal care access, uptake, and provision in Ethiopia.

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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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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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Background: Antenatal physical exercise has roles in health maintenance, prevention, and treatment of disease for pregnant women and fetuses. Different organizations and medical institutions prescribe regular physical exercise during the antenatal period. Despite this, the pregnant populations are less active and decrease their exercise levels during pregnancy than in their non-pregnant state.

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Background: Domestic violence is a common public health concern that violates human rights in all societies. This aimed to assess domestic violence and associated factors among housemaid night students in Hawassa city.

Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was implemented from 1 February to 30 March 2019 among housemaid night students in Hawassa city.

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Introduction: Person-centered care is a pivotal component of strategies to improve the utilization of maternity care during childbirth. However, there is limited information on the level of person-centered care during childbirth in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of person-centered care during childbirth and associated factors in Hawassa city administration health facilities Sidama region, Ethiopia.

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Introduction: Even though the Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is outstanding gynecologic problem, most private and asymptomatic nature of the illness makes it the "hidden epidemic." The aim of this study was to identify the determinants of POP.

Methods: Facility based unmatched case control study was conducted from June 15 to September 10, 2020.

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Background: Physical violence against women of reproductive age is a significant public health problem worldwide. This study aimed to assess physical violence and associated factors among women of reproductive age.

Method: A community-based cross-sectional study design was implemented from August 1 to September 30, 2018, including women of reproductive age in Gedeo Zone Southern Ethiopia.

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Background: Ebola outbreaks pose a major threat to global public health, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. These outbreaks disrupt the already fragile maternal health services in West Africa. The aims of this study is to assess the effect of Ebola virus disease (EVD) on maternal health service utilisation and perinatal outcomes.

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Background: Newborn morbidity and mortality are forecasted using the Apgar scores. Obstetricians worldwide have used the Apgar score for more than half a century for the assessment of immediate newborn conditions. It is a simple and convenient evaluation system that offers a standardized and effective assessment of newborn infants.

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Background: Disrespectful and abusive treatment of women by health care providers during the process of childbirth at health facility is an international problem. There is a lack of data on disrespect and abuse of women during the process of childbirth at health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of disrespect and abuse of women during the process of childbirth at health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Objective: infection is a global, major public health problem. It is the second leading bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide. As study findings on the topic are inconsistent, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the pooled prevalence of infection in sub-Saharan Africa among reproductive-aged women.

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Background: Birth spacing is key in ensuring the health of mothers and their children as well as determining population growth. Most of the mothers in developing nations including Ethiopia have been practicing short inter-birth intervals. There is a paucity of studies concerned with suboptimal birth spacing among women in reproductive age in the study area.

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: Rubella continues to be a leading cause of vaccine-preventable congenital birth defects and permanent organ damage, especially in developing countries. For women who are infected with the rubella virus (RV) before conception or during the first trimester of pregnancy, the unborn child has up to a 90% probability of developing congenital rubella syndrome. There are limited data on the seroprevalence of the rubella virus among pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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