Community Engagement in the Fight Against COVID-19: Knowledge, Attitude, and Prevention Practices Among Dire Dawa Residents, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: There is a global concern that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cannot be addressed without the integration and active engagement of communities. We aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the residents in Eastern Ethiopia toward COVID-19.Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on May 1–30, 2020 among the residents of Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire on the awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices toward COVID-19. We used random sampling to select the participants. Data was entered into the statistics and data (STATA) version for data cleaning and analysis. Binary logistic regression models with 95% CI were used to conduct bivariable [crude odds ratio (COR)] and multivariable [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)] analyses.Result: A total of 415 community residents responded to the questionnaire. Of those participants, 52.5% (95% CI 47.7–57) had adequate knowledge, 31.6% (95% CI 27–36) had favorable attitudes, and 49% (95% CI 45–50) had good practice toward the precautionary measures of COVID-19. Adequate knowledge had a significant association with urban residence (AOR = 5, 95% CI 3.1–8.4) and literacy (AOR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.5–6.7). Good preventions practices had a significant association with place of residence (AOR = 4.1, 95% CI 2.3–7.2), literacy (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1,2–7.4), adequate knowledge (AOR = 3.5, 95% CI 2.3–5.8), and favorable attitude (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.4–3.8) about the disease.Conclusion: The overall COVID-19-related KAP was inadequate in the majority of the residents of Dire Dawa that occupy irregular migration flows. These call for robust community-centered behavioral communication strategies that could bridge the gaps and help prevent and control COVID-19 and other future pandemics in their community.

Artificial Intelligence in Geospatial Analysis for Flood Vulnerability Assessment: A Case of Dire Dawa Watershed, Awash Basin, Ethiopia

This study presents the novelty artificial intelligence in geospatial analysis for flood vulnerability assessment in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Flood-causing factors such as rainfall, slope, LULC, elevation NDVI, TWI, SAVI, K-factor, R-factor, river distance, geomorphology, road distance, SPI, and population density were used to train the ANN model. The weights were generated in the ANN model and prioritized. Initial values were randomly assigned to the NN and trained with the feedforward processes. Ground-truthing points collected from the historical flood events of 2006 were used as targeting data during the training. A rough flood hazard map generated in feedforward was compared with the actual data, and the errors were propagated back into the NN with the backpropagation technique, and this step was repeated until a good agreement was made between the result of the GIS-ANN and the historical flood events. The results were overlapped with ground-truthing points at 88.46% and 89.15% agreement during training and validation periods. Therefore, the application of the GIS-ANN for the assessment of flood vulnerable zones for this city and its catchment was successful. The result of this study can also be further considered along with the city and its catchment for practical flood management.

От плантаций на востоке Эфиопии до международных рынков: кат под контролем

Статья основана на полевых исследованиях автора, проводившихся в городах Дыре-Дауа, Аводай и Харар на востоке Эфиопии с ноября 2012 по июнь 2013 г., в феврале 2014 и апреле 2015 гг. Она посвящена тому, каким образом длинные маршруты распространения по миру растения кат (catha edulis) и препятствия на этих путях влияют на сектор его производства и сбыта. В центре нашего анализа – вопрос о социальных трансформациях, порождаемых глобализацией, в ходе которой этот вечнозеленый кустарник оказался связующим звеном между локальным и глобальным уровнями, между плантациями и прилавками. Кроме того, нам важно понять, какое влияние его выращивание и оборот оказывают на осуществление государственной власти на восточных окраинах страны. This article is based on the author’s fieldwork in Dire Dawa, Awaday, and Harar in eastern Ethiopia from November 2012 through June 2013, in February 2014, and April 2015. It focuses on the effects of the extensive global distribution network of the khat (catha edulis) plant and the obstacles encountered along these routes on the sector in which khat is produced and sold. At the center of our analysis is the question of social transformations, generated by globalization, over the course of which this evergreen shrub came to be a link between local and global levels, between plantations and retailers. We must also understand what impact its cultivation and circulation have on the exercise of state power in the eastern margins of the country.

Magnitude of child sexual abuse and its associated factors among high school female students in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Background Child sexual abuse (CSA) refers to the involvement of a child (< 18 years) in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violates the laws or social taboos of society. It is a serious public health problem affecting millions of people each year worldwide but the most neglected and least documented form of violence in Ethiopia among school girls. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of child sexual abuse and its associated factors among female high school students in the Dire Dawa administration, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among female high school students in Dire Dawa administration between March 1 and 23/2021. We employed stratified and multistage sampling techniques to include 794 participants from selected high schools. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used, and the data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 24. Results The proportion of students who reported at least one form of sexual abuse was 384 (48.9%) and approximately 19% of the students reported rape from the total respondents. Students who live alone 4.3 times (AOR 4.30; 95% CI 1.81–10.24), those who live with their friends five times (AOR 5.02; 95% CI 2.24–8.04), and those who live with their single parent three times (AOR 3.31; 95% CI 1.23–8.89) more likely to experience sexual abuse than those living with both parents. The odds of experiencing sexual abuse among students of rural residence were 3.2 times higher than their urban counterparts (AOR 3.2; 95% CI 2.02–4.51). Students who didn’t drink alcohol were 70% more protective than those who drank alcohol (AOR 0.70; 95% CI 0.28–0.97). Among rape survivors (64, 37.9%) developed unwanted pregnancies, 26.0% of them underwent an abortion, and (39, 26.0%) developed STI as an outcome of sexual abuse. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the magnitude of child sexual abuse among female students in Dire Dawa was high. Lack of discussion about sexual issues with parents, living without both parents, drinking alcohol, and being a rural residence had a significant association with child sexual abuse. Unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and STIs have been reported as reproductive health outcomes of rape. Therefore, policymakers should introduce and strengthen comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education both in school and out of school, in addition to formal education to reduce the magnitude of the problem. Parents should discuss all sexual and reproductive health issues with their children to reduce the magnitude and consequences of child sexual abuse.

Magnitude of Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus Species, Level of Aflatoxin B1, and Associated Factors in Stored Feed at Poultry Farms in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

Aflatoxin, the secondary toxic metabolite of Aspergillus species, particularly aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus, has a detrimental effect on poultry health and production. There exists some information gap about the magnitudes of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species and aflatoxin in poultry feeds in the study area. Thus, the study was conducted to estimate the magnitude and assess the related potential factors of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species with evaluations of the level of aflatoxin B1 in stored poultry feed at selected farms in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study design was carried out on 374 poultry feed samples recruited by using a stratified simple random sampling technique. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge and prevention practices associated with aflatoxin in poultry feed. The isolation of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species was made by Aspergillus flavus parasiticus media, and aflatoxin B1 was estimated by aflatoxin B1 enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay. Results showed that the magnitude of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species was 72.5% (95% CI: 67.6–76.9). The odds at which the species isolated were higher ( p < 0.05 ) in feeds stored more than two months (AOR = 2.69), the presence of rodents in the storing room (AOR = 2.67), feeds having high moisture content (AOR = 1.5), and feed ingredient types (AOR = 4.3) compared to their counter parts. Only 34.4 and 32.8 percent of the respondents have better knowledge and apply prevention practice about fungal contamination and aflatoxin production in poultry feed, respectively. The occurrence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species in poultry feed was associated with the presence of rodents in the feed storing room with long storing period and high moisture contents of the feed. The knowledge and prevention practices employed by farm managers and workers about fungal contamination and aflatoxin in poultry feed are found low.

Determinants of low birth weight in dire-dawa city public health facility eastern Ethiopia -unmatched case-control study

Background:-Low Birth Weight (LBW) is one of the leading public health problems in developing countries including Ethiopia. Worldwide, more than 20 million infants born low birth weight every year. Of which about 13% to 15% occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, knowing clear picture of the risk factors of LBW in the study area is essential. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify determinants of LBW in all public health facilities in dire dawa city administration eastern Ethiopia.Methods: Unmatched case-control study was employed from 1 June to 1 august the data were collected using structured and pretested interviewer administered questionnaire in all public health facilities in study areas. Consecutive sampling technique was used to select cases and controls respectively. Data were entered in to Epi-data software in version 3:1 and exported to SPSS version 23. Variables having with P-value <0.25 in the binary logistic regression were entered in to multivariate logistic regression model. Statistical significance was considered at P.value <0.05. Results: -A total of 292 mothers with their respective newborns (73 cases and 219 controls) were included the study, mothers not having nutritional counseling (AOR= 3.13, 1.59--6.16),not consuming additional meal (AOR=2.37, 1.26--4.44),not having iron supplementation (AOR=2.21, 1.14--4.29),mothers being anemic (AOR=3.51, 1.64--7.53),and undernourished mothers (AOR=4.83, 2.49--9.38) were significantly associated with the low birth weight in this study.Conclusion: Poor nutrition related activities interims of nutritional counseling, iron supplementation, maternal feeding especially during pregnancy and others were the main problems identified in this study. Therefore, Government and non-governmental NGOs would work together to reduce LBW by establishing appropriate intervention, awareness creation and behaviors change communication (BCC) and development of effective strategy and policy to improve maternal nutritional status and prevent maternal anemia are curtail. In addition, a large scale studies with strong study design like cohort and experimental needs to be conducted.

Ethiopian Higher Education Students Attitude Towards Physical Education

The purpose of the existing examination has changed to gain access to the "Ethiopian Higher Education Students' Status of Physical Education". The current study was conducted on 800 students (500 males and 300 females) between the ages of 20 and 26 years. The subjects were Ethiopian Higher Education Students, Addis Ababa, and Dire Dawa. Topics were Ethiopian Higher Education Students, Addis Ababa, and Dire Dawa. The responses collected from the given studies were converted into raw data with the help of a frequency distribution method. The data were then sorted as a result of a percentage study method.

Problem Solving Performance in Physics Among Secondary School Students in Dire Dawa Ethiopia

The main aim of this study was to assess problem solving performance in physics of grade 9th students. A test of reasoning was administered to a sample of 578 students. The results show differential performance of the students. Question based performance with background variable as school sector shows that performance of private school students was significantly better than students of public schools. Similarly female private school students performed well than male private school students.

Chewing Khat Habit among Students of Dire Dawa University Ethiopia

Chewing Khat is one of the leading causes of mental disorders in Ethiopia. An alarming increase in Khat chewing among adults since the early 1990s was reported. Studies have shown that starting chewing Khat early in life is associated with an increased risk of adverse health effects. The objective of the study: This study was conducted to measure the increase in Khat chewing among students at Dire Dawa University students in Dire Dawa City, identify the natural causes of the problem, and demonstrate students' knowledge of the effects of Khat chewing. Material and Methods: The study was separate. Dated February 2021. Students during study time (n = 302) were included. The information was collected through personal interviews and completed a list of questions prepared after reviewing. RESULTS: Male (88.2%) of responding students chewed Khat with a significant difference (P <0.001) between males and females in terms of chewing. The year of student study, academic achievement, and family history of chewing Khat had a significant impact (P <0.05) on chewer students. Of the Khat chewer students who read 35.6% reported chewing both morning and afternoon. 66.7% of students who chewed reported that they had intentions to stop chewing and 82.4% considered chewing to be dangerous. CONCLUSION: Khat chewing gum among students is considered a problem and efforts are needed to help students stop chewing and this is considered a way to prevent Khat chewing among students.