Prevalence and factors affecting the utilization of antenatal care in rural areas of Southwestern Ethiopia

Background Antenatal care (ANC) is a health care intervention intended to ensure the safety of pregnancy. According to the World Health Organization, at least four ANC visits are recommended for a healthy pregnancy. However, whether this recommended number of visits was followed or not in the rural areas of Southwestern Ethiopia is not known. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the prevalence of, and the associated factors of ANC utilization by pregnant women in the rural areas of Southwestern Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study design was used in three rural zones. The data were collected from n = 978 women through a structured questionnaire with face-to-face interview. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a multiple binary logistic regression model. Results The results showed that 56% of women made the recommended minimum number of ANC visits and the remaining 44% of them underutilized the ANC service. The multiple binary logistic regression model identified zone, marital status of the woman, educational level of the husband, occupation of the husband, knowledge of danger signs of pregnancy, birth interval, source of information, timely visits, and transportation problem to be statistically significant factors affecting the prevalence of ANC visit utilization of women. Bench Maji zone had smaller odds ratio of ANC visit prevalence as compared to Kaffa zone. Women who lived in the rural area of Sheko zone are 2.67 times less likely to utilize ANC visit than those who lived in the rural area of Kaffa zone keeping other variables constant. Conclusion The study results highlight the need to increase the number of ANC visits, and the importance of using an appropriate model to determine the important socio-demographic factors that ANC service providers shall focus on to improve the health of the unborn baby and the mother during pregnancy.

The Impact of Income on the Division in Domestic Labor: The Case Study in Rural Vietnam

The imbalance in the distribution of responsibilities for unpaid work has profoundly affected women’s’ empowerment and full participation in economic and social activities. The study surveyed more than 150 households in one rural area in one Vietnamese province. This study's result in the central rural area did not improve Vietnamese domestic labor division compared to previous studies. The daily time taken up doing housework strongly correlates with gender, and the t-Test is statistically significant differences in the mean by gender. Wives earn additional money, and then spend less time on housework; nonetheless, the wife's minimum threshold for housework time is much higher than her husband's maximum threshold. Unlike the time devoted to housework, how much income contributes to the household does not affect childcare time. Except for the gender factor, the importance and extent of factors affecting housework and childcare differed markedly. Peculiarly, the unemployment of husbands is not a normal situation in Vietnamese families, so the assumption of exchange theory is not satisfied, though the wife is almost unable to negotiate with the unemployed husband.

Comparative Study of Knowledge of Urban and Rural Mothers about Neonatal Care

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess and compare the knowledge about the neonatal care among the mothers in urban and rural area in district Ajmer province of Rajasthan Materials and methods: Comparative randomized descriptive study was conducted among mothers who willingly gave consent to participate in the study. A structured questionnaire were framed and mothers were interviewed, the answers were recorded. To judge the knowledge score of the mothers closed ended questions having four alternatives were also framed. One mark was allocated for correct response. Results: Among 5800 deliveries, 400 mothers (205 mothers were Urban and 195 mothers were from Rural area) were randomly selected. Mothers with Antenatal check-up had knowledge score of 61% compared to 24% who had no regular antenatal checkup. Knowledge about “Exclusive Breastfeeding” was 84.39% and 68.20% urban mothers and rural mothers and regarding adequacy was 73.17% in Urban and 44.61% in rural mothers. Knowledge about Hygiene was 89.75% and 53.33% in Urban and rural mothers. Skin care and baby bath was 28.29% and 18.46% in Urban and Rural mothers respectively. Knowledge about danger signs was 81.95% and 60% in Urban and Rural mothers respectively. Knowledge regarding immunization at birth was 70.7% and 35.89% in Urban and Rural mothers respectively. Conclusions: Main factors affecting the knowledge score of the mothers about neonatal care were Educational status and Antenatal checkup. Knowledge about adequacy of breastfeeding, Immunization at birth, Danger signs, Temperature maintenance and hygiene was less in rural mothers as compared to urban mothers.

Indications and complications of paediatric tracheostomies at a tertiary care centre in rural Haryana: a retrospective study

<p><strong>Background:</strong> The indications for paediatric tracheostomies have had a significant change world over during last few decades. Emergency management of paediatric airway by tracheostomy has its own share of complications which need fair amount of expertise to manage.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> We carried out a retrospective study at a tertiary care centre in rural area of Haryana and analysed the available data of last 5 years (2017-2021) for determining various indications of paediatric tracheostomies and complications encountered during or after the surgery.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The study included 65 paediatric patients (&lt;14 years of age) who underwent tracheostomy at our tertiary care institute between January 2017 and December 2021. Out of them 38 (60.3%) were males, 35 (55.17%) patients were in 0-5 years age group. Most frequent indication for paediatric tracheostomy turned out to be upper airway obstruction due to a vaccine preventable disease diphtheria (n=56, i.e., 86.15%), other less common causes were need of prolonged ventilation, subglottic stenosis, congenital airway anomalies, retropharyngeal abscess, laryngeal papilloma. Complications were observed in 30 cases (46.15%). Mortality in tracheostomized children was nearly 29.2%, which was mainly attributed to the underlying cause which turned out to be diphtheria in most of the cases.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> High number of paediatric tracheostomies and sheer presence of diphtheria in this rural area of Haryana suggests that there is dire need of proper immunisation coverage and an active participation at community level.</p>

Assessment of Undernutrition Using Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) and its Determinants: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Rural Area of Bogor District in Indonesia

Background: Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) can assess anthropometric failure by combining the three conventional index measurements of weight-for-age, length/height-for-age, and weight-for-length/height to determine the nutritional status of children under five years. This study aims to assess undernutrition using the CIAF and its determinants on children under five years in the rural area of ​​Bogor District, in Indonesia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during February-May 2019 among 330 pairs of mother-children (under five years). Sample selected by systematic random sampling from four villages as undernutrition pockets in the rural area of ​​Bogor District, Indonesia. The nutritional status of children was assessed by measuring weight and length/height. Then, Z-score was calculated using WHO Anthro software and categorized based on conventional indices that included weight-for-age (WAZ), length/height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-length/height (WHZ). CIAF is measured based on a combination of conventional index measurements. In addition, the characteristics of mother’s and child, and clean living behavior measured by structured questionnaires. Meanwhile, environmental sanitation is assessed by the environment meter. Binary logistic regression analysis with SPSS version 22.0 was used to analyze the dominant factors associated with undernutrition.Results: The prevalence underweight, stunted, and wasted was 27.8%, 29.7%, and 10.6% respectively. Children who are undernutrition are 42.1% according to the CIAF of which about a quarter (17.8%) of undernutrition children experience a single anthropometric failure, about half (22.2%) had dual failure, and 2.1% had multiple failures. The most dominant factor associated with underweight, stunted, and wasted is family income [p-value=0.018; AOR=5.44; 95% CI: 1.34-22.11], mother's height [p-value=<0.001; AOR=3.29; 95% CI:1.83-5.91], and child's age [p-value=0.013; AOR=2.59; 95% CI: 1.22-5.47] respectively. Mother's height is the most dominant factor associated with anthropometric failure (CIAF) [p-value=0.008; AOR=1.95; 95% CI: 2.19-3.19].Conclusion: CIAF is worthwhile in preventing undernutrition in children under five years. The CIAF can identify more malnourished children than the conventional index. CIAF can use more widely in various regions in Indonesia and other developing countries. Furthermore, improvements in improving nutrition for mother’s in the child since the First 1000 days of life period are needed to determine optimal nutritional status as an indicator of growth success.

Toxoplasma gondii infection in pet cats and their owners in northeastern China:an important public health concern

Background Limited information about Toxoplasma gondii infection in pet cats and their owners is available in China. Methods In this study, blood samples were randomly collected from 306 pet cats and 397 corresponding pet owners in Jilin province, northeastern China. Sera from the pet cats and the pet owners were tested for anti-T. gondii antibodies using an modified agglutination test (MAT) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Moreover, the risk factors for T. gondii infection in pet cats and corresponding pet owners were explored. Result In total, 62 sera out of 306 examined pet cats (20.3%) and 18.1% (72/397) pet cat owners were seropositive for T. gondii, respectively. The results of statistical analysis showed that both pet cats and their owners from rural area had significantly higher T. gondii seroprevalence than those from urban area (p < 0.001). Moreover, owners of pet cas who have the knowledge of zoonotic protozoan diseases had a significantly lower T. gondii seroprevalence than those without the knowledge of zoonotic protozoan diseases (p < 0.001). Conclusions The present results revealed that the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection are widespread in pet cats and their owners in Jilin province, northeastern China. Residence area and understanding knowledge of zoonotic protozoan diseases are considered to be raleted to the T. gondii infection. Hence, it is necessary to highlight the dangers and protection methods of zoonotic protozoan diseases caused by pet cats, especially in rural area.