Abel Afework | Addis Ababa University (original) (raw)
Papers by Abel Afework
Lancet. Infectious diseases/The Lancet. Infectious diseases, Mar 1, 2024
Risk management and healthcare policy, Feb 1, 2024
Scientific reports, Feb 5, 2024
Scientific Reports , 2024
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are a self-reported pain in any part of the neck, s... more Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are a self-reported pain in any part of the neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, hip/thigh, knee/leg, and ankle/foot and wrist/hand for at least 2-3 workdays in the past week, month or year. These symptoms appear during work activity and, during rest, often disappear. After work ends, they may continue. They do not involve disabilities caused by slides, falls, motor vehicle crashes, or similar events 17 .
Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
The healthcare industry is widely regarded as a high-risk environment for workers' occupational h... more The healthcare industry is widely regarded as a high-risk environment for workers' occupational health and safety. As a result, healthcare workers are constantly exposed to a wide range of hazards, including biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards. Consequently, janitorial staff are the most vulnerable section of the healthcare workforce to occupational injuries when compared to others due to the nature of their work. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the magnitude of occupational accidents and associated factors among Janitorial staff at Dilla University Teaching Hospital. Methods: This cross-sectional institutional-based study was conducted from August to September 2022 at a University Teaching Hospital in South Ethiopia. A total of 105 janitorial staff were included in the study with a response rate of 93.8%. The data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered using Epi Info version 7.2.5 and exported to IBM SPSS statistics 22 for further cleaning and analysis. The binary logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of occupational accidents and variables with a p-value of <0.05 during the multivariable analysis were considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of occupational accidents is 61% (95% CI: 51.4, 70.5). Of the total study participants, 52 (45.5%) and 33 (31.4%) of the participants had reported that they have experienced chemical splash and needle stick injury, respectively. The age of participants was one of the factors for occupational accidents. The participants who did not receive training were 3 times [AOR=2.9, 95% CI (1.04, 8.02)] more likely exposed. Having good practice was protective against occupational injuries. Conclusion: The study highlights the high prevalence of occupational accidents, particularly chemical splashes, and needle stick injuries, among janitors in the study settings. The study emphasizes the importance of age, training, awareness, and adherence to infection prevention and control strategies as factors influencing the likelihood of experiencing occupational injuries.
PLOS ONE
Background 3 billion people lack proper home hand hygiene facilities globally. Of these, 1.4 bill... more Background 3 billion people lack proper home hand hygiene facilities globally. Of these, 1.4 billion (18%) lack soap or water, while 1.6 billion (22%) have neither. This analysis explores the link between living conditions and the use of essential agents in sub-Saharan Africa. This secondary data analysis examines potential associations between the domiciliary environment and the use of essential agents in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Eighteen demographic and health surveys were used to analyze the association between household environmental factors and handwashing with essential agents. STATA version 16 was used to analyze data from 203,311 households across weighted samples. Using a multivariable multilevel mixed effect logistic regression analysis, it was possible to determine how each independent factor affected the outcome while taking the data clustering into account. The adjusted odds ratio and its associated 95% confidence interval were used to assess the independent factors’...
Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
Background: Patient safety culture is now at the forefront of the global health agenda and has be... more Background: Patient safety culture is now at the forefront of the global health agenda and has been designated as a human right. Assessing safety culture is seen to be a prerequisite for improving safety culture in health-care organizations. However, no research has been conducted to examine the current study setup. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the status and factors influencing patient safety culture at
Environmental Health Insights
Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborn... more Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborne microorganisms. The hospital’s indoor air may contain a large number of disease-causing agents brought in by patients, staff, students, visitors, ventilation, or the outside. Hospitalized patients are at a higher risk of infection due to confined spaces, crowdedness, and poor infection prevention practices, which can accumulate and create favorable conditions for the growth and multiplication of microorganisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the indoor air bacterial load in Dilla University Hospital, Southern Ethiopia.Methods:An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used to assess the bacterial load in the indoor air at Dilla University Hospital. To determine the bacterial load, a passive air sampling technique was used. The settle plate method was used to collect data, which involved exposing Petri-dishes filled with blood agar media to the indoor air ...
Environmental Health Insights
Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborn... more Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborne microorganisms. The hospital’s indoor air may contain a large number of disease-causing agents brought in by patients, staff, students, visitors, ventilation, or the outside. Hospitalized patients are at a higher risk of infection due to confined spaces, crowdedness, and poor infection prevention practices, which can accumulate and create favorable conditions for the growth and multiplication of microorganisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the indoor air bacterial load in Dilla University Hospital, Southern Ethiopia.Methods:An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used to assess the bacterial load in the indoor air at Dilla University Hospital. To determine the bacterial load, a passive air sampling technique was used. The settle plate method was used to collect data, which involved exposing Petri-dishes filled with blood agar media to the indoor air ...
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Background Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with infant mortality and postpartum health compl... more Background Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with infant mortality and postpartum health complications. In previous studies, overall LBW has been found to be significantly associated with several sociodemographic factors, including ethnicity, maternal age, and family income. Few studies have evaluated the association between environmental risk factors and LBW rates. This study investigated the effect of pre-birth water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and housing conditions on self-reported low birth weight. Methods The Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, which covered all administrative regions of Ethiopia from January to June 2016, provided data for this study. STATA version 16 was used to analyze 12,125 participants across weighted samples. Multivariable multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the effects of each factor on the outcome while accounting for data clustering. The adjusted odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence inte...
PLOS ONE
Background Water is essential for maintaining human life, health, and dignity. Untreated water co... more Background Water is essential for maintaining human life, health, and dignity. Untreated water consumption causes 1.8 million deaths annually, over 99.8% of which happen in developing nations and 90% of which include children. Point-of-use water treatment enables people without reliable access to safe drinking water to reduce contamination and minimize microbial risk levels. This Systematic Review and Meta-analysis was, therefore, used to identify, select, and critically appraise relevant evidence about water treatment practices and their associated factors among Ethiopian households. Methods PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and other databases were searched for studies published before May 5, 2022. The final synthesis included twelve investigations. Microsoft Excel was used to extract the data, and STATA 16 was used for the analysis. The Joanna Briggs Institute’s Critical assessment checklist for prevalence studies was used to evalua...
Environmental health insights, 2022
PLOS ONE, May 27, 2022
Background In terms of global impact, foodborne infections have been likened to major infectious ... more Background In terms of global impact, foodborne infections have been likened to major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, with 1 in 10 people becoming ill and 420,000 deaths per year. A large number of these incidents are caused by improperly handled food in foodservice establishments. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the proportion of food handlers in Ethiopian commercial food service establishments who have safe food handling practices and their associated factors. Methods Studies conducted before 02-05-2022 were explored in PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Ovid MEDLINE ® , as well as other sources. A total of fourteen studies were included in the final synthesis. Data were extracted using a standardized data extraction format prepared in Microsoft excel and the analysis was done using STATA 16 statistical software. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical assessment checklist for prevalence studies. To evaluate publication bias, a funnel plot and Egger's regression test were employed. The I 2 statistic was calculated to examine for study heterogeneity. To assess the pooled effect size, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals across studies, the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used. Subgroup analysis was conducted by region and publication year. The influence of a single study on the whole estimate was determined via sensitivity analysis. Results Of 323 identified articles, 14 studies were eligible for analysis (n = 4849 participants). The pooled prevalence estimate of safe food handling practices among Ethiopian food handlers was 47.14% (95% CI: 39.01-55.26, I 2 = 97.23%). Foodservice training (OR, 3.89; 95% CI: 2.37-5.40), having on-site water storage facilities (OR, 4.65; 95% CI: 2.35-6.95), attitude
Environmental Health Insights
Background: Globally, occupational risk factors are thought to be responsible for at least 1.9 mi... more Background: Globally, occupational risk factors are thought to be responsible for at least 1.9 million deaths and 90 million disability-adjusted life years per year. Occupational injury survivorship has increased in Ethiopia in recent years. However, the vast majority of the victims are young people who are impacted in their everyday life as a result of occupational injuries. While research in developed countries has revealed several factors related to early return to work, there have been very few studies of significance in underdeveloped countries, including Ethiopia. Methods: Metalworkers who had an occupational accident between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, were investigated in a facility-based retrospective cohort. Data was collected from 422 medical records and registration books using a standardized abstraction tool. STATA 15 was used to analyze the data. The median time it took to return to work was computed. The Kaplan Meier survival curve was used to estimate the...
Environmental Health Insights, 2022
Improved sanitation facilities offer numerous advantages, ranging from the reduction of diarrheal... more Improved sanitation facilities offer numerous advantages, ranging from the reduction of diarrheal illnesses and helminth infections to the improvement of psychosocial well-being. At the household level, attaining universal access to improved sanitation facilities demands a thorough understanding of the factors that influence their adoption and use. As a result, the purpose of this study was to assess the availability and utilization of improved sanitation facilities, as well as the factors that influence the adoption and proper use of such a facility among households in the Gedeb district of Southern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional household survey was conducted from March to April 2019. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 630 households at random. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the respondents’ self-reported data, which comprised socio-demographic, home characteristics, behavioral, and environmental elements. The factors related to ...
Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2020
Background The need to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases makes the use of personal p... more Background The need to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases makes the use of personal protective equipment and safety medical devices compulsory among hospital laundry staff. The practice, however, remains to be low among hospital laundry staff members. Globally, not many studies seem to have been carried out to sufficiently tell us about the barriers to personal protective equipment use among hospital laundry workers. Related studies in Ethiopia are even fewer. This study assessed the barriers to personal protective equipment use among laundry staff of government hospitals in Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia, 2019. Methods Two qualitative data-gathering methods—focus group discussions and key informant interviews—were used to collect data for this study. Eight focus group discussions were conducted with hospital laundry workers. Similarly, six key informant interviews were held with Infection Prevention and Patient Safety Officers. Thematic analysis was performed using Ope...
PLOS ONE
Background Even though evidence shows that access to and use of improved latrines is related to h... more Background Even though evidence shows that access to and use of improved latrines is related to healthful families and the public, obstacles to the adoption and use of improved latrine facilities remain. Globally, not many inquiries appear to have been carried out to satisfactorily inform us regarding the multi-level barriers influencing the adoption and utilization of improved latrines facilities. Related studies in Ethiopia are even fewer. Methods Two qualitative data gathering methods, viz., key informant interviews and focus group discussions, were employed to collect data for this study. A total of fifteen focus group discussions were conducted with members of the community in the rural Wonago district of Ethiopia. Similarly, ten key informant interviews were conducted with water, sanitation, and hygiene officers, and health extension workers responsible for coordinating sanitation and hygiene activities. Open code software 4.03 was used for thematic analysis. Result Barriers t...
Lancet. Infectious diseases/The Lancet. Infectious diseases, Mar 1, 2024
Risk management and healthcare policy, Feb 1, 2024
Scientific reports, Feb 5, 2024
Scientific Reports , 2024
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are a self-reported pain in any part of the neck, s... more Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are a self-reported pain in any part of the neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, hip/thigh, knee/leg, and ankle/foot and wrist/hand for at least 2-3 workdays in the past week, month or year. These symptoms appear during work activity and, during rest, often disappear. After work ends, they may continue. They do not involve disabilities caused by slides, falls, motor vehicle crashes, or similar events 17 .
Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
The healthcare industry is widely regarded as a high-risk environment for workers' occupational h... more The healthcare industry is widely regarded as a high-risk environment for workers' occupational health and safety. As a result, healthcare workers are constantly exposed to a wide range of hazards, including biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards. Consequently, janitorial staff are the most vulnerable section of the healthcare workforce to occupational injuries when compared to others due to the nature of their work. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the magnitude of occupational accidents and associated factors among Janitorial staff at Dilla University Teaching Hospital. Methods: This cross-sectional institutional-based study was conducted from August to September 2022 at a University Teaching Hospital in South Ethiopia. A total of 105 janitorial staff were included in the study with a response rate of 93.8%. The data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered using Epi Info version 7.2.5 and exported to IBM SPSS statistics 22 for further cleaning and analysis. The binary logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of occupational accidents and variables with a p-value of <0.05 during the multivariable analysis were considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of occupational accidents is 61% (95% CI: 51.4, 70.5). Of the total study participants, 52 (45.5%) and 33 (31.4%) of the participants had reported that they have experienced chemical splash and needle stick injury, respectively. The age of participants was one of the factors for occupational accidents. The participants who did not receive training were 3 times [AOR=2.9, 95% CI (1.04, 8.02)] more likely exposed. Having good practice was protective against occupational injuries. Conclusion: The study highlights the high prevalence of occupational accidents, particularly chemical splashes, and needle stick injuries, among janitors in the study settings. The study emphasizes the importance of age, training, awareness, and adherence to infection prevention and control strategies as factors influencing the likelihood of experiencing occupational injuries.
PLOS ONE
Background 3 billion people lack proper home hand hygiene facilities globally. Of these, 1.4 bill... more Background 3 billion people lack proper home hand hygiene facilities globally. Of these, 1.4 billion (18%) lack soap or water, while 1.6 billion (22%) have neither. This analysis explores the link between living conditions and the use of essential agents in sub-Saharan Africa. This secondary data analysis examines potential associations between the domiciliary environment and the use of essential agents in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Eighteen demographic and health surveys were used to analyze the association between household environmental factors and handwashing with essential agents. STATA version 16 was used to analyze data from 203,311 households across weighted samples. Using a multivariable multilevel mixed effect logistic regression analysis, it was possible to determine how each independent factor affected the outcome while taking the data clustering into account. The adjusted odds ratio and its associated 95% confidence interval were used to assess the independent factors’...
Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
Background: Patient safety culture is now at the forefront of the global health agenda and has be... more Background: Patient safety culture is now at the forefront of the global health agenda and has been designated as a human right. Assessing safety culture is seen to be a prerequisite for improving safety culture in health-care organizations. However, no research has been conducted to examine the current study setup. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the status and factors influencing patient safety culture at
Environmental Health Insights
Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborn... more Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborne microorganisms. The hospital’s indoor air may contain a large number of disease-causing agents brought in by patients, staff, students, visitors, ventilation, or the outside. Hospitalized patients are at a higher risk of infection due to confined spaces, crowdedness, and poor infection prevention practices, which can accumulate and create favorable conditions for the growth and multiplication of microorganisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the indoor air bacterial load in Dilla University Hospital, Southern Ethiopia.Methods:An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used to assess the bacterial load in the indoor air at Dilla University Hospital. To determine the bacterial load, a passive air sampling technique was used. The settle plate method was used to collect data, which involved exposing Petri-dishes filled with blood agar media to the indoor air ...
Environmental Health Insights
Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborn... more Background:In both residential and hospital indoor environments, humans can be exposed to airborne microorganisms. The hospital’s indoor air may contain a large number of disease-causing agents brought in by patients, staff, students, visitors, ventilation, or the outside. Hospitalized patients are at a higher risk of infection due to confined spaces, crowdedness, and poor infection prevention practices, which can accumulate and create favorable conditions for the growth and multiplication of microorganisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the indoor air bacterial load in Dilla University Hospital, Southern Ethiopia.Methods:An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used to assess the bacterial load in the indoor air at Dilla University Hospital. To determine the bacterial load, a passive air sampling technique was used. The settle plate method was used to collect data, which involved exposing Petri-dishes filled with blood agar media to the indoor air ...
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Background Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with infant mortality and postpartum health compl... more Background Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with infant mortality and postpartum health complications. In previous studies, overall LBW has been found to be significantly associated with several sociodemographic factors, including ethnicity, maternal age, and family income. Few studies have evaluated the association between environmental risk factors and LBW rates. This study investigated the effect of pre-birth water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and housing conditions on self-reported low birth weight. Methods The Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, which covered all administrative regions of Ethiopia from January to June 2016, provided data for this study. STATA version 16 was used to analyze 12,125 participants across weighted samples. Multivariable multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the effects of each factor on the outcome while accounting for data clustering. The adjusted odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence inte...
PLOS ONE
Background Water is essential for maintaining human life, health, and dignity. Untreated water co... more Background Water is essential for maintaining human life, health, and dignity. Untreated water consumption causes 1.8 million deaths annually, over 99.8% of which happen in developing nations and 90% of which include children. Point-of-use water treatment enables people without reliable access to safe drinking water to reduce contamination and minimize microbial risk levels. This Systematic Review and Meta-analysis was, therefore, used to identify, select, and critically appraise relevant evidence about water treatment practices and their associated factors among Ethiopian households. Methods PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and other databases were searched for studies published before May 5, 2022. The final synthesis included twelve investigations. Microsoft Excel was used to extract the data, and STATA 16 was used for the analysis. The Joanna Briggs Institute’s Critical assessment checklist for prevalence studies was used to evalua...
Environmental health insights, 2022
PLOS ONE, May 27, 2022
Background In terms of global impact, foodborne infections have been likened to major infectious ... more Background In terms of global impact, foodborne infections have been likened to major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, with 1 in 10 people becoming ill and 420,000 deaths per year. A large number of these incidents are caused by improperly handled food in foodservice establishments. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the proportion of food handlers in Ethiopian commercial food service establishments who have safe food handling practices and their associated factors. Methods Studies conducted before 02-05-2022 were explored in PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Ovid MEDLINE ® , as well as other sources. A total of fourteen studies were included in the final synthesis. Data were extracted using a standardized data extraction format prepared in Microsoft excel and the analysis was done using STATA 16 statistical software. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical assessment checklist for prevalence studies. To evaluate publication bias, a funnel plot and Egger's regression test were employed. The I 2 statistic was calculated to examine for study heterogeneity. To assess the pooled effect size, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals across studies, the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used. Subgroup analysis was conducted by region and publication year. The influence of a single study on the whole estimate was determined via sensitivity analysis. Results Of 323 identified articles, 14 studies were eligible for analysis (n = 4849 participants). The pooled prevalence estimate of safe food handling practices among Ethiopian food handlers was 47.14% (95% CI: 39.01-55.26, I 2 = 97.23%). Foodservice training (OR, 3.89; 95% CI: 2.37-5.40), having on-site water storage facilities (OR, 4.65; 95% CI: 2.35-6.95), attitude
Environmental Health Insights
Background: Globally, occupational risk factors are thought to be responsible for at least 1.9 mi... more Background: Globally, occupational risk factors are thought to be responsible for at least 1.9 million deaths and 90 million disability-adjusted life years per year. Occupational injury survivorship has increased in Ethiopia in recent years. However, the vast majority of the victims are young people who are impacted in their everyday life as a result of occupational injuries. While research in developed countries has revealed several factors related to early return to work, there have been very few studies of significance in underdeveloped countries, including Ethiopia. Methods: Metalworkers who had an occupational accident between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, were investigated in a facility-based retrospective cohort. Data was collected from 422 medical records and registration books using a standardized abstraction tool. STATA 15 was used to analyze the data. The median time it took to return to work was computed. The Kaplan Meier survival curve was used to estimate the...
Environmental Health Insights, 2022
Improved sanitation facilities offer numerous advantages, ranging from the reduction of diarrheal... more Improved sanitation facilities offer numerous advantages, ranging from the reduction of diarrheal illnesses and helminth infections to the improvement of psychosocial well-being. At the household level, attaining universal access to improved sanitation facilities demands a thorough understanding of the factors that influence their adoption and use. As a result, the purpose of this study was to assess the availability and utilization of improved sanitation facilities, as well as the factors that influence the adoption and proper use of such a facility among households in the Gedeb district of Southern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional household survey was conducted from March to April 2019. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 630 households at random. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the respondents’ self-reported data, which comprised socio-demographic, home characteristics, behavioral, and environmental elements. The factors related to ...
Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2020
Background The need to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases makes the use of personal p... more Background The need to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases makes the use of personal protective equipment and safety medical devices compulsory among hospital laundry staff. The practice, however, remains to be low among hospital laundry staff members. Globally, not many studies seem to have been carried out to sufficiently tell us about the barriers to personal protective equipment use among hospital laundry workers. Related studies in Ethiopia are even fewer. This study assessed the barriers to personal protective equipment use among laundry staff of government hospitals in Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia, 2019. Methods Two qualitative data-gathering methods—focus group discussions and key informant interviews—were used to collect data for this study. Eight focus group discussions were conducted with hospital laundry workers. Similarly, six key informant interviews were held with Infection Prevention and Patient Safety Officers. Thematic analysis was performed using Ope...
PLOS ONE
Background Even though evidence shows that access to and use of improved latrines is related to h... more Background Even though evidence shows that access to and use of improved latrines is related to healthful families and the public, obstacles to the adoption and use of improved latrine facilities remain. Globally, not many inquiries appear to have been carried out to satisfactorily inform us regarding the multi-level barriers influencing the adoption and utilization of improved latrines facilities. Related studies in Ethiopia are even fewer. Methods Two qualitative data gathering methods, viz., key informant interviews and focus group discussions, were employed to collect data for this study. A total of fifteen focus group discussions were conducted with members of the community in the rural Wonago district of Ethiopia. Similarly, ten key informant interviews were conducted with water, sanitation, and hygiene officers, and health extension workers responsible for coordinating sanitation and hygiene activities. Open code software 4.03 was used for thematic analysis. Result Barriers t...