Yemane Berhane

Violence against women is strongly associated with suicide attempts: Evidence from the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence against women

Suicidal behaviours are one of the most important contributors to the global burden of disease among women, but little is known about prevalence and modifiable risk factors in low and middle income countries. We use data from the WHO multi-country study on womens health and domestic violence against women to examine the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts, and relationships between suicide attempts and mental health status, child sexual abuse, partner violence and other variables. Population representative cross-sectional household surveys were conducted from 2000-2003 in 13 provincial (more rural) and city (urban) sites in Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia, Thailand and Tanzania. 20967 women aged 15-49 years participated. Prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts, lifetime suicidal thoughts, and suicidal thoughts in the past four weeks were calculated, and multivariate logistic regression models were fit to examine factors associated with suicide attempts in each site. Prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts ranged from 0.8% (Tanzania) to 12.0% (Peru city); lifetime thoughts of suicide from 7.2% (Tanzania province) to 29.0% (Peru province), and thoughts in the past four weeks from 1.9% (Serbia) to 13.6% (Peru province). 25-50% of women with suicidal thoughts in the past four weeks had also visited a health worker in that time. The most consistent risk factors for suicide attempts after adjusting for probable common mental health disorders were: intimate partner violence, non-partner physical violence, ever being divorced, separated or widowed, childhood sexual abuse and having a mother who had experienced intimate partner violence. Mental health policies and services must recognise the consistent relationship between violence and suicidality in women in low and middle income countries. Training health sector workers to recognize and respond to the consequences of violence may substantially reduce the health burden associated with suicidal behaviour.

Patient and health service delay in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in Ethiopia

BackgroundDelay in the diagnosis of tuberculosis may worsen the disease, increase the risk of death and enhance tuberculosis transmission in the community. This study aims to determine the length of delay between the onset of symptoms and patients first visit to health care (patient delay), and the length of delay between health care visit and the diagnosis of tuberculosis (health service delay).MethodsA cross sectional survey that included all the public health centres was conducted in Addis Ababa from August 1 to December 31 1998. Patients were interviewed on the same day of diagnosis using structured questionnaire.Results700 pulmonary TB patients were studied. The median patient delay was 60 days and mean 78.2 days. There was no significant difference in socio-demographic factors in those who delayed and came earlier among smear positives. However, there was a significant difference in distance from home to health institute and knowledge about TB treatment among the smear negatives. The health service delay was low (median 6 days; mean 9.5 days) delay was significantly lower in smear positives compared to smear negatives. Longer health service delay (delay more than 15 days) was associated with far distance.ConclusionsThe time before diagnosis in TB patients was long and appears to be associated with patient inadequate knowledge of TB treatment and distance to the health centre. Further decentralization of TB services, the use of some components of active case finding, and raising public awareness of the disease to increase service utilization are recommended.

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BODY MASS INDEX AND BLOOD PRESSURE ACROSS THREE POPULATIONS IN AFRICA AND ASIA

Despite a growing burden of obesity and hypertension in developing countries, there is limited information on the contribution of body mass index (BMI) to blood pressure (BP) in these populations. This study examines the association between BMI and BP in three populations across Africa and Asia. Data on BMI, BP and other background characteristics of study participants were generated using the World Health Organization STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS), at three demographic surveillance sites in Ethiopia, Vietnam and Indonesia. BMI and BP increased along the socioeconomic gradient across the three countries. Mean (s.d.) BMI in men varied between 19.41 (2.28) in Ethiopia to 21.17 (2.86) in Indonesia. A high prevalence of overweight/obesity was noted among Indonesian women (25%) and men (10%), whereas low BMI was widely prevalent in Ethiopia and Vietnam, ranging from 33 to 43%. Mean (s.d.) systolic BP (SBP) among men varied between 117.15 (15.35) in Ethiopia to 127.33 (17.80) in Indonesia. The prevalence of hypertension was highest among women (25%) and men (24%) in Indonesia. Mean BP levels increased with increasing BMI. The risk of hypertension was higher among population groups with overweight and obesity (BMI⩾25 kg/m2); odds ratio (95% confidence interval); 2.47 (1.42, 4.29) in Ethiopia, 2.67 (1.75, 4.08) in Vietnam and 7.64 (3.88, 15.0) in Indonesia. BMI was significantly and positively correlated with both SBP and DBP in all the three populations, correlation coefficient (r) ranging between 0.23 and 0.27, P<0.01. High BP exists in a background of undernutrition in populations at early stages of the epidemiologic transition.

Steep declines in population-level AIDS mortality following the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Objectives:Assessments of population-level effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes in Africa are rare. We use data from burial sites to estimate trends in adult AIDS mortality and the mitigating effects of ART in Addis Ababa. ART has been available since 2003, and for free since 2005. Methods:To substitute for deficient vital registration, we use surveillance of burials at all cemeteries. We present trends in all-cause mortality, and estimate AIDS mortality (ages 20–64 years) from lay reports of causes of death. These lay reports are first used as a diagnostic test for the true cause of death. As reference standard, we use the cause of death established via verbal autopsy interviews conducted in 2004. The positive predictive value and sensitivity are subsequently used as anchors to estimate the number of AIDS deaths for the period 2001–2007. Estimates are compared with Spectrum projections. Results:Between 2001 and 2005, the number of AIDS deaths declined by 21.9 and 9.3% for men and women, respectively. Between 2005 and 2007, the number of AIDS deaths declined by 38.2 for men and 42.9% for women. Compared with the expected number in the absence of ART, the reduction in AIDS deaths in 2007 is estimated to be between 56.8 and 63.3%, depending on the coverage of the burial surveillance. Conclusion:Five years into the ART programme, adult AIDS mortality has been reduced by more than half. Following the free provision of ART in 2005, the decline accelerated and became more sex balanced. Substantial AIDS mortality, however, persists.

Refining a probabilistic model for interpreting verbal autopsy data

Objective: To build on the previously reported development of a Bayesian probabilistic model for interpreting verbal autopsy (VA) data, attempting to improve the models performance in determining cause of death and to reassess it. Design: An expert group of clinicians, coming from a wide range geographically and in terms of specialization, was convened. Over a four-day period the content of the previous probabilistic model was reviewed in detail and adjusted as necessary to reflect the group consensus. The revised model was tested with the same 189 VA cases from Vietnam, assessed by two local clinicians, that were used to test the preliminary model. Results: The revised model contained a total of 104 indicators that could be derived from VA data and 34 possible causes of death. When applied to the 189 Vietnamese cases, 142 (75.1%) achieved concordance between the models output and the previous clinical consensus. The remaining 47 cases (24.9%) were presented to a further independent clinician for reassessment. As a result, consensus between clinical reassessment and the models output was achieved in 28 cases (14.8%); clinical reassessment and the original clinical opinion agreed in 8 cases (4.2%), and in the remaining 11 cases (5.8%) clinical reassessment, the model, and the original clinical opinion all differed. Thus overall the model was considered to have performed well in 170 cases (89.9%). Conclusions: This approach to interpreting VA data continues to show promise. The next steps will be to evaluate it against other sources of VA data. The expert group approach to determining the required probability base seems to have been a productive one in improving the performance of the model.

Assessing a new approach to verbal autopsy interpretation in a rural Ethiopian community: the InterVA model

OBJECTIVE Verbal autopsy (VA) -- the interviewing of family members or caregivers about the circumstances of a death after the event -- is an established tool in areas where routine death registration is non-existent or inadequate. We assessed the performance of a probabilistic model (InterVA) for interpreting community-based VA interviews, in order to investigate patterns of cause-specific mortality in a rural Ethiopian community. We compared results with those obtained after review of the VA by local physicians, with a view to validating the model as a community-based tool. METHODS Two-hundred and eighty-nine VA interviews were successfully completed; these included most deaths occurring in a defined community over a 1-year period. The VA interviews were interpreted by physicians and by the model, and cause-specific mortality fractions were derived for the whole community and for particular age groups using both approaches. FINDINGS The results of the two approaches to interpretation correlated well in this example from Ethiopia. Four major cause groups accounted for over 60% of all mortality, and patterns within specific age groups were consistent with expectations for an underdeveloped high-mortality community in sub-Saharan Africa. CONCLUSION Compared with interpretation by physicians, the InterVA model is much less labour intensive and offers 100% consistency. It is a valuable new tool for characterizing patterns of cause-specific mortality in communities without death registration and for comparing patterns of mortality in different populations.

Women's health in a rural setting in societal transition in Ethiopia.

There are reports indicating a worsening of womens health in transitional rural societies in sub-Saharan Africa in relation to autonomy, workload, illiteracy, nutrition and disease prevalence. Although these problems are rampant, proper documentation is lacking. The objective of this study was to reflect the health situation of women in rural Ethiopia. Furthermore, the study attempts to address the socio-demographic and cultural factors that have potential influence on the health of women in the context of a low-income setting. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was utilised. In-depth interviews and a cross-sectional survey of randomly selected women were the main methods employed. The Butajira Rural Health Program demographic surveillance database provided the sampling frame. Heavy workload, lack of access to health services, poverty, traditional practices, poor social status and decision-making power, and lack of access to education were among the highly prevalent socio-cultural factors that potentially affect the health of women in Butajira. Though the majority of the women use traditional healers younger women show more tendency to use health services. No improvement of womens status was perceived by the younger generation compared to the older generation. Female genital mutilation is universal with a strong motivation to its maintenance. Nail polish has replaced the rite of nail-extraction before marriage in the younger generation. As the factors influencing the health of women are multiple and complex a holistic approach should be adopted with emphasis on improving access to health care and education, enhancing social status, and mechanisms to alleviate poverty.

The role of health extension workers in improving utilization of maternal health services in rural areas in Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

BackgroundCommunity health workers are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. Since 2003 the government of Ethiopia has been deploying specially trained new cadres of community based health workers named health extension workers (HEWs). This initiative has been called the health extension program. Very few studies have investigated the role of these community health workers in improving utilization of maternal health services.MethodsA cross sectional survey of 725 randomly selected women with under-five children from three districts in Northern Ethiopia. We investigated women’s utilization of family planning, antenatal care, birth assistance, postnatal care, HIV testing and use of iodized salt and compared our results to findings of a previous national survey from 2005. In addition, we investigated the association between several variables and utilization of maternal health services using logistic regression analysis.ResultsHEWs have contributed substantially to the improvement in women’s utilization of family planning, antenatal care and HIV testing. However, their contribution to the improvement in health facility delivery, postnatal check up and use of iodized salt seems insignificant. Women who were literate (OR, 1.85), listened to the radio (OR, 1.45), had income generating activities (OR, 1.43) and had been working towards graduation or graduated as model family (OR, 2.13) were more likely to demonstrate good utilization of maternal health services. A model family is by definition a family which has fulfilled all the packages of the HEP.ConclusionsThe HEWs seem to have substantial contribution in several aspects of utilization of maternal health services but their insignificant contribution in improving health facility delivery and skilled birth attendance remains an important problem. More effort is needed to improve the effectiveness of HEWs in these regards. For example, strengthening HEWs’ support for pregnant women for birth planning and preparedness and referral from HEWs to midwives at health centers should be strengthened. In addition, women’s participation in income generating activities, access to radio and education could be targets for future interventions.

Intimate partner violence and depression among women in rural Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundStudies from high-income countries have shown intimate partner violence to be associated with depression among women. The present paper examines whether this finding can be confirmed in a very different cultural setting in rural Ethiopia.MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken in Ethiopia among 1994 currently married women. Using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), cases of depressive episode were identified according to the ICD-10 diagnosis. Using a standardized questionnaire, women who experienced violence by an intimate partner were identified. A multivariate analysis was conducted between the explanatory variables and depressive status of the women, after adjusting for possible confounders.ResultsThe 12-month prevalence of depressive episode among the women was 4.8% (95% CI, 3.9% and 5.8%), while the lifetime prevalence of any form of intimate partner violence was 72.0% (95% CI, 70.0% and 73.9%). Physical violence (OR = 2.56, 95% CI, 1.61, 4.06), childhood sexual abuse (OR = 2.00, 95% CI, 1.13, 3.56), mild emotional violence (OR = 3.19, 95% CI, 1.98, 5.14), severe emotional violence (OR = 3.90, 95% CI, 2.20, 6.93) and high spousal control of women (OR = 3.30, 95% CI, 1.58, 6.90) by their partners were independently associated with depressive episode, even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.ConclusionThe high prevalence of intimate partner violence, a factor often obscured within general life event categories, requires attention to consider it as an independent factor for depression, and thus to find new possibilities of prevention and treatment in terms of public health strategies, interventions and service provision.

Women's Involvement in Household Decision-Making and Strengthening Social Capital-Crucial Factors for Child Survival in Ethiopia

Aims: To assess the influence of household decision making, social capital, socio‐economic factors and health service use on under‐five mortality.