Browsing by Author "Bogale, Ephrem"

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    Assessment of chronic respiratory symptoms and associated factors among marble factory workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a comparative cross-sectional study.
    (Addis Abeba University, 2021-01) Bogale, Ephrem; Wakuma, Samson(Msc,Mph,Phd)
    Background Marble used in the sculpturing of statute and the construction of buildings and monuments is metamorphic limestone. Persons employed in carving statues from stone and marble rock are exposed to dust containing particles of calcium carbonate and silica. Marble has been commonly used as a building material since ancient times. During the cutting process about 25-30%, the original marble mass is lost in the form of dust which is suspended in the air and then inhaled by the workers. Dust particles that are inhaled are lodged in the lung and cause chronic respiratory diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of chronic respiratory symptoms in marble factory workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and to compare it with a control group of Awash Wine Factory workers who had low level of dust exposure. Objectives: This study was designed to assess the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and associated factors among marble factory workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A comparative cross sectional study was done in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 21 October 2020 up to 10 January 2021. The Marble factory, which has a high level of dust exposure, and the Awash Wine Factory, which has a low level of dust exposure, were the subjects of a comparative crosssectional study. The study enlisted 492 participants selected by systematic random sampling method and were interviewed using a modified British Medical Research Council respiratory and American Thoracic Society and National Heart & Lung Institute Division of Lung Disease Respiratory Questionnaire. EPI DATA 3.1 software was used to enter data, and SPSS version 23 was used to analyze it. To determine the relationship between determinant factors and chronic respiratory symptoms, descriptive statistics, bivariate logistic, and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used. Result: The mean ages of the participants in the marble factory were 40.41(SD± 9.1) and the mean age of the control group was 40.46 (SD± 9.6). According to the study, the prevalence of chronic respiratory problems was 42.1 percent in marble manufacturers and 16.2 percent in wine factories. Income below 3000 birr, family history of chronic respiratory symptoms and current smoking habits were variables with bivariate significance but multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age greater than 40, previous respiratory disease confirmed by physician, personal protective equipment, past history of confirmed health problems, service years more than 10 years in the factory, and working hours greater than 48 per week were independent factors that determine the development of chronic respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: The present study concluded that workers in the marble industry had a higher chronic respiratory disease compared to controls. To reduce the impact, it is recommended that the workers should, use proper respiratory protective equipment, reduce exposure hours to dust, check health status for early diagnosis and treatment
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    Measuring Customer Based Brand Equity: Evidence from the Ethiopian Bottled Water Market
    (Addis Ababa University, 2015-06) Bogale, Ephrem; Denu, Berhanu (PhD)
    The study examines the applicability of a customer based brand equity model in the Ethiopian Bottled water market. Based on Aaker’s well known conceptual framework of brand equity and extended by Yoo & Donthu (2001), this study employed structural equation modeling to investigate the causal relationships among the three dimensions of brand equity and overall brand equity in the Ethiopian bottled water industry. The study used the multidimensional brand equity scale and overall brand equity scale developed and validated by Yoo and Donthu (2001). The sample size of the study was 400 actual consumers of bottled water selected using a judgmental sampling method from Addis Ababa. The sample size was decided based on sample sizes used in similar previous researches and other considerations such as resource constraints. The findings of the study concluded that brand awareness and Perceived Quality are influential dimensions of brand equity in the Ethiopian bottled water market. However, the influence of brand loyalty was found to be insignificant which is in contradiction with both previous studies and the underlying brand equity theory that asserts brand loyalty to be the core component of brand equity. The study showed that marketing managers working in the Ethiopian bottled water industry should concentrate their efforts primarily on creating adequate awareness about their product emphasizing on enhancing the consumers perception about the quality of that particular bottled water product. This study contributes to the limited literature in testing the applicability of consumer-based brand equity model and measurement scale in the Ethiopian market, particularly in the bottled water industry. Future research needed to be done if the results are to be expanded into other more branded product categories given the product used in the current study is a pure commodity and infancy of the industry may not explain the brand equity model as adequately as expected