Internal Medicine

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Browsing Internal Medicine by Subject "Active trachoma elementary schools associated factors Butajira town"

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    Prevalence of Active Trachoma and Associated Factors among Elementary School Students in Butajira Town, Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2023-09-23) Muhidin oumer; Tiliksew Teshome
    Purpose: To determine the prevalence of active trachoma among elementary school students in Butajira town, Ethiopia. Additionally, the study aimed to identify the factors related to its occurrence and compare the findings with previous studies conducted in the same area. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Butajira town's elementary schools in March 2023. Data on the sociodemographic and health characteristics of students and their respective schools was collected using a structured questionnaire. An experienced nurse, certified in trachoma grading according to the World Health Organization's system, performed eye examinations on the students. The aim of the study was to assess potential associations between hygiene factors (such as ocular discharge, nasal discharge…etc) and school factors (including compound fencing status, school water source….etc). Statistical analyses were conducted using the chi-square test to determine the significance of associations between variables. A p-value below 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 606 students participated in this study, with 376 attending public elementary schools and 230 attending private elementary schools. Among these students, 55.7% were females and 44.2% were males. The mean age of the participants was 10.8 ± 2.5, ranging from 6 years to 18 years. Out of the 606 students, 23 (3.8%) had active trachoma. Statistically significant associations with active trachoma were observed in the following variables: cleanliness of finger (χ² = 5.3,OR=1.052, 95% CI(1.00,1.107), p = 0.021), presence of cattle in school compound (χ² = 6.3,OR= 2.916, 95% CI(1.312,6.078), p = 0.012), face washing (χ² = 8.891,OR=3.305, 95%CI(1.514, 7.215), p < 0.003), number of students per bench (χ² = 21.625,OR=0.065, 95%CI(0.016, 0.274) p =0.001), school type (χ² = 22.508, OR=0.939, 95%CI(0.915,0.963), p =0.0001), open field defecation (χ² = 15.4,OR=6.982, 95%CI(2.097,23.250), p =0.001), proper latrine usage (χ² = 6.020, OR=0.485, 95%CI(0.273,0.864), p =0.014), presence of fly on face (χ² = 18.5,OR=7.38, 95%CI(3.177,18.844), p = 0.001), nasal discharge (χ² = 43.7, OR=11.294, 95%CI(4.768,26.752), p =0.0001), and ocular discharge (χ² = 254.2, OR=60.75, 95%CI(26.049,141.720), p = 0.0000). Conclusion: The study discovered that the prevalence of active trachoma is below 5%, which meets the goal of the trachoma eradication plan. Factors commonly known to be associated with the transmission of trachoma were strongly linked in this study as well. Additionally, factors such as school type, number of students per school bench, and the presence of cattle in the school compound were also strongly associated with prevalence of active trachoma. Key words: Active trachoma, elementary schools, associated factors, Butajira town