Shoe-wearing practice for prevention of podoconiosis and its associated factors in highly endemic areas of the Wolayita Zone, South Ethiopia Regional State: the application of health belief model
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Date
2023-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Podoconiosis is a chronic, non-communicable, non-infectious, neglected tropical
disease that is acquired by walking barefoot in red clay volcanic soils for a long period of time.
Although many studies have been conducted on podoconiosis in Ethiopia, most of them have
focused on the prevalence of the disease, therapy, and prevention strategies to manage the
disease, and the study participants were those who were affected by it. Therefore, this study
aimed to investigate how households in the Wolayita Zone perceive podoconiosis and shoe-
wearing practices to prevent it.
Objective:-To assess shoe-wearing practices for the prevention of podoconiosis and its
associated factors in highly endemic areas of Wolayta Zone, South Ethiopian Regional State,
2023.
Methods: A study was conducted in selected woredas of Wolayta Zone using a cross-sectional
study design. The study had a total sample size of 617 participants, who were chosen using a
multistage cluster sampling technique. Data was collected using Kobo Toolbox software, and
SPSS version 27 software was used for the analysis. The association between the variables was
identified using bivariable logistic regression with a p-value <0.25, then feed into multivariable
logistic regression with a p-value <0.05 and a confidence interval of 95%, which were
considered to be significantly associated variables.
Result: In this study, out of 617 participants, 594 had participated with a response rate of 96.3%,
and 301 (50.7%) of the respondents had good shoe-wearing practice. Out of the 594 participants,
335 (56.4%) were male, 169 (28.5%) were aged between 25 and 34, and 282 (47.5%) had a
monthly income between 2751 and 5000 Ethiopian birr. Variables significantly associated with
shoe-wearing practice were: residence in rural areas (AOR.210, 95%CI.101,.437); marital status
being single (AOR 5.927, 95%CI 2.062, 17.042); occupation status: being a farmer (AOR.392,
95%CI.176,.876); educational status: primary (AOR 3.143, 95%CI 1.298, 7.615), secondary
(AOR 7.558, 95%CI 2.998, 19.050); and higher education (AOR 7.933, 95%CI 2.811, 22.390);
and among health belief model constructs, perceived barriers (AOR.849, 95% CI.792,.910) and
perceived self-efficacy (AOR 1.150, 95% CI 1.000, 1.323) were significantly associated.
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Conclusion: The study found that only 50.7% of participants had good shoe-wearing practices.
To improve this, community leaders and other stakeholders should educate their communities
about the importance of good shoe-wearing practices and make shoes more accessible,
comfortable, and affordable. This study has the potential to reduce the incidence of podoconiosis
by identifying the predictors of shoe wear.
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Keywords
Podoconiosis, HBM (health belief model), Wolayita Zone, shoe-wearing