Publications by authors named "Ammas Siraj Mohammed"

Introduction: Even though PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission) is the most effective option to prevent vertical transmission of HIV, achieving optimal adherence has been a universal challenge to PMTCT, including Ethiopia.

Objective: To assess levels of adherence and associated factors among pregnant and lactating mothers on PMTCT at public health facilities in Harar town, Harari region, Eastern Ethiopia.

Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 01 to April 30, 2019, at the selected public health facilities of Harar town, Harari regional state, Eastern Ethiopia. Adherence was measured using a multi-method tool that includes pill counting and self-reporting method. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with PMTCT adherence. The results were adjusted for possible confounding variables and P-value <0.05 or CI not including 1 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the 190 included patients, 83.2% of them had good adherence to PMTCT. Forgetfulness (79%) and being busy (71%) were among the main reasons for non-adherence to PMTCT. In multivariate logistic regression, participants who have received counseling on side effects were 3.4 times more likely to have good adherence [AOR=3.4, 95% CI: 2.1-9.2]; those with previously known HIV status were 2.1 times more likely to have good adherence to PMTCT [AOR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.6-7.1] and women who were knowledgeable on PMTCT were 5.2 times more likely to have good adherence [AOR=5.2, 95% CI: 1.6-6.28].

Conclusion: In this study, the overall level of adherence to PMTCT care and support was 83.2%. Counseling on side effects, knowledge about PMTCT, and pregnancy status during initiation of ART were the factors that determine adherence of pregnant and lactating women towards PMTCT service. Thus, it is recommended to raise awareness about PMTCT among all reproductive-age women by stressing the benefit of the early initiation of ART and by providing information on the possible side effect of the drugs.

Background: Dietary modification is the cornerstone and initial recommendation in the management of diabetes mellitus. Adhering to the recommended dietary practice has a significant role in diabetic control, but not uniformly practised.

Objective: To assess dietary adherence and glycemic control among type 2 diabetic patients on follow-up at Dilchora Referral Hospital (DRH), Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia.

Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 22 August to 23 October 2019, at DRH. Data were collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The Perceived Dietary Adherence Questionnaire (PDAQ) was used to estimate the level of dietary adherence. Glycemic control was measured using fasting blood glucose. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify factors associated with dietary adherence.

Results: Of the 307 included patients, 62.5% were poorly adherent to the recommended diet. Lack of dietary education (83.38%) and inability to afford a healthy diet (71.33%) were the perceived barriers to practice dietary recommendation. More than half (54.7%) failed to achieve the recommended fasting blood glucose target. In multivariate logistic regression, patients who were adherent to dietary recommendations were 3.56 times more likely to have good glycemic control. Those patients living in urban areas, having monthly income greater than 1000 Ethiopia Birr, family history of the disease, duration of treatment greater than 10 years and who received counseling were more likely to have good dietary adherence.

Conclusion: The level of adherence to the dietary recommendation and glycemic control was low. Healthcare providers should be proactive in tackling the barrier for non-adherence and should promote adherence to dietary recommendations in T2DM patients.

Background: Generic medicines are similar to innovator medicine in terms of safety, quality, efficacy, dosage form, strength, and route of administration. They have the same therapeutic use to innovator medicines and available at a far lower price. However, health professionals' poor knowledge and attitude may limit its utilization. The present study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pharmacy professionals towards generic medicines in Harar city, Eastern Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among community pharmacists in Harar city. A self-administered thirty-three item questionnaire on Knowledge, attitude, and practice of community pharmacists was utilized. Logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the determinants of knowledge and attitude of pharmacists. An odds ratio at 95% confidence interval along with a p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Among 80 community pharmacists' approached, 74 completed the survey, providing a response rate of 92.5%. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents knew that generic drugs are bioequivalent to brand drugs and claimed generic medicines are cheaper (86.5%). Nearly half (48.6%) of participants believe that generic medicines are less effective and slower in the onset of action (58.1%). More than half (54.1%) of study participants revealed their lack of belief in generic medicine as a factor hindering the selection and dispensing of generic medicines. In multivariate logistic regression, experience in community pharmacy practice (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR = 2.18, 95%CI: 1.21-63.1) and Sex (AOR = 3.88, 95%CI: 2.12-39.62) were significantly associated with knowledge and attitude toward generic medicines, respectively.

Conclusion: The current study revealed that there is a gap in the knowledge and attitude of community pharmacists towards generic and brand drugs. More than averages of the respondents have known the concept of generic medicine including their right to perform generic substitution and had a positive attitude toward generics. Female pharmacists were more likely to have a positive attitude and the overall knowledge was higher in those who have more than 5 years of work experience.

Background: Pharmacy students seek postgraduate education (PGE) to develop their knowledge in a specified field of interest. Postgraduate Master's programs under the school of pharmacy in Ethiopia include clinical pharmacy, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical analysis, social pharmacy and administrative pharmacy, and pharmaceutics. This study aims to assess pharmacy student's motivation to study postgraduate programs and potential barriers to pursue postgraduate education.

Methods: Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted on regular pharmacy students of the University of Gondar. A survey was distributed to undergraduate regular pharmacy students from year one to five. PGE interested and non-interested student's difference in their characteristics was examined using chi-square. Binary Logistic regression was used to examine predictors of pursuing PGE. The study was conducted from February 1 to February 30, 2019.

Results: A total of 388 pharmacy students have participated in the study. More than half 215 (55.4%) of participants were males and in the age group 22-25, 204 (52.6%). Region (p-0.007), pharmacy as a first choice (p-0.001), experience in a leadership position (p-0.002), previous pharmacy-related work experience (p-0.001), and previous attendance at the conference (p-0.001) have shown statistically significant association with interest to pursue postgraduate education.

Conclusion: Generally, few students rate their level of preparation and level of confidence to apply for PGE at high. Further works including preparing motivational speeches and details on admission requirements for available PGE programs have to be prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to enhance students' interest. Besides, potential development of scholarships for PGE may enhance the ability of some students to apply for PGE, who otherwise would be unable to.

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2-to end preventable child deaths by 2030-we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000-2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations.

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data.

Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning.

Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence.

Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572 000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542 000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819 000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601 000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596 000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414 000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs).

Conclusions And Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care.