Berhanu Wale Yirdaw*, Mengistu Berhanu Gobeza and Netsanet Tsegay
Introduction: Traditional uvulectomy is widely practiced in Africa especially in sub- Saharan countries including Ethiopia. Studies conducted in different times and areas of the world have shown that the level of practice of uvulectomy and its associated factors were varied from country to country. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the practice and associated factors of traditional uvulectomy among caregivers having children less than 5 years old in the South Gondar Zone.
Objective: This study aimed to assess practice and associated factors of traditional uvulectomy among caregivers having children less than 5 years old in South Gondar Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, 2020.
Method: A community – based triangulated cross-sectional study was conducted on 644 participants. Quantitative data were collected from 634 participants using a structured interviewer-administered Amharic version questionnaire; it was entered into Epi Data and analyzed using SPSS. Qualitative data were collected from 10 participants via an in-depth interview and analyzed by Open Code. Descriptive statistics were calculated and logistic regressions were fitted to declare statistical significance at p-value<0.05 and 95% CI.
Result: The prevalence of traditional uvulectomy in this study was 52.5% (95% CI, 48.6–56.3%). Moreover, lack of information [AOR=2.975 (1.677-5.277)], perceived as uvula causes illness [AOR=4.888 (2.954-8.086)], future intention or will perform [AOR=4.188 (2.584-6.788)], perceived as traditional uvulectomy should not be eradicated [AOR=1.893 (1.172-3.057)]), saw the previous good result [AOR=9.396 (5.512-16.016)], health personnel hospitality problem [AOR=5.922 (2.392–14.664)] and did not get cured by pharmacologic treatment [AOR=3.918 (2.073, 7.405)] were significantly associated with traditional uvulectomy.
Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of traditional uvulectomy was high. Lack of information, perceived as uvula causes illness, future intention to uvulectomy, perceived as traditional uvulectomy should not be eradicated, saw the previous good result, health personnel hospitality problem and did not get cured by pharmacologic treatment were the factors significantly associated with traditional uvula cutting. Therefore, special attention will be given to creating further awareness to the community at large and setting controlling mechanisms for the health care delivery system.
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