ABSTRACT Background: Blood donation is vital for saving lives, yet Ethiopia faces chronic shortages. Bridging the gap between willingness and actual donation is essential for sustaining blood supplies. This study examined socio-demographic, psychological, and contextual factors influencing blood donation intention and practice in East Gojjam Zone. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey of 1,332 urban adults who met inclusion criteria was conducted using multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected via a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics summarized donation patterns, while binary logistic and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial regressions identified predictors of donation intention and frequency, respectively. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) examined associations among socio-demographic characteristics, psychological factors, donation intention, practice, and behavior. Results: Although 74.8% (95% CI: 72.5–77.1) expressed willingness to donate, only 28.8% (95% CI: 26.4–31.2) had ever donated, and 20.7% (95% CI: 18.5–22.9) had donated in the past two years. Male gender, younger age, higher education, and employment in health or education sectors positively predicted intention and practice. Psychological factors—including self-efficacy (β = 0.53), positive attitudes (β = 0.46), knowledge (β = 0.38), altruism, and social influence (β = 0.28)—were strongly associated with donation. SEM confirmed that intention strongly predicted actual donation (β = 0.62). Barriers included fear of needles, health concerns, and limited awareness. Conclusions: Despite high willingness, actual donation remains low. Multi-sectoral, culturally sensitive strategies—addressing fears, improving knowledge, leveraging social influence, and enhancing accessibility—are critical, especially for women, older adults, and less-educated individuals, to build a resilient, community-driven blood supply. Keywords: Blood donation, intention, practice, socio-demographic factors, psychological determinants, Ethiopia, Structural Equation Modeling

ABSTRACT Background: Blood donation is vital for saving lives, yet Ethiopia faces chronic shortages. Bridging the gap between willingness and actual donation is essential for sustaining blood supplies. This study examined socio-demographic, psychological, and contextual factors influencing blood donation intention and practice in East Gojjam Zone. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey of 1,332 urban adults who met inclusion criteria was conducted using multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected via a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics summarized donation patterns, while binary logistic and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial regressions identified predictors of donation intention and frequency, respectively. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) examined associations among socio-demographic characteristics, psychological factors, donation intention, practice, and behavior. Results: Although 74.8% (95% CI: 72.5–77.1) expressed willingness to donate, only 28.8% (95% CI: 26.4–31.2) had ever donated, and 20.7% (95% CI: 18.5–22.9) had donated in the past two years. Male gender, younger age, higher education, and employment in health or education sectors positively predicted intention and practice. Psychological factors—including self-efficacy (β = 0.53), positive attitudes (β = 0.46), knowledge (β = 0.38), altruism, and social influence (β = 0.28)—were strongly associated with donation. SEM confirmed that intention strongly predicted actual donation (β = 0.62). Barriers included fear of needles, health concerns, and limited awareness. Conclusions: Despite high willingness, actual donation remains low. Multi-sectoral, culturally sensitive strategies—addressing fears, improving knowledge, leveraging social influence, and enhancing accessibility—are critical, especially for women, older adults, and less-educated individuals, to build a resilient, community-driven blood supply. Keywords: Blood donation, intention, practice, socio-demographic factors, psychological determinants, Ethiopia, Structural Equation Modeling

Youth unemployment in the East Gojjam Zone is a critical issue. This study focuses onidentifying the factors that influence unemployment duration and evaluating the impact ofjob creation programs on the well-being of youth in this region. We employed Cox regres-sion to analyze the determinants of unemployment duration and used propensity scorematching to assess the welfare effects of job creation initiatives. Our multistage clustersampling revealed a youth unemployment rate of 33.3% (95% CI: 27.3–39.3). Over half ofthe unemployed youth transitioned to employment within four years, with 25% securingjobs within two years. Participation in job creation programs led to an average earningsincrease of 1,069.716 birr, though retention in these programs was low at 49%. The find-ings reveal a connection between prolonged unemployment, skill mismatches, financialconstraints, limited work experience, weak social networks, low income, and a preferencefor public-sector employment. To effectively address these challenges, interventions mustfocus on improving job accessibility, aligning vocational training with labor market needs,promoting financial inclusion, and enhancing social support systems.

Introduction Post-surgical recovery time is influenced by various factors, including patient demographics, surgicaldetails, pre-existing conditions, post-operative care, and socioeconomic status. Understanding these dynamics iscrucial for improving patient outcomes. This study aims to identify significant predictors of post-surgical recoverytime in a resource-limited Ethiopian hospital setting and to evaluate the variability attributable to individual patientdifferences and surgical team variations.Methods A linear mixed model was employed to analyze data from 490 patients who underwent various surgicalprocedures. The analysis considered multiple predictors, including age, gender, BMI, type and duration of surgery,comorbidities (diabetes and hypertension), ASA scores, postoperative complications, pain management strategies,physiotherapy, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and socioeconomic status. Random effects were included toaccount for variability at the patient and surgical team levels.Results Significant predictors of prolonged recovery time included higher BMI, longer surgery duration, thepresence of diabetes and hypertension, higher ASA scores, and major post-operative complications. Opioid painmanagement was associated with increased recovery time, while inpatient physiotherapy reduced recovery duration.Socioeconomic status also significantly influenced recovery time. The model fit statistics indicated a robust model,with the unstructured covariance structure providing the best fit.Conclusion The findings highlight the importance of individualized patient care and the effective management ofmodifiable factors such as BMI, surgery duration, and postoperative complications. Socioeconomic status emerged asa novel factor warranting further investigation. This study underscores the value of considering patient and surgicalteam variability in post-surgical recovery analysis, and calls for future research to explore additional predictors andalternative modeling techniques to enhance our understanding of the recovery process.Keywords Postsurgical recovery, Linear mixed model, BMI, Surgery duration, Comorbidities, ASA scores,Postoperative complications, Pain management, Physiotherapy, And socioeconomic status

Introduction Vaccination is a critical public health intervention that significantly reduces morbidity and mortalityamong children. Despite its importance, vaccination coverage remains suboptimal in many regions, including EastGojam, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. This study investigated the sociodemographic, economic, and cultural determinantsof vaccination status among pediatric populations in East Gojam.Methods Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 1,900 respondents, categorizing vaccinationstatus as not vaccinated, partially vaccinated, or fully vaccinated. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyzethe impact of predictors such as child age, gender, parental education level, household income, geographic location,access to healthcare, trust in healthcare providers, sources of vaccination information, cultural beliefs, and perceivedgovernment support for vaccination.Results The results revealed that higher parental education levels and urban residence positively influence vac-cination status. Older children were less likely to be fully vaccinated, indicating a need for targeted outreach. Accessto healthcare services and trust in healthcare providers significantly promoted vaccination, whereas negative culturalbeliefs and misinformation adversely affected vaccination status. Perceived government support for vaccinationwas also a significant predictor.Conclusion This study concludes that addressing these multifaceted determinants through educational programs,improved healthcare access, trust-building initiatives, accurate information dissemination, stronger governmentalsupport, targeted outreach for older children, community engagement, and multisectoral collaboration can enhancevaccination coverage and improve public health outcomes in East Gojam and similar settings.Keywords Vaccination, Pediatric populations, Ethiopia, Sociodemographic factors, Health services accessibility,Cultural beliefs, Trust in healthcare providers, Parental education, Multinomial logistic regression