Innovare Journal Health Sciences

THE ROLE OF CRYOTHERAPY IN CANCER TREATMENT – A REVIEW OF MECHANISMS, EFFICACY, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

TANMAY MOHANTA — 2025-01-01

Cryotherapy, often called cryoablation or cryosurgery, is a minimally invasive treatment that uses extremely low temperatures to eliminate cancer cells. Using agents such as liquid nitrogen or argon gas, it achieves temperatures as low as -196°C, resulting in the development of intracellular ice crystals that destroy cellular structures and induce death. Its uses are many, ranging from dermatology to gynecology to oncology, with a rising interest in its ability to treat localized solid tumors, such as prostate, breast, and liver cancer. Cryotherapy has several advantages, including being less intrusive, protecting surrounding healthy tissues, and activating immunological responses. The hurdles include standardising techniques, enhancing effectiveness in metastatic malignancies, and overcoming economic limitations. This study investigates cryotherapy's mechanics, therapeutic uses, and its interaction with immunotherapy.

DETERMINANTS OF ANTENATAL CARE SERVICES UTILIZATION AMONG REPRODUCTIVE AGE WOMEN IN BASSO LIBEN WOREDA

AYCHILUHEM MANAYE HAILU — 2025-01-01

Objectives: Ethiopia has the highest rates of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality in the world. Unfortunately, many women in Ethiopia do not have access to modern healthcare services, which is one of the factors contributing to this issue. According to the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey, the percentage of receiving antenatal care (ANC) services reached 62%, which is lower compared to other African countries. Therefore this study aims to assess the determinants of ANC services utilizations in Basso Liben woreda.

Methods: A household-based quantitative cross-sectional study design was conducted in Basso Liben Woreda to evaluate the factors that determine ANC service utilization. The data were collected from a representative sample of 374 populations by using a systematic sampling technique. The study participants were women of reproductive age (15–49) years. Bivariate analysis was employed to determine the association between dependent and independent variables.

Results: The study’s findings revealed that several factors, including residence, mother’s educational level, marital status, media exposure, age at past birth, pregnancy desire, and occupational status of women, played a significant role in determining the utilization of ANC services in the study area. The relationship between the covariates and ANC service utilization was significant at p=0.05.

Conclusion: The research has identified significant disparities in ANC utilization among pregnant women in urban and rural areas, mothers’ educational level, media exposure, age of mother, pregnancy desire, and occupational status. It’s essential to address these issues by implementing government policies that give more emphasis to rural women, encouraging their participation in different sectors, improving their educational status, and distributing information about the use of ANC services.

ASSESSMENT OF PROTECTION SERVICES FOR MALTREATED CHILDREN AT THE ONE-STOP CENTER IN HAWASSA UNIVERSITY COMPREHENSIVE SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL

ADDIS ZENA BIRRU — 2025-01-01

The global establishment and growth of One-Stop Health Centers (OSCs) have significantly increased, despite a lack of comprehensive evaluation of their efficacy or implementation. This study aims to examine the services provided for abused children and the associated factors at the recently established one-stop child protection center at Hawassa University Specialized Hospital. Utilizing a cross-sectional narrative design with a qualitative approach, the study included six in-depth interviewees who are parents or caregivers of victim children; eight key informant interviewees from the center, and 12 focus group discussants across two sessions. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the collected data. The findings reveal that the OSC currently offers three major services for abused children: medical, psychosocial, and legal. The primary forms of reported abuse include sexual, physical, and emotional, with many victims experiencing multiple types. The center utilizes multiple strategies to assist and protect children, prioritizing their safety through multidisciplinary approaches. It partners with relevant stakeholders for preventive and rehabilitation services. However, the center faces significant challenges in its efforts to assist abused children, primarily due to economic constraints, social stigma leading to underreporting, legal procedural obstacles, delays in apprehending offenders, and inadequate rehabilitation services. The study concludes that the institution offers key assistance for children who have encountered various forms of violence, predominantly sexual in nature. Nonetheless, budget limitations render the available programs inadequate to sufficiently address the rehabilitation and recovery requirements of all victim categories. Therefore, the study recommends enhancing its efficiency by securing additional funding through collaboration, raising community awareness to address underreporting, improving law enforcement procedure, ensuring effective rehabilitation services, and strengthening capacity-building initiatives for practitioners.