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Hailay Abrha Gesesew

Hailay Abrha Gesesew
Torrense University Australia · Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (PHEHF)

PhD MPH BSc
Leading a 5-year NHMRC grant (RCT) on the impact of HIV peer counselors on HIV care and treatment in Ethiopia

About

211
Publications
137,890
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Introduction
Dr Hailay Gesesew currently works as NHMRC Senior Research & Teaching Fellow at Torrens University Australia. Hailay does research in Medicine and Public Health which aims at improving HIV care continuum in Tigray (North Ethiopia) and other developing countries. Hailay is working on a five-year NHMRC project (2020-24) on peer educators and UNAIDS 90-90-90 in Tigray. More recently, Hailay is also interested in War and Public Health.
Additional affiliations
January 2020 - present
Flinders University
Position
  • Senior Research Fellow (NHMRC)

Publications

Publications (211)
Article
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Background: Universal health coverage (UHC) is a global priority, with the goal of ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality healthcare without suffering financial hardship. In Africa, most governments have prioritized UHC over the last two decades. Despite this, the transition to UHC in Africa is seen to be sluggish, with certain countries...
Article
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Background and Aims Organ donation is the last option for patients with end‐stage organ failure, but the number of people in need of transplantation outweighs the supply of donor organs. A thorough analysis of public understanding is required to design educational programs that increase public commitment to organ donation. Therefore, the present st...
Article
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Our paper examines the political considerations in the intersectoral action that was evident during the SAR-COV-2 virus (COVID-19) pandemic through case studies of political and institutional responses in 16 nations (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam,...
Article
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In sub-Saharan Africa, young people are at high risk of HIV infection, representing nearly 4 out of 5 new infections. HIV self-testing (HIVST), a new and proactive testing scheme that involves self-collection of a specimen and interpretation of results, is deemed potentially helpful for increasing testing amongst population groups like young people...
Article
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The armed conflict in Tigray, which spanned from November 2020 to November 2022, along with the accompanying siege, led to the near-total collapse of Tigray’s healthcare system. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, the most common chronic condition in children, requires significant lifestyle adjustments, including daily insulin injections, regular glucose mon...
Article
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Progress in addressing systematic health inequities, both between and within countries, has been slow. However, there are examples of actions taken on social determinants of health and policy changes aimed at shaping the underlying sociopolitical context that drives these inequities. Using case study methodology, this article identifies five countr...
Article
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Background Young people (YP) are disproportionately affected by the HIV pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), but testing rates remain low despite global targets of testing 95% of people with HIV infection by 2030. HIV self-testing (HIVST) has been recently introduced to reach high-risk population groups such as these. Thus, synthesis of emerging e...
Article
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Objectives In areas with limited and unaffordable biomedical mental health services, such as sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), traditional healers are an incredibly well-used source of mental healthcare. This systematic review synthesises the available evidence on traditional healing practices, factors to access it and its effectiveness in improving people...
Article
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Carers were disproportionately harmed in the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite facing an increased risk of contracting the virus, they continued in frontline roles in care services and acted as “shock absorbers” for their families and communities. In this article, we apply an intersectional lens to examine care work and the structural factors disadvantagi...
Article
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Men who have sex with men" (MSM) had predominantly driven the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) transmission in Indonesia. This study was aimed to investigate the health information-seeking behaviours, intimate partner violence, and sexual risk-taking among MSM in Bali, Indonesia. Total of 165 eligible responses were enrolled through an online sur...
Article
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University students may be particularly vulnerable to develop mental disorders, including depression, due to sudden and unexpected changes in their daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to assess depression among male smokers and non-smokers university students during the first wave of COVID-19 in Bangladesh. A web-based...
Preprint
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Background Medical male circumcision has been recommended as a strategy for reducing HIV transmission as it is associated with a reduced risk of HIV infection. There is limited evidence on how traditional male circumcision (TMC) practice including risky sexual behaviours following the cultural practice may lead to HIV transmission although it remai...
Article
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Background Despite the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden of armed conflicts and HIV infection, there has been inadequate synthesis of the impact of armed conflict on HIV treatment outcomes. We summarized the available evidence on the impact of armed conflicts on HIV treatment outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2002 to 20...
Preprint
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Background The war between Tigray Regional Government in Northern Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Federal Government along with its allies followed by the accompanying siege between November 2020 and November 2022 led to the collapse of Tigray’s healthcare system. The present study compared diabetes care among children at the Ayder Comprehensive Special...
Article
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Background The implementation of maternity waiting home (MWH) has been used as a strategy to improve maternal health outcomes in low-resource settings such as Ethiopia. However, MWH utilization is low in Ethiopia, and women's access to MWH depends largely on male partners' decisions. This study explored male-partners perspectives of MWHs including...
Article
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Background Maternity waiting homes are used to enhance women's access to health facilities in low-resource settings; however, its use remains low in Ethiopia. It is important to investigate strategies that can enhance the usage of maternity waiting homes in Ethiopia. Methods The purpose of his study is to assess how well couple-focused health educ...
Article
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Background World AIDS Day has been observed on the first of December every year. Whilst there are specific themes during the commemoration, the role of conflict on HIV seems neglected and needs prioritization given the rise of conflicts globally. Discussion The global HIV response brought substantial reduction of new HIV infections and HIV-related...
Article
Background Frailty is increasingly becoming a public health concern, especially among vulnerable populations. Older migrants from Low- and Middle-Income Countries to High Income Countries present with poorer health and are at increased risk of becoming frail. This review aims to explore the prevalence, perceptions, and experiences of frailty among...
Article
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Background Dengue fever, the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral infection, is a recurrent public health threat in Bangladesh. Despite the government’s efforts, dengue outbreaks are on the upswing, and people’s knowledge, belief, and preventive practices regarding the disease at the rural community level are unclear. Objective The objective of thi...
Article
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This cluster-randomized controlled trial examined the effect of couple-based health education on male partners’ knowledge and attitude towards maternity waiting homes (MWH) in rural Ethiopia. Sixteen clusters and 320 couples were randomly assigned to intervention group (receiving group health education, home visits and print health messages alongsi...
Article
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Background Access to basic health services, notably child health services, is severely hampered by the armed conflict in Tigray, North Ethiopia. Little is known regarding the impacts of the armed conflict during the war in Tigray on access to child health services. The current study investigates the impact of the armed conflict on the utilization o...
Article
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HIV diagnosis and management have often caused disruption to the everyday life and imagined futures of people living with HIV, both at individual and social levels. This disruption has been conceptualised, in a rather dystopian way, as ‘biographical disruption’. This paper explores whether or not biographical disruption of living with HIV encourage...
Article
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Introduction Armed conflicts have significant negative impacts on the entire healthcare system in general and HIV care system in particular. Sub-Saharan Africa is suffering from a disproportionate double burden of armed conflict and HIV infection. Nevertheless, the impact of the armed conflict on the HIV treatment outcomes in conflict settings in s...
Article
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Importance: The war in Tigray, Ethiopia, has disrupted the health care system of the region. However, its association with health care services disruption for chronic diseases has not been well documented. Objective: To assess the association of the war with the utilization of health care services for patients with chronic diseases. Design, set...
Article
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Background: A comprehensive understanding of temporal trends in the disease burden in Australia is lacking, and these trends are required to inform health service planning and improve population health. We explored the burden and trends of diseases and their risk factors in Australia from 1990 to 2019 through a comprehensive analysis of the Global...
Article
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Ethiopia has implemented maternity waiting homes over the last several decades; however, its utilization is low. This study aimed to assess the factors associated with knowledge of and attitude towards maternity waiting homes among pregnant women in rural Ethiopia. The baseline survey was conducted from September 15 to October 30, 2022, in rural So...
Article
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Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a major global public health issue that affects the quality of life (QoL) of people living with HIV (PLHIV) globally and in Indonesia. As a part of a large-scale qualitative study investigating HIV risk factors and impacts on PLHIV and facilitators of and barriers to their access to HIV care services in Yogyaka...
Preprint
HIV diagnosis and management have often caused disruptions to the everyday life and imagined futures of people living with HIV, both at individual and social levels. This has been conceptualised, in a rather dystopian way, as ‘biographical disruption’. This paper attempts to re-cast data from interviews with 40 men living with HIV (MLHIV) in Yogyak...
Article
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Previous research on commercial determinants of health has primarily focused on their impact on non-communicable diseases. However, they also impact on infectious diseases and on the broader preconditions for health. We describe, through case studies in 16 countries, how commercial determinants of health were visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, a...
Article
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Background The war in Tigray, North Ethiopia which started in November 2020, has destroyed decades of the region’s healthcare success. There is some emerging published evidence on attacks on health care in the region, and we synthesized the available evidence on ‘perilous medicine’ in Tigray to understand the data source, subjects and content cover...
Article
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Background Acute Severe Hepatitis of Unknown Etiology (ASHUE) emerged as a new global outbreak in Indonesia early May 2022, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to understand public reactions and responses to the emergence of ASHUE Indonesia and to Government-led disease prevention responses. Understanding how the public perceive...
Article
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Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant influence on the access to healthcare services. This study aimed to understand the views and experiences of people living with HIV (PLHIV) about barriers to their access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) service in Belu district, Indonesia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Thi...
Article
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HIV infection and its sequelae continue to be a significant challenge among women and their families in developing countries despite the progress that has been made in the prevention and treatment of HIV. This paper describes the strategies employed by mothers with HIV to cope with the various challenges experienced following their own and their ch...
Preprint
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Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant influence on access to healthcare services. This study aimed to understand the views and experiences of people living with HIV (PLHIV) about barriers to their access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) service in Belu district, Indonesia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Th...
Article
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Background Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-res...
Article
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Background Health, disability, and community services are increasingly transitioning from government-led to participant-led funding models, which intend to increase choice and control for service users. Allied health practitioners, who provide many frontline services within the resultant marketised environment, must adjust their knowledge and skill...
Book
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Migration has always been a feature of human populations, with people migrating and crisscrossing the globe for a wide range of reasons. During the 21st century [1], there have been substantial increases and changes in international migration and resettlement patterns due to factors including: people’s ability to travel, ease of communication and t...
Preprint
Full-text available
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a major global public health issue that affects the quality of life (QoL) of people living with HIV (PLHIV) globally and in Indonesia. As a part of a large-scale qualitative study investigating HIV risk factors and impacts on PLHIV and facilitators of and barriers to their access to HIV care services in Yogyaka...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives This study aimed to map the national, regional and local prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in Ethiopia. Design and setting Nationwide cross-sectional survey in Ethiopia combined with georeferenced ecological level data from publicly available sources. Participants 9801 participants aged between 15 and 69 years. Primary outcome m...
Article
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Fistula is roaring in the ongoing war on Tigray. The potential risk factors for fistula in the conflict zone include obstructed labour due to limited or absent maternal care services, a correlation between malnutrition-stunted growth and birth difficulties and trauma, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to conflict-related sexual violenc...
Article
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Migrant populations are one of the vulnerable groups to HIV transmission and its consequences. They are also reported to experience delayed entry or linkage into HIV services and have poorer HIV-related health outcomes. This study aimed to understand barriers to accessing HIV care services in host countries among Indonesian, male, former (returned)...
Article
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HIV infection is a major public health concern, with a range of negative impacts on People Living with HIV (PLHIV). A qualitative study in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, using in-depth interviews with 26 Women Living with HIV (WLHIV) was conducted to understand HIV risk factors and impact and their access to HIV care services. This paper describes the self...
Article
Full-text available
Migration has always been a feature of human populations, with people migrating and crisscrossing the globe for a wide range of reasons. During the 21st century [1], there have been substantial increases and changes in international migration and resettlement patterns due to factors including: people's ability to travel, ease of communication and t...
Article
Full-text available
Background The practices of transnational corporations (TNCs) affect population health through unhealthy products, shaping social determinants of health, or influencing the regulatory structures governing their activities. There has been limited research on community exposures to TNC policies and practices. The aim of this paper was to adapt existi...
Article
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Background Despite measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the world, it is increasing day by day. Countries that implement good prevention strategies are less likely to be infected with COVID-19 than those that do not. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices toward COVID-19 early in the out...
Article
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Background Even though the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and the increasing vaccination rates are promising, there are reports of refusal to get vaccinated in a different segment of the population, including health care workers. Objective This study determines the acceptance/refusal of the COVID-19 vaccination and it...
Data
Sarker R, Islam MS, Moonajilin MS, Rahman M, Gesesew HA, et al. (2022) Knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination practices and its barriers among university female students in Bangladesh: Findings from a cross-sectional study. PLOS ONE 17(6): e0270417. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270417
Data
Sarker R, Islam MS, Moonajilin MS, Rahman M, Gesesew HA, et al. (2022) Knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination practices and its barriers among university female students in Bangladesh: Findings from a cross-sectional study. PLOS ONE 17(6): e0270417. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270417
Article
Full-text available
Early diagnosis of breast cancer is the best approach towards its control that may result in alleviating related mortality and morbidity. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge about breast cancer and both practices and perceived barriers to breast self-examination among female university students in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was carried...
Article
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We conducted a qualitative study involving African migrants (n = 20) and service providers (n = 10) in South Australia to explore mental health stressors, access to mental health services and how to improve mental health services for African migrant populations. This paper presents the views and experiences of African migrants about the post-migrat...
Article
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Background The present study assessed the prevalence of and factor associated with suicidal ideations among adult Eritrean refugees in Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 400 adult refugees living in the Mai-Aini refugee camp in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia from September 2019 to May 2020. The respo...
Article
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Background The present study aimed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with neglected and non-consented care during childbirth in public health facilities in Central Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods A health facility-based cross-sectional survey supplemented by a qualitative study was conducted from April to May 2020 among women giving birth....
Article
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Introduction Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is continued to be a major public health problem in low-income countries and more importantly in Africa. For the last decade, access to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and its impact in improving quality of life and reducing HIV-related morbidity and mortality has significantly been improved in Africa. N...
Article
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Background Previous Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) studies have reported national health estimates for Ethiopia. Substantial regional variations in socioeconomic status, population, demography, and access to health care within Ethiopia require comparable estimates at the subnational level. The GBD 2019 Ethiopia su...
Data
A pre-post quasi-experimental interventional study was conducted among female university students residing in dormitories of Jahanginagar University in Dhaka, Bangladesh from December 2019 to March 2020.
Article
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Background Breast cancer is a global health issue and a leading cause of death among women. Early detection through increased awareness and knowledge on breast cancer and breast cancer screening is thus crucial. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of an educational intervention program on breast cancer knowledge and the practice o...
Article
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Objectives Although some studies have identified various challenges affecting nutritional programmes to effectively tackle undernutrition among people living with HIV, evidence about the characteristics and impacts of these programmes on weight-related nutritional outcomes varies based on country contexts, specific programme goals and the implement...
Article
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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems in both developed and developing nations alike. Africa has one of the weakest health systems globally, but there is limited evidence on how the region is prepared for, impacted by and responded to the pandemic. Methods We conducted a scoping review of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL to search p...
Article
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Background It is known that ‘drop out’ from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment, the so called lost-to-follow-up (LTFU) occurs to persons enrolled in HIV care services. However, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the risk factors for the LTFU are not well understood. Methods We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of risk factors for...
Article
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Access to mental health services is essential to improving health and well-being of population groups including migrants. This paper describes views and perspectives of African migrants and service providers about how to improve access to mental healthcare services for African migrants in South Australia. The study employed a qualitative design usi...
Article
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Background: Ectopic pregnancy is a neglected and challenging gynecologic problem in developing countries including Ethiopia. Objective: The present study is aimed at assessing the prevalence of ectopic pregnancy, its management outcomes, and factors associated with management outcomes in Tigray, North Ethiopia. Methods: We employed a four-year...
Article
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The war in Tigray region of Ethiopia that started in November 2020 and is still ongoing has brought enormous damage to the health system. This analysis provides an assessment of the health system before and during the war. Evidence of damage was compiled from November 2020 to June 2021 from various reports by the interim government of Tigray, and a...
Article
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BACKGROUND: Documentation of patterns and long-term trends in mortality in young people, which reflect huge changes in demographic and social determinants of adolescent health, enables identification of global investment priorities for this age group. We aimed to analyse data on the number of deaths, years of life lost, and mortality rates by sex a...