PREVALENCE OF NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG NEONATES ADMITTED TO NEONATOLOGY UNIT, AT HIWOT FANA SPECIALIZED UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

Neural tube defects account for most congenital anomalies of the central nervous system. Globally, it is estimated that approximately 300,000 babies are born each year with Neural tube defects, resulting in approximately 88,000 deaths and 8.6 million disability-adjusted life years. Despite the national burden of the disease, studies that assess the national magnitude and their associated factors are limited. As far as our knowledge, no previous study is present to determine the magnitude of neural tube defects and their associated factors in the study area. Objective: This study aims to determine the magnitude of neural tube defects and their associated factors among neonates admitted to neonatology unit at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Harar, Ethiopia from December 15, 2019 to February 15, 2020 Method: A hospital-based cross-sectional study will be employed. All neonates and their respective mothers who are admitted to HFSUH neonatal unit during the study period will be included with non-probability convenience sampling technique. Sample size will be 420. Data will be collected using a structured questionnaire, entered into Epi Data version 4.1, transferred and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 software. Descriptive statistics including frequency and proportions, means will be calculated. The odds ratio at 95% confidence interval will be used to check for the strength of the association between dependent and independent variables. Statistically significant will be declared at P-value < 0.05. Expected outcome: High prevalence of neural tube defect will be expected from this study since previous studies from developing countries show a high prevalence of neural tube defect