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Article History

Received: 12 September 2025

Accepted: 1 March 2026

First Online: 1 April 2026

Declarations

:

: Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Hawassa University, College of Health Sciences (IRB Ref. No.: IRB/210/15). A supporting letter was also obtained from Hawassa University. Additional permission letters were secured from the Department of Environmental Health and provided to the Wondo Genet District administration and the respective kebeles. All ethical requirements of the University and local authorities were strictly adhered to throughout the study. All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional review board and in compliance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all study participants before participation. Participants were informed about the purpose of the study, their right to refuse or withdraw at any time, and confidentiality of the information was strictly maintained. Prior to data collection, all study participants were fully informed about the purpose, procedures, potential risks, and expected benefits of the study. Written and verbal informed consent was obtained from each participant. Participation was voluntary, and participants were informed of their right to withdraw at any time without any consequences. Confidentiality was maintained by de-identifying participant information and securely storing all data, including locked hard-copy documents.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.