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Article History

Received: 29 December 2025

Accepted: 29 June 2026

First Online: 3 July 2026

Declarations

:

: Ethical clearance for this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences (Ref. No. IRB/537/17, dated July 7, 2025). Formal permission was also secured from the Department of Internal Medicine prior to data collection. All eligible participants provided informed consent after the study objectives were explained. Written consent was obtained from those able to sign; for participants unable to provide a signature, verbal consent was documented by the data collector and witnessed by an independent observer to ensure compliance with ethical standards. Participants were informed that their participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw at any time without consequences. To maintain confidentiality, no personal identifiers were recorded, and all information was kept strictly confidential and used solely for research purposes. The study was conducted from July 20 to September 30, 2025, in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

: Not Applicable.

: BZW is an Internal Medicine resident and clinician-researcher with expertise in Clinical Research Methodology and Epidemiology. KWE is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist, and a senior researcher. EAU is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and a junior researcher.

: The authors declare no competing interests.