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Article History

Received: 14 April 2025

Accepted: 17 July 2025

First Online: 30 July 2025

Declarations

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: Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Institutional Review Board of the College of Health Sciences and Medicine at Wolaita Sodo University under certificate Ref. number WSU-IRRC/211/2025. Following this, a letter of cooperation was drafted and submitted to each participating university. Before the commencement of data collection, informed written consent was obtained from all female students involved in the study, who were informed of their right to decline participation in the interviews. Strict measures were implemented to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of the respondents throughout the research process. The study rigorously adhered to essential ethical principles, including beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice, to safeguard the well-being of the participants. Additionally, consent was secured from all participants for the publication of anonymized responses derived from in-depth interviews. However, it is important to note that we are unable to disseminate the audio recordings of these interviews, as participants explicitly requested that these recordings not be shared with any third parties. This study carefully followed the ethical guidelines outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki regarding research involving human subjects, as well as the publication ethics established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.