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Article History

Received: 13 January 2025

Accepted: 14 December 2025

First Online: 1 January 2026

Declarations

:

: Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Wolaita Sodo University Institutional Review Board (WSU-IRB), under protocol number WSU-IRB/598861/2024, on October 25, 2024. Before data collection, informed consent was obtained from all participants. It was clearly communicated to the participants that they had the right to decline involvement in both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study at any time, and strict confidentiality measures were put in place to safeguard their privacy. Throughout the study, the core ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice were consistently upheld to ensure the safety and well-being of the participants. Furthermore, informed consent was obtained from all participants for the publication of anonymized responses. Additionally, the study adhered strictly to the ethical guidelines outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for research involving human subjects, as well as the publication ethics standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.