BackgroundPublic healthcare practices, particularly disease prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients, heavily rely on the availability and functionality of medical equipment. The absence of sufficient medical equipment and the malfunctioning of existing equipment impede the ability to provide effective healthcare services and directly affect patient rehabilitation, while the challenges related to medical equipment utilization are huge, especially in countries with limited resources such as Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the availability, functionality, and barriers associated with the use of medical equipment at public comprehensive specialized hospitals in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study design involving both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted. Eight (n = 8) comprehensive specialized hospitals in the Amhara region were selected purposefully and included in this study. The data used to assess the availability and functionality of medical equipment items (n = 78) listed by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health that are supposed to be available in all of the comprehensive specialized hospitals were collected from 29 May to 18 June 2023. Self-administered structured questionnaires, observational checklists, and key informant interview guides were used to collect the necessary data. To analyze the quantitative data, descriptive statistics were employed, and qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic approach.ResultsThe study revealed that the availability of medical equipment in at least one hospital was 55.93% on average, and the availability of at least one piece of medical equipment in the surveyed hospitals was only 25.6%. The overall functional status of medical equipment was 74.68%. The present study also indicated that 75% of the surveyed facility's biomedical engineers did not receive on-the-job training regularly. Of the eight surveyed facilities, only one had spare parts and accessories for their medical equipment and the majority (87.5%) of the facilities did not have enough medical equipment storage space and did not have medical equipment policies. The qualitative findings of this study showed that issues with the utilization of the Medical Equipment Management Information System, a lack of spare parts and accessories, the absence of a well-equipped and standardized maintenance workshop, and insufficient operator training were the major challenges.ConclusionThis study revealed critical deficiencies in medical equipment availability, functionality, and barriers to maintenance at the surveyed facilities. Therefore, to improve healthcare service delivery, collaborative efforts and targeted interventions are essential in optimizing the availability and functionality of medical equipment at each and every health facility.

Projected Coordinate System: Adindan_UTM_Zone_37N Projection: Transverse_Mercator

Data collection

After they gave birth, women were identified and interviewed from emergency OPD, labor ward, and in-patient wards every day before they discharged from the hospital by data collectors using pretested and structured questionnaires.

The referral papers reviewed and date, time and diagnosis of referral was recorded for each mother. The triage paper and patient chart are also reviewed including mode of transportation, date and time of arrival, sources of referrals, obstetrics performances, the time taken to admit/get the service after arrival, diagnosis at receiving hospital, gestational age, place and mode of delivery, newborn outcomes, and severe maternal complications types and managements. Women interviewed on socio-demographic characteristics, time interval to seek medical advice and reason for the delay to seek the care (if there was).

Data Process/analysis

Data were entered in epi-info version 7.2.2.6 and transported to SPSS Version-21 statistics softw...

Abstract

This survey was conducted in the scope of the Global Fund Five-Year Evaluation. Purpose (1) To provide population-based data on knowledge of TB and HIV/AIDS; sexual behavior; utilization of services related to HIV testing and maternal and child health; and coverage of IRS and bednets (2) To provide basic information on health expenditure

Objective To provide data to evaluate the following areas: -Resource tracking [Inputs] -Access/coverage/use of services [Outcomes] -Public health impact [Impact] -Health system strengthening [Impact]

Content Types of indicators: - household level demographic and socio-economic indicators such as education, wealth assets, residence - HIV- Knowledge and Behavior, Prevention, Counseling and Testing, PMTCT - Tuberculosis- Knowledge and Behavior - Malaria - ITN, IRS, IPTp, Prompt and effective treatment - Health system effects - Financing

Geographic coverage

Representative at the Woreda cluster level, for selected Regions. Woredas are grouped, by region, to form "district" like groups (each with 5 woredas), which yields a total number of 160 woreda clusters. Each woreda group will have one index cluster with an ART hospital. The selected Woredas are not nationally representative.

Analysis unit

• Households
• Children under 5 years
• Women

Universe

The survey covered all de jure household members, all women 15-49 years,

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The following clustering sampling steps are used: 1. Woredas are grouped, by region, to form “district” like groups (each with 5 woredas), which yields a total number of 160 woreda clusters. Each woreda group will have one index cluster with an ART hospital. Four woredas closest to the index woreda are selected to form one woreda cluster together the index woreda.

1. Accordingly 35 woreda clusters are selected across the regions, using PPS procedures. The total number of groups were 35(35/175 = 22%). The samples were distributed to each of the 11 regions based on probability proportional to size. Regions with few facilities have at least 1 hospital, hence that hospital and its health facility network are completely enumerated.

2. For each woreda cluster, 3 Enumeration Areas (EAs) per woreda selected. There was 525 EAs across the country, which is somehow similar to size of the DHS survey. About 17 households are selected randomly per EA for a total of 8750 HHs. The 8750 households were divided across the 35 woreda groups proportionally. Then the total household allocated to each cluster was distributed to the woredas based on proportional to size.

3. Within each woreda, one urban EA was selected with the other two EAs being rural. This was yield roughly 35 urban EAs and 315 rural or a 1:9, which is similar to the overall urban-rural distribution of population.

Level of representation - Woreda level

Strategy for absent respondents - no replacement

Sample frame - Original sample frame of clusters is based on the 2007 census and household listing in selected clusters prior to systematically selecting the households.

Sampling deviation

From the whole selected Woredas, one Woreda is not covered during the survey due to inaccessability

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Questionnaire modules were based on the standard DHS, including a HH and a woman questionnaire. - Household modules include: Household listing of members and demographic information, Household members, Bednets, Health expenditures, Deaths in the household, - Woman modules include: Respondent's background, Birth history, Antenatal and delivery care, Immunization, Diarrhea, Fever and malaria, Tuberculosis, Marriage and sexual activity, HIV/AIDS

Cleaning operations

Data editing, processing and analysis of the DCA was carried out using Epi-Info version 3.3.2 and CSPro 3.3.

Response rate

The total number of households interviewed was 8,325, yielding a household response rate of 99 percent. A total of 8,358 eligible women were identified in these households and interviews were completed for 7,457 women, yielding a response rate of 89.2 percent.

Data appraisal

Frequency checks and data cleaning during data colletion, and final data cleaning was done using Epi-Info

This study was done to understand the quality of maternal and immediate postpartum care in Dire Dawa Administration’s public health system. Cross-sectional primary data was collected in 9 facilities. Public facilities with the highest volumes of deliveries using the 2019 health information system data were included in the study; these facilities were collectively responsible for 83% of the facility deliveries in the region in 2019. The selected facilities consisted of two public hospitals, four health centers in Dire Dawa City and three rural health centers. Data tools in this dataset include observations of deliveries, interviews with observed clients upon discharge from the facility, and interviews with all providers who provided care. First, all providers who provided intrapartum or immediate postpartum care in the study facilities were invited to take part in a provider survey that asked about their training, perceptions of the working environment and quality of care, and knowledge of complications diagnoses and management. Second, quality of care was assessed through observations of deliveries by trained health workers. All clients presenting for delivery during the observation period were invited to participate in the study and their care was observed from the time of arrival at the facility until 6 hours postpartum or discharge from the facility. Data collectors identified which items providers completed on a checklist adapted from the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program tool from USAID. Finally, all participants whose care was observed were invited to participate in an exit interview upon their discharge from the facility. Observations of care were conducted in most facilities from December 22, 2020 to February 20, 2021. However, until January 31, 2021, one of the hospitals (Sabian Primary Hospital) was not accepting maternity patients because it was a designated Covid-19 treatment facility. Observations of delivery care in Sabian, therefore, occurred between February 13 and March 21, 2021. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from Harvard University IRB (IRB19-0926), Haramaya University IRB (IHRERC/138/219) and the Ethiopia National Research Ethics and Review Committee (MoSHE//RD/1411/9403/RO).

Obstetrics, facility & health service -related characteristics of the participants at public hospitals in South Gondar zone, Ethiopia, 2023 (n = 763).

Participants’ frequency and percentage distribution of laboratory services at selected public hospitals in Ethiopia, November 2017.

Distribution of socio-demographic characteristics of diabetes patients attending public hospitals of western Ethiopia (N = 398).

The distribution of healthcare workers by their practices of TBIC measures in public hospitals; Gamo Gofa Zone, Ethiopia, 2019.

Bivariable and multivariable linear logistic regression analysis for factors affecting person-centered maternity care in public hospitals, South Gondar zone, Ethiopia, 2023.

Distribution of socio-demographic characteristics of respondents at public hospitals in Ethiopia, November 2017.

Hepatitis B virus infection poses a significant public health challenge among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, where it is often underdiagnosed and underreported. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and associated factors of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women attending antenatal care in public hospitals in the Central Ethiopian region. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 1, 2023, to March 1, 2024, among 482 pregnant women selected using systematic random sampling. Blood samples were collected and tested for hepatitis B surface antigen, and data were gathered using a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with hepatitis B infection, with significance at p 

Distribution of neonatal near miss conditions among neonates delivered in selected public hospitals of Jimma zone, southwest Ethiopia, 2020 (n = 255).

Database for National noma cases who have undergone reconstructive surgery in Ethiopia from 2015 to 2020.

Socio-demographic characteristics of women who delivered at public and private hospitals in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia, 2013 (n = 512).

Sociodemographic characteristics participants and distributions of IPV during pregnancy in public hospitals, Amhara region, Ethiopia.

Obstetric and medical conditions of participants in public hospitals, Amhara region, Ethiopia.

Obstetric and other reproductive health-related characteristics of respondents in Dessie town hospitals, 2013(n = 512).

Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of factors associated with cesarean section both at hospitals in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia, 2013(n = 512).

BackgroundEthiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in Africa. Few have examined the quality of labour and delivery (L&D) care in the country. This study evaluated the quality of routine L&D care and identified patient-level and hospital-level factors associated with the quality of care in a subset of government hospitals.Materials and methodsThis was a facility-based, cross-sectional study using direct non-participant observation carried out in 2016. All mothers who received routine L&D care services at government hospitals (n = 20) in one of the populous regions of Ethiopia, Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), were included. Mixed effects multilevel linear regression modeling was employed in two stages using hospital as a random effect, with quality of L&D care as the outcome and selected patient and hospital characteristics as independent variables. Patient characteristics included woman’s age, number of previous births, number of skilled attendants involved in care process, and presence of any danger sign in current pregnancy. Hospital characteristics included teaching hospital status, mean number of attended births in the previous year, number of fulltime skilled attendants in the L&D ward, whether the hospital had offered refresher training on L&D care in the previous 12 months, and the extent to which the hospital met the 2014 Ethiopian Ministry of Health standards regarding to resources available for providing quality of L&D care (measured on a 0–100% scale). These standards pertain to availability of human resource by category and training status, availability of essential drugs, supplies and equipment in L&D ward, availability of laboratory services and safe blood, and availability of essential guidelines for key L&D care processes.ResultsOn average, the hospitals met two-thirds of the standards for L&D care quality, with substantial variation between hospitals (standard deviation 10.9 percentage points). While the highest performing hospital met 91.3% of standards, the lowest performing hospital met only 35.8% of the standards. Hospitals had the highest adherence to standards in the domain of immediate and essential newborn care practices (86.8%), followed by the domain of care during the second and third stages of labour (77.9%). Hospitals scored substantially lower in the domains of active management of third stage of labour (AMTSL) (42.2%), interpersonal communication (47.2%), and initial assessment of the woman in labour (59.6%). We found the quality of L&D care score was significantly higher for women who had a history of any danger sign (β = 5.66; p-value = 0.001) and for women who were cared for at a teaching hospital (β = 12.10; p-value = 0.005). Additionally, hospitals with lower volume and more resources available for L&D care (P-values < 0.01) had higher L&D quality scores.ConclusionsOverall, the quality of L&D care provided to labouring mothers at government hospitals in SNNPR was limited. Lack of adherence to standards in the areas of the critical tasks of initial assessment, AMTSL, interpersonal communication during L&D, and respect for women’s preferences are especially concerning. Without greater attention to the quality of L&D care, regardless of how accessible hospital L&D care becomes, maternal and neonatal mortality rates are unlikely to decrease substantially.