Frequency distributions of health service access characteristics of deliveries attended in public hospitals in Wolaita zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia, 2019 (N = 725).

Objectives: To assess where the delays occur in the referral chain at most and maternal health outcomes based on the three delay model in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Design: The study was a facility-based cross-sectional study

Setting: Two public and tertiary hospitals in Addis Ababa

Participants: All pregnant women who were referred for only labor and delivery services after 28 weeks of gestation between December 2018 and February 2019 in Zewditu and Gandhi Memorial hospitals.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome was the type of delays from the three-delay model which met operationally defined time. Maternal health outcomes based on the three-delay model as a secondary outcome.

Results: A total of 403 pregnant women referred for delivery to the study hospitals were included in the study. Three-fourth (301, 74.7%) of referred pregnant women had the third delay (delayed receiving appropriate care); (211, 52.4%) had a first delay (delay in making a decision to seek care). Overall 366(90.8%) pregnant women had experienced at least one of the three delays and 71(17.6%) had all the three delays. Twenty-nine (7.2%) referred women had severe maternal outcomes (SMO). The most leading causes/diagnosis of SMO were blood transfusion 17 (58.6%) followed by postpartum hemorrhage 15 (52%) then eclampsia 9 (31%). In addition, women who experienced severe maternal outcomes were 2.9 times more likely to have at least one of the three delays.

Conclusion & recommendation: This study highlights the persistence of delays at all levels and especially delay three and its contribution to severe maternal outcomes. Strengthening health referral systems and addressing specific health system bottlenecks during labor and birth in order to ensure no mother will be endangered. We also recommend a qualitative method of study (focus group discussion and in-depth interview) and observing the tertiary hospitals set-up and readiness to manage obstetrics emergencies.

Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis of factors associated with stillbirth in public hospitals of Wolaita zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia, 2019.

Association between health care professional characteristics and patient safety culture at public hospitals in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia, 2019 (N = 411).

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).

Frequency distributions of obstetric and reproductive characteristics of women who gave birth in public hospitals of Wolaita zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia, 2019 (n = 725).

Socio-demographic characteristics among health professionals working at public hospitals in East Gojjam Zone Northwest Ethiopia, 2019 (n = 561).

Socio-demographic characteristics of health care professionals at public hospitals in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia, April 2019 (N = 411).

Frequency distributions of lifestyle behavioral characteristics of women who gave birth in public hospitals of Wolaita zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia, 2019 (n = 725).

Anemia is still a significant public health problem in Africa including Ethiopia. It has multifaceted causes from nutritional deficiency and infections to autoimmune diseases to genetic factors. Iron deficiency (ID) is the leading cause of anemia and is estimated to contribute to 42% of cases in children aged under five years [1]. In its most recent nutritional anemias prevention and control tool, World Health Organization acknowledged the proportion of anemia attributable to ID could be lower than the previously assumed 50% [2]. A national micronutrient survey in Ethiopia reported that iron deficiency anemia (IDA) accounts for 35.8% of anemia cases using sTfR (soluble serum transferrin receptor) among preschool age (6 - 59 months) children [3]. There are other important causes of anemia among preschool and school-age children including folate and vitamin B12 deficiency, acute and chronic infection/inflammation and parasitic infestation. However, evidence on the types of anemia (other than iron deficiency) that contribute to the remaining large portion is not well established. This dataset tries to determine the magnitude and types of anemia in relation to age based on red blood cell (RBC) morphology among 6-59 months old children who visited Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital (HUCRH). Electronic hematological records of all children 6-59 months who visited Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital (HUCRH) for health service and medical care between May 2017 to May 2019 were retrieved from the hospital laboratory. The hematological data retrieved included age, sex and town/city of residence and results of Complete Blood Count (CBC) tests including hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBC count and RBC indices (mean corpuscular volume [MCV], mean corpuscular hemoglobin [MCH] and red cell distribution width [RDW]. HUCRH used CELL-DYN Ruby, SYSMEX and Mindray hematology analyzers to carry out CBC tests. As per WHO guideline, hemoglobin (Hgb) values were adjusted for altitude and anemia was defined as hemoglobin values of < 11.0g/dl. Severity of anemia was categorized as mild, moderate and severe by hemoglobin levels of 10-10.9g/dl, 7-9.9 g/dl and <7 g/dl respectively. Red blood cell indices used to classify anemia were MCV, MCH and RDW. In this dataset, iron deficiency anemia is defined as microcytic (low MCV) and hypochromic (low MCH) anemia with high red cell distribution width (RDW).

Maternal demographic and obstetric characteristics of LBW neonates admitted to the neonatal ICU in Hawassa city, Sidama region, Ethiopia, 2019.

Facility and work-related characteristics of study participants at public hospitals in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia, April 2019 (N = 411).

IntroductionMedicine plays a crucial role in the field of healthcare as a therapeutically significant pharmaceutical product. By effectively preventing diseases, medicine has the power to save countless lives and improve the quality of life for people worldwide. However, despite hospitals' efforts to provide medical care to patients, a significant issue arises from the substantial amount of drugs that go unused due to expiration dates. This problem is particularly prevalent in resource-limited countries like Ethiopia, where the pharmaceutical supply system fails to adequately address the issue of expired drugs in public hospitals, leading to an unsatisfactory situation. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the economic impact and volume of expired medicines in the selected public hospitals in Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia.MethodsA hospital-based cross-sectional study design was conducted to assess the economic impact and volume of expired medicines available in the public hospitals in Jimma Zone. All available hospitals that fulfilled the EFDA guidelines were included. The medication expiration rate was calculated by dividing the total monetary value of expired medicines in a year by the total value of medicines received in the same year multiplied by 100. Then, the collected data was cleared, filtered, coded, and quantitatively analyzed using the Microsoft Excel 2010 version.ResultsThe average medicine waste rate was 4.87% in the fiscal year of 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 in Jimma Zone public hospitals worth 32,453.3 US$. Additionally, the facility wasted an estimated of 2711.44 US$ on the disposal of expired medicines. The expiration of medicines has been linked to several issues, including near-expiry, irrational prescribing practices, and weak participation of clinicians in medicine selection and quantification of the facility. Additionally, only two hospitals had relatively good storage and handling practices.ConclusionOverall, the expiration rate of medicines in the public hospitals in Jimma Zone was greater than the allowed level of 2%. In order to optimize the allocation of healthcare funds and ensure the appropriate use of pharmacologically significant medications it is vital to conduct a comprehensive examination at the national level within a regional hospitals.

Socio-demographic characteristics of breast cancer patients diagnosed at University of Gondar and Felege Hiwot Specialized hospitals North-west Ethiopia, 2019.

Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis of predictors of in-hospital mortality at ACSH, Northern Ethiopia, 2019.

Bi-variable and multi-variable logistic regression analysis of factors associated with intention to leave among health professionals working at public hospitals in East Gojjam zone North West Ethiopia, 2019 (n = 561).

Socio-demographic characteristic of the study participants (n = 370) in Gondar Specialized Hospital, Gondar town, northwest Ethiopia, 2019.

Bivariate and Multivariable analysis of variables associated with quality of life among epileptic patients at Debre Markos and Motta hospital, East Gojjam zone, Ethiopia, 2019 (n = 402).

Duration of illness, number of caregivers, lost workdays, loss of income and indirect costs per VL episode in US$ (1US$ = 28.91 ET Birr in 2019).

Lifestyle characteristicsofT2DM patients attending public hospitals in Harari region, Eastern Ethiopia, February to March2019 (n = 374).