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Tesfahun Zemene Tafere, Andualem Yalew Aschalew, Chalie Tadie Tsehay, Tsegaye Gebremedhin Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Tesfahun Zemene Tafere, Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O. Box: 196, Gondar, Ethiopia, Email tesfahunzemene4@gmail.comBackground: Even if giving birth at health facility is vital for both the mothers and their newborns, the coverage of institutional delivery in Ethiopia is very low (50%). In that regard, several studies have shown the possible factors of low delivery service uptake from the patients’ side, but evidences on delivery services at the health centers are meagre. This study aimed to evaluate the process of delivery services in public health centers of northwest Ethiopia.Methods: A case study evaluation design with an embedded mixed-method was used to evaluate institutional delivery in public health centers of Gondar city. Dimensions from the access (availability, accommodation, and acceptability) and implementation fidelity (compliance) frameworks were used. A total of 363 mothers, 32 document reviews, 32 direct observations, and 17 key informants were included. The qualitative data were transcribed, translated, coded, and analysed using a thematic analysis approach. The overall process of institutional delivery services was measured based on pre-determined judgmental criteria.Results: The overall facility delivery process was 75.1%, judged by availability (78.5%), compliance (70.6%), accommodation (68.8%), and acceptability (80.2%) of services. Essential medicines in some of the health centers were stockout, insufficient delivery rooms and inadequate training of health workers on obstetric and newborn care were observed. Using partograph and examining vulval-perineal region for possible laceration during intrapartum period were less practiced. Residence (AOR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.06– 0.30), ANC 1 to 3 visits (AOR: 2.65, 95% CI: 1.05– 6.74) and ANC4+ (AOR: 5.57, 95% CI: 2.09, 14.84) were factors affected acceptability of delivery services.Conclusion: Major constraints were in the accommodation of delivery services which needs a holistic effort from all stakeholders. Therefore, implementors with other stakeholders shall improve delivery rooms, facilitate training, and provide parenteral drugs as part of the obstetric and newborn care to improve the facility delivery services in Ethiopia.Keywords: acceptability, accommodation, availability, compliance, institutional delivery, evaluation

Introduction initiation of breastfeeding is crucial in preventing newborn deaths and influences childhood nutrition. There was limited updated evidence regarding early initiation of breast-feeding practice and associated factors among the target population in the study area. Objective To assess initiation of breastfeeding practice and its associated factors among mothers who have infants less than six months of age in, North West Ethiopia, 2020. Methods The Community based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 405 respondents in the stud area, then data would be entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 20 statistical packages. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression model analysis would be done. Odds ratio with 95% confidence was computed to determine the level of significance-value less than 0.05 considered as significant. Result This study showed that 94.7% of mothers in Debre Tabor Town practiced initiation of breastfeeding for their infants within the Less Than 12 Months of age. In multivariable analysis I n f a n t S e x, Female [AOR (95% CI) = 0.068 (0.002, 1.659), and Age of Mother 20–24 years [AOR (95% CI) = 2.33 (0.030, 17.12)], 25–29 years ((AOR = 8.20 [(95% CI: 12.212, 22.189]), and 30–34 years (AOR = 4.48 [95% CI: 0.463, 15.478], Assists (Attend) during delivery, Doctor (AOR = 0.644 [95% CI: 0.041, 10.138]) and Encourage BF by religious father (AOR = 6.669 [(95% CI: 4.27, 8.895]) were remained significantly associated with the outcome variable with at 95% CI and P- value of Conclusion and Recommendation: The prevalence of EIBF among mother-infant pairs of less than 12 months in debre tabor town, Northwest, Ethiopia, was found to be high as compared to national and global infant and young child feeding guidelines. However; it shows improvement as compared with some previous studies in Ethiopia. I n f a n t s e x, age of mother, assists during delivery, and encourage BF by religious father were factors associated with outcome in the stud area.

Background: Inadequate intake of food is one of the causes of malnutrition and has significant impact on the deaths of children in low-income countries. Community-based management of acute malnutrition was endorsed as a strategy to alleviate such burdens of child morbidity and mortality associated with malnutrition. Despite outpatient therapeutic program has decentralized to health post level, there is still a lack of adequate evidence regarding the recovery rates from outpatient therapeutic program at health post level in Ethiopia. In addition, the previous body of articles did not show the local situations, particularly the recovery rates of severe acute malnutrition children from outpatient therapeutic program in the central Gondar zone, Ethiopia. Aim: This study aimed to assess recovery rate and associated factors among severe acute malnourished children enrolled to outpatient therapeutic program at health posts of Central Gondar zone, Ethiopia. Methods: This study was a facility-based retrospective cross-sectional study conducted on 349 children who had managed for severe acute malnutrition in outpatient therapeutic program in Central Gondar zone from March to May 2021. A structured and pre-tested data extraction checklist adapted from literatures was used to collect the data. The children were selected using consecutive sampling from 39 health posts. Data were entered, cleaned, coded and analyzed using Stata version 14 software. Binary logistic regression was fitted to identify factors associated with recovery rate from outpatient therapeutic program. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and p-value

Getachew Asefa,1 Asmamaw Atnafu,2 Endalkachew Dellie,2 Tsegaye Gebremedhin,2 Andualem Yalew Aschalew,2 Chalie Tadie Tsehay2 1Shewarobit Primary Hospital, Shewarobit, North Shewa Zone Administration, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia; 2Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Chalie Tadie TsehayUniversity of Gondar, P.O. Box: 196, Gondar, EthiopiaEmail chatadie78@gmail.comPurpose: Health System Responsiveness is the key objective of the health system used to fulfil patients’ universal legitimate expectations. However, the health system’s responsiveness to HIV/AIDS was not assessed in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the health system responsiveness of HIV/AIDS treatment and care services and associated factors in the public health facilities of Shewarobit town, Ethiopia.Patients and Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed from 15 February to 15 April 2020 in the public health facilities of Shewarobit town. The data were collected among 416 randomly selected Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) users using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Responsiveness was measured using 27 Likert scale questions across seven responsiveness domains. A binary logistic regression model was fitted. A p-value of less than 0.05 and AOR with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to declare the associated factors in the final multivariable logistic regression analysis.Results: The overall health system responsiveness was 55.3% (95% CI: 50.6– 59.8). High performance of responsiveness was found on confidentiality, respect, and communication domains, whereas poor responsiveness was achieved in prompt attention and choice domains. Participants aged 50+ years (AOR:2.48, 95% CI, 1.12– 5.54), perceived good health (AOR: 3.10, 95% CI: 1.75– 5.48), patients’ satisfaction with care (AOR: 2.98, 95% CI: 1.35– 6.54) and history of visiting traditional healers (AOR: 2.50, 95% CI:1.51– 4.17) were factors associated with health system responsiveness of HIV/AIDS treatment and care services in the study area.Conclusions: Unacceptable responsive performance was found in choice and prompt attention domains. Participants’ age, perceived health status, history of visiting traditional healers, and patient satisfaction were factors that affect responsiveness in the study area. Thus, providing training, frequent supportive supervision, improving community awareness, and incorporating traditional healers in the modern health system would enhance the health system responsiveness in Ethiopia.Keywords: responsiveness, HIV/AIDS, health systems, Ethiopia

Background. A complete and consistent use of integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) protocol is a strategic implementation that has been used to promote the accurate assessment and classifications of childhood illnesses, ensures appropriate combined treatment, strengthens the counseling of caregiver, and speeds up the referrals to decrease child mortality and morbidity. However, there is limited evidence about the complete and consistent use of IMCI protocol during the assessment and classifications of childhood illness in Ethiopia. Therefore, this intervention was implemented to improve the assessment and classifications of childhood illness according to the IMCI protocol in Sanja primary hospital, northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A pre-post interventional study was used in Sanja primary hospital from January 01 to May 30, 2019. A total of 762 (381 for pre and 381 for postintervention) children from 2 months up to 5 years of age were involved in the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire prepared from the IMCI guideline, and a facility checklist was used. A five-month in-service training, weekly supportive supervision, daily morning session, and availing essential drugs and materials were done. Both the descriptive statistics and independent t -test were done. In the independent t -test, a p value of

Purpose Ethiopia is one of the developing countries striving to achieve universal health coverage using the health extension program (HEP). However, there is limited evidence on the utilization of the urban health extension program (UHEP), particularly in the northwest part of the country. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of urban health extension program utilization and its associated factors in Gondar administrative city, northwest Ethiopia. Patients and Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was employed from March 15 to May 30, 2019. A total of 626 systematically selected mothers were interviewed using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analysis was computed. In the final multivariable logistic regression analysis, a P-value of less than 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to declare the factors associated with the utilization of urban health extension services. Results The utilization level of urban health extension services was found to be 59.5% (95% Cl=55.8-63.6). The result indicated that two-fifths of the participants were not utilizing the services. Private employees (AOR=0.37, 95% Cl=0.21-0.63), housewives (AOR=0.36, 95% Cl=0.20-0.64), merchants (AOR=0.08, 95% Cl=0.03-0.17), satisfactory knowledge (AOR=4.37, 95% Cl=2.73-6.96), perceived accessibility of services (AOR=1.68, 95% CI=1.02-2.74), and perceived competence of HEWs (AOR=1.97, 95% Cl=1.22-3.18) were factors significantly associated with the utilization of urban health extension services. Conclusion The overall utilization of the urban health extension program was low compared to the national recommendation. Occupation, knowledge of participants towards UHEP, accessibility of health extension services, and participants' perception about the competency of HEWs were factors associated with utilization of UHEP. Therefore, awareness creation, in-service training, improving the accessibility of services and frequency of contact with mothers at the household level will increase the services utilization.

Background: Health system responsiveness is defined as the outcome of designing health facility relationships in such a way that they are familiar and respond appropriately to patients’ universally legitimate expectations. Even though different strategies have been implemented to measure responsiveness, only scanty evidence exists in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia information about the level of health system responsiveness among outpatients is scant. Assessing responsiveness could help facilities in improving service delivery based on patient expectations. Objective: The study aimed to assess health system responsiveness and associated factors among outpatients in primary health care facilities, Asagirt District, North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia, 2021. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional quantitative study was implemented between 30th March and April 30/2021. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 423 participants, and interviewer-administered data were collected using a structured and pretested questionnaires. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to identify factors that have an association with health system responsiveness. Adjusted Odds Ratio with their corresponding 95% CI was used to declare factors associated with health system responsiveness. A p-value less than 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance in this study. Results: The overall health system responsiveness was 66.2% (95% CI: 61.4% - 70.7%). Confidentiality and dignity domains were the highest responsiveness score. Health system responsiveness was higher among satisfied outpatients (AOR: 9.9, 95% CI: 5.11-19.46), utilized private clinics (AOR: 8.8, 95% CI: 4.32-18.25), and no transport cost (AOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.03-2.92) in the study setting. Conclusion: Overall health system responsiveness was higher as compared to other case-specific study in Ethiopia. The domains of Autonomy, Waiting time, Basic amenities, and Choice were identified as vital areas needing the effort to raise responsiveness of health care service in the District. HSR was higher in private than public healthcare facilities, among satisfied clients and those who didn’t pay for transport on their way to the health facility than their counterparts. Thus, enhancing patient satisfaction, using input from service users, Collaboration, and experience exchange between public and private facilities will be important interventions to improve HSR.

Background Health system responsiveness is defined as the outcome of designing health facility relationships so that they are familiar and responsive to patients’ universally legitimate expectations. Even though different strategies have been implemented to measure responsiveness, only limited evidence exists in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, information about health system responsiveness among outpatients is limited. Assessing responsiveness could help facilities in improving service delivery based on patient expectations. Objective The study aimed to assess health system responsiveness and associated factors among outpatients in primary health care facilities, Asagirt District, Ethiopia, 2021. Methods Facility-based cross-sectional quantitative study was implemented between March 30 and April 30/2021. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 423 participants, and interviewer-administered data were collected using structured and pretested questionnaires. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to identify factors associated with health system responsiveness. Adjusted Odds Ratio with their corresponding 95% CI was used to declare factors associated with health system responsiveness. A p-value less than 0.05 was used to declare significant statistical variables. Results The overall health system responsiveness performance was 66.2% (95% CI: 61.4—70.7). Confidentiality and dignity were the highest responsive domains. Health system responsiveness was higher among satisfied patients (AOR: 9.9, 95% CI: 5.11–19.46), utilized private clinics (AOR: 8.8, 95% CI: 4.32–18.25), and no transport payment (AOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.03–2.92) in the study setting. Conclusion Overall, health system responsiveness performance was higher than a case-specific study in Ethiopia. To improve the health systems responsiveness and potentially fulfil patients’ legitimate expectations, we need to facilitate informed treatment choice, provide reasonable care within a reasonable time frame, and give patients the option of consulting a specialist. Aside from that, enhancing patient satisfaction, using input from service users, Collaboration, and exchanging experiences between public and private facilities will be important interventions to improve HSR performance.

Chalie Tadie Tsehay, Andualem Yalew Aschalew, Endalkachew Dellie, Tsegaye Gebremedhin Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Andualem Yalew AschalewUniversity of Gondar, P. O. Box: 196, Gondar, EthiopiaTel +251918151825Email yalewandualem@gmail.comPurpose: Diarrhea is a common childhood illness and one of the leading causes of death in young children globally. In Ethiopia, a significant number of deaths and hospitalizations in under-five children are related to diarrheal diseases. Inappropriate feeding during diarrhea leads to a double burden of diarrhea recurrence and malnutrition among children. However, empirical evidence is limited in Ethiopia. Thus, this study was aimed to assess feeding practices and associated factors during diarrheal disease among children aged less than five years in Ethiopia.Patients and Methods: The study used the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2016 data. A two-stage stratified sampling technique was applied to identify 917 under five years children. Generalized linear mixed model analyses were computed, and a P value of less than 0.05 and an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to identify statistically significant factors with feeding practices.Results: The majority (92.5%) of mothers were married. Out of the participants, (54.1%) of children were male; 55.6% of them were in the age group of 6– 23 months. The appropriate feeding practices for children aged less than five years who had diarrhea was 15.4% (95% CI: 13.7%-18.2%). Mothers aged 25– 34 years (AOR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4– 0.9), agricultural occupation of mothers (AOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3– 3.6), mothers attended four and more antenatal visit (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.3– 4.32) and mothers who had a postnatal checkup within two months of birth (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1– 3.2) were factors statistically associated with child feeding practices during diarrhea.Conclusion: Less than one-fifth of under-five children practiced appropriate feeding during diarrheal disease. Working in agriculture and attending antenatal care and postnatal checkup within two months were positively influencing feeding practice. Therefore, the government of Ethiopia needs to strengthen the existing maternal and child health services.Keywords: feeding practices, diarrheal disease, under-five children, Ethiopia

Introduction Adolescents and youths who need exceptional healthcare are the shapers and leaders of our global future. However, many of them are died prematurely, while others suffer from diseases partly because of the poor quality of health services. Thus, this study aimed to assess the quality of Adolescent and Youth-friendly Health Services (AYFHS) and associated factors in the public health facilities of Dehana district, Northeast Ethiopia. Methods A facility-based quantitative cross-sectional study supported with a qualitative component was conducted from February 24 to March 30, 2020. The quality of AYFHS was measured using the Donbidean framework (structure, process and output component). Accordingly, a total of 431 adolescents and youths, five health facilities, twenty-five client-provider interaction observations, and nine key informant interviews were conducted. Binary logistic regression analysis was done, and variables with a p-value of < 0.05 and Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with its 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were used to measure the association. The qualitative data were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Then, Open Code 4.03 software was used to manage and analyze the data. Results The quality of adolescent and youth-friendly health services was 58.8, 46.4, and 47.2% for structural, process, and output quality dimensions, respectively. The predictor variables for output quality were, being a student (AOR: 2.07, 95%CI: 1.07–3.40), farmers (AOR: 2.59, 95%CI: 1.25–5.39), own income sources (AOR: 1.99, 95%CI: 1.03–3.85), exempted services (AOR: 2.30, 95%CI: 1.43–3.71) and long waiting time (AOR: 3.8495%CI: 1.80–8.23). Conclusions The overall quality of adolescent and youth-friendly health services was still lower than the WHO good quality standards. The structural quality dimension was affected by the unavailability of adequate and trained health service providers, poor engagement of adolescents and youths in the facility governance structure, unavailability of guidelines, protocols and procedures. In contrast, the process quality dimension was also compromised due to the provider’s poor compliance with the national AYFHS guidelines. Therefore, health facilities need to engage adolescents and youths in the health facility governance structure, and providers should comply with the national guideline.

Purpose Ethiopia is one of the developing countries striving to achieve universal health coverage using the health extension program (HEP). However, there is limited evidence on the utilization of the urban health extension program (UHEP), particularly in the northwest part of the country. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of urban health extension program utilization and its associated factors in Gondar administrative city, northwest Ethiopia. Patients and Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was employed from March 15 to May 30, 2019. A total of 626 systematically selected mothers were interviewed using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analysis was computed. In the final multivariable logistic regression analysis, a P-value of less than 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to declare the factors associated with the utilization of urban health extension services. Results The utilization level of urban health extension services was found to be 59.5% (95% Cl=55.8–63.6). The result indicated that two-fifths of the participants were not utilizing the services. Private employees (AOR=0.37, 95% Cl=0.21–0.63), housewives (AOR=0.36, 95% Cl=0.20–0.64), merchants (AOR=0.08, 95% Cl=0.03–0.17), satisfactory knowledge (AOR=4.37, 95% Cl=2.73–6.96), perceived accessibility of services (AOR=1.68, 95% CI=1.02–2.74), and perceived competence of HEWs (AOR=1.97, 95% Cl=1.22–3.18) were factors significantly associated with the utilization of urban health extension services. Conclusion The overall utilization of the urban health extension program was low compared to the national recommendation. Occupation, knowledge of participants towards UHEP, accessibility of health extension services, and participants’ perception about the competency of HEWs were factors associated with utilization of UHEP. Therefore, awareness creation, in-service training, improving the accessibility of services and frequency of contact with mothers at the household level will increase the services utilization.

Introduction Compassionate and respectful care is a pillar for improving health-seeking behaviour. It has given much attention globally, following the concerns that healthcare often falls significantly; however, less research emphasis was paid in the last decade. Therefore, this study aims to assess compassionate and respectful care and associated factors among outpatient clients at public health facilities in Northwest Ethiopia, 2020. Methods A facility-based quantitative cross-sectional study supplemented with the qualitative findings was conducted from 30 February to 30 March 2020. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data among 593 participants. Systematic and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the quantitative and qualitative participants, respectively. A semi-structured interview guide was also employed for the qualitative data collection. Epi-Data version 4.6 and SPSS version 25 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. The bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify the factors associated with each outcome variable (compassionate and respectful care separately). Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value less than 0.05 were used to declare the strength and factors statistically associated with the outcome variables. Results Overall, 72.8% and 82.6% of the respondents experienced compassionate and respectful care, respectively. Patients attending primary or above education (AOR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.21–0.59), attending at the hospital (AOR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.39–0.88), new clients (AOR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.16–0.70) and service users who had three or more visits (AOR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.17–0.71) were negatively associated with compassionate care. On the other hand, female patients (AOR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.32–0.87), aged over 36 years (AOR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.20–0.90), primary or above school attended clients (AOR = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.09–0.36), waiting two or more hours (AOR = 0.28; 95% CI: 0.13–0.62), and use public or private transport access (AOR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.29–0.83) were negatively associated with a respectful care. Conclusion Compassionate and respectful care provided to the outpatient clients in public health facilities of northwest Ethiopia was high. However, our result suggests that immediate actions are necessary to address respectful and compassionate care at hospitals, and hospital management should adopt mitigation measures. Consideration should be given to foster patient-centric services and educate the health care workers about compassionate and respectful care.

ObjectivesEthiopia is a developing country striving to achieve universal health coverage using the health extension programme. There is limited evidence about Ethiopian women’s satisfaction with their urban health extension programme. Thus, this study was aimed at assessing the level of women’s satisfaction with their urban health extension services and associated factors in Gondar administrative city of northwest Ethiopia and elucidate factors associated with its access and use.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingCommunity.ParticipantsRandomly selected 744 women were interviewed using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire.OutcomeSatisfaction of women over 17 years of age with their urban health extension programme (use and services).ResultsSome 29.4% (95% CI 26.2 to 32.5) of women were satisfied with their urban health extension programme. Divorced women (adjusted OR (AOR): 0.35, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.85), women in the age group of 45–53 years (AOR: 0.35, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.85), private employees (AOR: 0.35, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.85), unsatisfactory knowledge (AOR: 0.13, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.25) and perceived accessibility of health extension workers (AOR: 0.99, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.17) were factors associated with women’s satisfaction with their urban health extension programme.ConclusionsWomen’s satisfaction with their urban health extension programme was low. This finding was associated with age, marital status, occupation, knowledge of participants and women’s perceived accessibility of services. Therefore, increasing awareness about the programme, promoting and improving accessibility of services, particularly by mothers, may augment the utilisation of the programme ultimately leads to efficient use of scarce healthcare resources in Ethiopia.