Health Workers' Perceptions on Data-informed Decision-Makingpracticesin Primary Health Care Units at Awi Zone, Northwest Ethiopia

Background: Data-informed decision making is influenced by organizational, technical, and behavioral factors. Behavioral factors are the major contributing factors for data-informed decision-making practices. This study aimed to explore health workers' perceptions of data-informed decision making at primary health care units in Awi zone. Method: A cross-sectional qualitative study was undertaken to explore health workers' perceptions on the barriers of health data-informed decision-making practices. Eleven healthcare workers were purposively selected from primary hospitals, health centers and health posts. Medical doctors, nurses, midwifes and health extension workers were selected as key informants for the in-depth interview. The selected healthcare workers were asked about their perceptions that affect health data use practices. The data obtained was analyzed through thematic analysis using Open Code software. Analysis was performed using three themes namely, organizational, behavioral, and technical barriers of data-informed decision making. Results: All the health care workers including health extension workers utilized a data-informed decision-making practice at least once during their point of care. Five of the eleven key informants reported their data-informed decision-making practice as reviewing quality of facility data, while none of them reported data-informed decision-making practices for their monthly performance monitoring. Behavioral factors included negligence, workarounds, and skill gaps. Organizational factors included staff turnover and shortage of recording tools. Technical factors included high workloads which lead to data error and paper-based systems were considered major barriers to data-informed decision-making practices.

Maternity waiting Home-use and associated factors among mothers in northwest Ethiopia, The application of the integrated behavioral model

Background: Data-informed decision making is influenced by organizational, technical, and behavioral factors.Behavioral factors are the major contributing factors for data-informed decision-making practices. This study aimed to explore health workers' perceptions of data-informed decision making at primary health care units in Awi zone. Method: A cross-sectional qualitative study was undertaken to explore health workers' perceptions on the barriers of health data-informed decision-making practices. Eleven healthcare workers were purposively selected from primary hospitals, health centers and health posts. Medical doctors, nurses, midwifes and health extension workers were selected as key informants for the in-depth interview. The selected healthcare workers were asked about their perceptions that affect health data use practices. The data obtained was analyzed through thematic analysis using Open Code software. Analysis was performed using three themes namely, organizational, behavioral, and technical barriers of data-informed decision making. Results: All the health care workers including health extension workers utilized a data-informed decision-making practice at least once during their point of care. Five of the eleven key informants reported their data-informed decision-making practice as reviewing quality of facility data, while none of them reported data-informed decision-making practices for their monthly performance monitoring. Behavioral factors included negligence, workarounds, and skill gaps. Organizational factors included staff turnover and shortage of recording tools. Technical factors included high workloads which lead to data error and paper-based systems were considered major barriers to data-informed decision-making practices. Conclusion: Data-informed decision-making practices were low at primary health care units. Behavioral, organizational, and technical factors contributed to the decreased use of data. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2022;36(2):000-000]

Maternity waiting Home-use and associated factors among mothers in northwest Ethiopia, The application of the integrated behavioral model

Maternal mortality in Ethiopia is the highest in the world (412/100,000). Health facility delivery is the cornerstone in reducing maternal mortality. However, health facility delivery is low in Ethiopia, due to poor access and ill-equipped health facilities. Maternity waiting home(MWH)is one of the comprehensive packages of essential obstetric services, enabling women to access well-equipped health facilities. However, there are limited studies on maternal waiting home use in Ethiopia. This study aimedto use the integrated behavioral model, toassess maternal waiting home use and associated factors among mothers in the East Bellessa district, northwest Ethiopia.Method:A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted fromthe1-27 of March 2020. The multistage sampling technique was used to select a total of 624 mothers. Data was collected usingthe face-to-face interview technique. The reliability and validity of the itemswere checked using exploratory factor analysis. Multivariable logistic regressions wereconducted toidentify the factors associated with maternal waiting home use. Findings with a p-value <0.05 with a 95% confidence interval were considered statistically significant in the final model.Result.Overall, 20.5% (95% CI=17.3-23.7) of mothers used maternity waiting homes for the index of childbirth. Husband educational status (AOR=3.78, CI =1.44-9.93), the knowledge on maternitywaiting homes(AOR=3.97, CI=2.27-6.95), between 2 and 3antenatal care follow ups(AOR=0.14 CI=0.06-0.31), experiential attitude (AOR=2.37, CI=1.64-3.44), descriptive norms(AOR=0.66, CI=0.47-0.94), perceived behavioral control (AOR=1.07, CI=1.02-1.13) and behavioral intention (AOR=1.37, CI=1.1-1.71) were associated with maternity waiting home use.Conclusion:Maternity waiting home utilization was low. Husband's education status, antenatal care follow-up, knowledge on maternal waiting homes, experiential attitude, descriptive norms, perceived behavioral control and behavioralintention were positively significantly associated with MWH utilization. Therefore, strengthening the use antenatal care services, husbands'education, and developing a positive attitude towards MWH may improve the use of maternity waitinghomesamong women. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2022; 36(2):000-000]Keyword:Maternity waiting home, mothers,integrated behavioral model, Ethiopia