Medication counselling practices amid COVID -19 pandemic and associated factors in drug retail outlets of Jimma town, Southwest Ethiopia: cross-sectional study.

Background: Patients' good understanding and awareness of drug information received at the drug retail outlet is paramount to gaining expected outcomes. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the routine counselling practice faced multifactorial challenges. Objectives: The study aimed to assess medication counseling practice and associated factors in drug retail outlets of Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted using an interviewer administered questionnaire. The data were analysed by using SPSS version 23. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with medication counselling practice. Results: A total of 180 pharmacy professionals were enrolled in the study, about half (51.1%) of the participants reported good medication counselling provision for their patients. In A multivariable logistic regression analysis, reduced pharmacist's level of communication (AOR=0.008; CI: 0.001-0.292; p= 0.009) and shortage of personal protective equipment (AOR=0.021; CI: 0.002-0.226; p=0.002) due Covid-19 were factors associated with poor medication counselling practice. Conclusion: Reduced level of communication and shortage of personal protective equipment due to Covid-19 were factors associated with poor medication counselling practice. In general, Jimma town health offices and Oromia Region Health bureau should struggle in association with other stakeholders to improve the identified bottleneck of pharmacist's counselling practice.

An analysis of COVID-19 information sources.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new situations that require the effective delivery of health information across the world and it's important to offer clear, consistent, and credible information on the pandemic to mitigate and control the outbreak. AIM: To assess COVID-19 information source, need and trust among the rural community of southwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 634 rural communities of southwest Ethiopia. The data were collected by interviewing individuals from selected households and analyzed by SPSS version 26. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess factors affecting information needs. RESULTS: Radio 484 (76.3%) was mostly used as a source of information for COVID-19, and government 404 (63.7%) and health professionals 345 (57.7%) were trusted. However, only 10 (1.6%) of the participants acquired information from health professionals. Around 395 (62.3%) of the participants needed additional information on COVID-19. Around 230 (58.2%) and 186 (47.1%) of the participants required additional information on cause and sign and symptoms, respectively. Age of < 45 years old (AOR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.43, 3.12, P < 0.001), and absence of formal education (AOR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.95, P: 0.001) were factors positively affecting the information needs of the participants on COVID-19. Church goers (AOR: 3.24; 95% CI: 2.03, 5.19; P < 0.001), television (AOR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.63, 3.49; P < 0.001) and social media users (AOR: 4.52; 95% CI: 2.26, 9.04; P < 0.001) as source of information required additional information on COVID-19, and the participants that trusted social media (AOR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.64, 3.87; P < 0.001) and friends/relatives (AOR: 2.95: 95% CI: 1.51, 5.76; P < 0.001) were also required additional information on COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: The popular sources of COVID-19-related information were radio and television. The participants trusted the government and health professionals on COVID-19. However, less than 2% of the participants had information from health professionals. The majority of the participants wanted to learn more about COVID-19. The areas the participants required additional information include cause and signs and symptoms. Age, educational status, trust in social media, trust in friends, using the church, television and social media as a source were factors associated with information needs.

Traditional Medicine Practice in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic: Community Claim in Jimma Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia.

PURPOSE: To assess traditional medicine practice claims by the community for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 422 households of Jimma Zone, and the data were collected by interviewing individuals from the selected households. The medicinal plants were recorded on Microsoft excel 2010 with their parts used, dosage form, route of administration and source of plants and tabulated in the table. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and organize the data. The Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) was calculated for each traditional medicine to identify the top 10 medicinal products. RESULTS: Around 46% of participants used traditional medicines for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The study recorded 32 herbal and non-herbal medicinal products. Garlic (RFC: 0.166), ginger (RFC: 0.133), lemon (RFC: 0.133), garden cress (RFC: 0.069) and "Damakase" (RFC: 0.031) were the frequently used herbal medicines. Seeds (47.22%) and leaves (30.56%) were the most used parts of medicinal plants. Most preparation of medicinal plants (90.63%) was administered through the oral route. The majority of medicinal plants were from home gardens. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Around half of the participants practiced traditional medicines for COVID-19. Garlic, ginger, lemon, garden cress and "Damakase" were the frequently used herbal products. Seeds and leaves were regularly used parts. The oral route is the most used route of administration. The majority of medicinal plants were from home gardens. This quantity of traditional medicine practice is probably challenging to control the pandemic. However, it might open possibilities for pharmaceutical industries and researchers to look into the effectiveness and safety of claimed medicinal products. Therefore, all responsible bodies are advocated to behave accordingly.

Knowledge, Attitude and Self-Reported Performance and Challenges of Hand Hygiene Using Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Among Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic at a Tertiary Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Understanding and consistent hand hygiene practice by alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a cardinal step to stay safe from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to assess the self-reported level of knowledge, attitude, practice, and challenges to practice hand hygiene by alcohol-based hand sanitizers among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Jimma Medical Center, Ethiopia. METHODS: Between April and June 2020, a questionnaire-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using 96 study participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 and described. RESULTS: All of the study participants (96) were at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. Most of the study participants were nurses (27) and pharmacists (21). Their mean age was 28.69±4.048 years. All of them were practicing different COVID-19 prevention methods. In this study, 95.8% of the respondents used alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The majority of the respondents were knowledgeable (93.8%), had a favorable attitude (74%), and good hand hygiene practices (76%) by alcohol-based hand sanitizers. However, 84.5% of the respondents were confronted with challenges during alcohol-based hand sanitizer use due to it is unavailable 66 (68.8%), expensive 50 (52.1%), forgetting 11 (11.5%), experiencing health-associated risks (skin irritation (28.1%), skin dryness (62.5%), ocular irritation (11.5%)), etc. CONCLUSION: The majority of respondents had good knowledge, attitude, and practices of alcohol-based hand sanitizer. But there were some items of their evaluation with relatively low scores that revealed some room for improvements. Additionally, the respondents reported various challenges. Therefore, to achieve and sustain changes, the hand hygiene promotion strategic plan needs a great concern.