Digital Health Literacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Health Care Providers in Resource-Limited Settings: Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Digital health literacy is the use of information and communication technology to support health and health care. Digital health literacy is becoming increasingly important as individuals continue to seek medical advice from various web-based sources, especially social media, during the pandemics such as COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess health professionals' digital health literacy level and associated factors in Southwest Ethiopia in 2021. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to April 2021 in Ethiopia. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 423 study participants among health professionals. SPSS (version 20) software was used for data entry and analysis. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between the digital health literacy skill and associated factors. Significance value was obtained at 95% CI and P<.05. RESULTS: In total, 401 study subjects participated in the study. Overall, 43.6% (n=176) of respondents had high digital health literacy skills. High computer literacy (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 4.43, 95% CI 2.34-5.67; P=.01); master's degree and above (AOR 3.42, 95% CI 2.31-4.90; P=.02); internet use (AOR 4.00, 95% CI 1.78-4.02; P=.03); perceived ease of use (AOR 2.65, 95% CI 1.35-4.65; P=.04); monthly income of >15,000 Ethiopian birr (>US $283.68; AOR 7.55, 95% CI 6.43-9.44; P<.001); good knowledge of eHealth (AOR 2.22, 95% CI 1.32-4.03; P=.04); favorable attitudes (AOR 3.11, 95% CI 2.11-4.32; P=.04); and perceived usefulness (AOR 3.43, 95% CI 2.43-5.44; P=.02) were variables associated with eHealth literacy level. CONCLUSIONS: In general, less than half of the study participants had a high digital health literacy level. High computer literacy, master's degree and above, frequent internet use, perceived ease to use, income of >15,000 Ethiopian birr (>US $283.68), good knowledge of digital health literacy, favorable attitude, and perceived usefulness were the most determinant factors in the study. Having high computer literacy, frequent use of internet, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, favorable attitude, and a high level of education will help to promote a high level of digital health literacy.

Time to recovery and its predictors among COVID-19 positive patients admitted to treatment centers of Southwestern Ethiopian hospitals. A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Background: Nowadays, coronavirus disease is a leading cause of death. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the time to recovery and its predictors among Covid-19 positive patients. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 300 COVID-19 patients admitted to Southwestern Ethiopian hospital COVID-19 treatment centers from August 7, 2020 to February 7, 2022. Kaplan Meier was used to estimate the survival time and the Log-rank test was used to compare the survival time between groups of categorical variables. The multivariable survival regression model was used to identify a significant predictor of time to recovery among COVID-19 patients at a P value â©½ 0.05 with a 95% CI. Result: In this study, 92% of patients admitted to Jimma University COVID-19 treatment center and Mettu Karl Comprehensive Specialized Hospital COVID-19 treatment center were recovered from COVID-19 after a maximum of 33 days of follow-up. The overall incidence density was 11.99/100 PD (person day) with a 95% CI of [11.273, 12.719] per 100 PD after a total of 3452 PD observations. The median time of recovery from COVID-19 was 10 days. Age (AHR = 1.945, 95% CI: 1.157, 3.268), hypertension (AHR = 1.856, 95% CI, 1.30, 2.63), diabetes (AHR = 1.406, 95% CI, 1.05, 1.84), being critical (0.298, 2039, 0.434), cancer (AHR = 3.050, 95% CI, 1.172, 7.943), and tuberculosis (AHR = 2.487, 95% CI, 1.504, 4.110) were found to be independent predictors of time to recovery of COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: A total of 92% of patients were recovered within 10 days of the median time. Age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, severity of the case, cancer, and the presence of acute kidney injury were predictors of recovery time of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, healthcare providers should give strict follow-up and priority to elderly patients with chronic illnesses and those under supportive care.

Determinants of neonatal near-miss among neonates delivered in public hospitals of Ilu Abba Bor Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: An unmatched case–control study during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background The neonatal period is the time with the highest risk of neonatal and infant mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic diverted resources from routine maternal health services, which raises the possibility of neonatal near misses (NNMs). To implement prompt treatments that could improve the standard of infant care and lower neonatal mortality, it has been theorized that pinpointing the determinants of NNM during this outbreak is crucial. In light of this, the current study identified the determinants of NNM in neonates delivered in public hospitals of Ilu Abba Bor Zone, South West Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based unmatched case–control study was conducted among randomly selected 303 (101 cases and 202 controls) neonates admitted to Mettu Karl Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (MKCSH) and Darimu Primary Hospital (DPH) from 1 November to 28 December 2020. Data were collected using interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and checklist. The collected data were coded and entered into Epi-Data version 4.6 and then exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) along with a 95% confidence interval was used to assess the strength of the association, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered to declare the statistical significance in the multivariable logistic regression analysis. Result A total of 303 (101 cases and 202 controls) neonates admitted to MKCSH and DPH were included in the study making a 97.4% response rate. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, no formal maternal education [AOR = 3.534, 95% CI: (1.194–10.455)], Breech presentation during birth [AOR = 3.088, 95% CI: (1.029–9.268)], < 4 antenatal care (ANC) visits [AOR = 1.920, 95% CI: (1.065–3.461], cesarean section delivery [AOR = 4.347, 95% CI: (1.718–10.996)], antepartum hemorrhage (APH) [AOR = 3.37, 95% CI: (1.23–9.24)], and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) [AOR = 4.05, 95% CI: (2.36–11.05)] were independent determinants of NNM. Conclusion The study's result revealed that factors such as education level, birth presentation, ANC visit, mode of delivery, APH, and HDP continued to be important determinants of the NNM in Ethiopia during this pandemic. Therefore, much work is needed to improve neonatal health by providing adequate ANC services and other identified potential determinant factors that predispose the newborn to life-threatening (near-miss) conditions especially during this pandemic.

Willingness to use telemedicine during COVID-19 among health professionals in a low income country.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has prompted rapid restructuring of the health-care system in an effort to stop the spread of the pandemic. Thus, telemedicine is more preferable in order to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic when face to face meeting is forbidden, allowing provision of health service over a distance. This study aimed to assess willingness to use telemedicine and factors that will determine their extent of willingness during COIVID-19 among healthcare providers working in south west of Ethiopia. METHODS: Institutional based cross-sectional study design was applied to assess willingness to use telemedicine among healthcare providers working at public health hospitals in south west of Ethiopia. Self-administered questionnaires were used. We have used Epi-info for data entry and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) for analysis. A structural equation modeling was performed to identify factors associated with willingness to use telemedicine at 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULT: In this study, less than half of respondents had high willingness to use telemedicine. Ease of use (ß = 0.79, 95% CI: [0.72, 0.86], p < 0.01), attitude (ß = 0.91, 95% CI: [0.87, 0.95], p < 0.01) and patient-physician relationships (ß = 0.67, 95% CI: [0.54, 0.70], p < 0.01) were variables associated with willingness to use telemedicine. Anxiety towards technology (ß = 0.74, 95% CI: [0.69, 0.79], p < 0.01) and patient-physician relationships (ß = 0.87, 95% CI: [0.81, 0.92], p < 0.01) were determinant factors of attitude to use telemedicine. CONCLUSIONS: The overall willingness to use telemedicine during COVID-19 in this setting is 46.5%. Addressing the problem related with ease of use, attitude and patient-physician relationships will help to increase the overall willingness to use telemedicine during COVID-19. An attempt to improving patient-physician relationship, provision of technical training for ease of use and working on healthcare providers' attitude will help to improve the willingness to use telemedicine.