Health system readiness to manage maternal death data and avail evidence for decision-making through the Maternal Death Surveillance System in Ethiopia, 2020.

BACKGROUND: Maternal mortality remains a major health problem in Ethiopia. To generate contextual evidence on the burden and distribution of existing causes and contributing factors for programmatic and individual-level decision-making, the Maternal Death Surveillance and Response System was introduced in 2013. This assessment describes the Ethiopian health system's readiness to avail evidence for decision-making through the MDSR system. METHOD: A cross-sectional study designed using the WHO framework for evaluating surveillance systems was used. By employing a multistage sampling, 631 health facilities and 539 health posts were included. ODK collect data entry software was used to collect data from September 2019 to April 2020. Findings are presented in text descriptions, graphs, maps, and tables. FINDINGS: Four hundred (77.1%) health facilities (332 (74.6%) health centers and 68 (91.9%) hospitals) and 264 (71.5%) health posts reported implementing the MDSR system. Of the implementing health facilities, 349 (87.3%) had a death review committee, and only 42 (12.4%) were functional. About 89.4% of health centers and 79.4% of hospitals had sub-optimal maternal death identification and notification readiness. Only 23 (6.96%) and 18 (26.47%) MDSR-implementing health centers and hospitals had optimal readiness to investigate and review maternal deaths, respectively. Moreover, only 39 (14.0%) health posts had locally translated case definitions and 28 (10.6%) had verbal autopsy format to investigate maternal deaths. Six (1.5%) facility officers and 24 (9.1%) health extension workers were engaged in data analysis and evidence generation at least once during 2019/20. Regional variation is observed in system implementation. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Sub-optimal MDSR system implementation is recorded. Revitalizing the system by addressing all system components is critical. Having a national-level roadmap for MDSR system implementation and mobilizing all available resources and stakeholders to facilitate this is vital. Establishing a system for routine data quality monitoring and assurance by integrating with the existing PHEM structure, having a system for routine capacity building, advocacy, and monitoring and evaluating the availability and functionality of MDSR committees at health facilities are all critical. Digitalization, designing a system to fit emerging regions' health service delivery, and availing required resources for the system is key.

Epidemiology of Cholera Outbreak and Summary of the Preparedness and Response Activities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2016.

Background: Cholera is a major public health problem in Ethiopia. This study aimed to generate evidence to better understand the epidemiology of cholera as well as chronicle the city administration's emergency management efforts during the Addis Ababa cholera outbreak in 2016. Method: A descriptive analysis was performed using the cholera outbreak data collected from June 8 to October 31, 2016. A case was defined as a patient aged 5 years or older who develops acute watery diarrhea with or without vomiting. Administrative and laboratory finding reports were also used, as well as documented situational updates. Result: A total of 8,083 cases (AR of 0.24 percent) with 15 deaths (CFR of 0.18 percent) were reported. Males in unskilled manual occupations and housewives accounted for 2,198 (27.2%) and 1,195 (14.8%), respectively, of the total. A total of 6,908 cases (85.46 percent) sought medical attention within two days of the onset of the condition. The presence of the Kolfie river as well as the relatively confined living conditions of the residents aided in the emergence and rapid spread of the disease. The increased in-and-out movement of people, combined with the city administration's deficient development infrastructure of water, hygiene, and sanitation, contributes to higher morbidity and a longer duration of the outbreak. Multiple command posts established in various locations as well as a lack of collaboration among relevant stakeholders resulted in inefficient information and resource management. Furthermore, there is a lack of risk factor surveillance for the early detection of cholera-causing agents. Conclusion and Recommendations. This outbreak caused significant morbidity and mortality. Prioritizing early risk detection, implementing preventive measures, and developing positive working relationships with relevant parties are all critical. A well-established community-based surveillance system and incident management system (IMS) will be required for future emergency management. It is recommended that the city administration make critical adjustments to its developmental infrastructures related to water, sanitation, and hygiene and implement risk factor surveillance from sewerage lines for the early detection of agents that cause cholera.

Seroprevalence and risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 Infection in selected urban areas in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional evaluation during July 2020.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia reported the first case of COVID-19 on 13th March, 2020 with community transmission ensuing by mid-May. A national, population-based serosurvey against anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG was conducted to measure the prevalence of prior COVID-19 infections and better approximate the burden across major towns in Ethiopia. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, population-based serosurvey from June 24 to July 8, 2020 in 14 major urban areas. Two-stage cluster sampling was used to randomly select enumeration areas and households. All persons aged ≥15 years were enrolled. Serum samples were tested by Abbott™ ARCHITECT™ assay for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. National COVID-19 surveillance data on the median date of the serosurvey is analyzed for comparison. FINDINGS: Adjusted seroprevalence was 3.5% (95% CI: 3.2%-3.8%) after controlling for age, sex and test kit performance. Males (3.7%) and females (3.3%) were nearly equally infected, while middle-aged adults '40-65 years' had the highest (4.0%) prevalence. Gambella (7.5%), Dire Dawa (6.2%) and Jigjiga (6.1%) were the most affected towns. About 6.7% and 8.0% of seropositives had symptoms and chronic underlying illness, respectively. A surveillance system had identified 4,416 RT-PCR confirmed cases in Addis Ababa. INTERPRETATION: This serosurvey shows that a majority of urban Ethiopians remain uninfected with SARS-CoV-2. Most anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive cases were asymptomatic with no underlying illness, keeping case detection to a minimum.

Level of Patient Satisfaction with Inpatient Services and Its Determinants: A Study of a Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia.

Background: The health care industry is undergoing a rapid transformation to meet the ever-increasing needs and demands of its patient population. Level of patients' satisfaction is an important health outcome, which is regarded as a determinant measure for quality of care. This study was performed with the aim of assessing the level of patient satisfaction with inpatient services and its determinants in Black Lion Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 25th to December 20th, 2015, using 398 randomly selected patients. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Jimma University research review board, and verbal consent was also received from the study participants during data collection time. A pretested structured interview questionnaire was used to collect data from study participants. The collected data were handled by using SPSS statistical software. Before analysis, relevant explanatory variables were identified using factor analysis with varimax rotation, and bivariate analysis was carried out using linear regression for every independent variable with the outcome variable independently. Explanatory variables scoring p value <-0.05 were used for the final model after checking the assumption. Study findings are presented by using tables, graphs, and description. Results: A total of 398 patients were participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 100%. A total of 46.2% (95% CI: 41.2%-51.1%) patients were satisfied by the services they received in the hospital. Patient and health care provider interaction and general facility amenity-related domains were found to explain 96.4% of the variability in the net overall satisfaction score. Good quality services provided by hospital physicians, availability of laboratory and radiology services, pain management services, and inpatient pharmacy services of the hospital had positive influences. Besides toilet cleanliness, availability of rooms for accommodation and dietary service had significant relation with level of patient satisfaction. Quality of the inpatient pharmacy service had a great influence on satisfaction; a unit increase in it resulted in 2.3 (95% CI: 2.1-2.5) times increment in patient satisfaction level at p ≤ 0.001. For final predictors, regression estimates for level of satisfaction moved from very dissatisfied to very satisfied when service improves by a unit. Conclusion: Overall patients' satisfaction is lower than other studies in the nation. A great opportunity is there to improve patient's satisfaction level if the service quality is improved around the time of patient and health care provider interaction and facility amenity services. Besides, improving the health literacy of service providers and devising a strategy to routinely assess satisfaction level of patients in the facility is critical. On top of this, providing tailored on-the-job training for health care workers in the facility is a crucial step in order to improve their knowledge and skills to render patient-centered quality service to improve their patients' satisfaction. Using a checklist during service delivery may improve client patient interaction and ensure the standard. Facility design dimension can be considered for future research activities.