Attitude of mental healthcare providers toward tele-psychiatry services and associated factors at public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Health systems around the world are struggling with the massive numbers of people with mental disorders who require professional care. The treatment gap for mental disorders is high all over the world, with between 76 and 85% of people in low- and middle-income countries with severe mental disorders receiving no treatment for their mental health conditions. Tele-psychiatry is used as an alternative solution to the problem of limited mental health services and effective Tele-psychiatry service use may be achievable if mental health providers have a good attitude towards it. OBJECTIVE: To assess the attitude of mental healthcare providers toward Tele-psychiatry services and associated factors at public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia, 2022. METHOD: A Multicenter institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 413 mental health professionals working in public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa city, from May 04 to June 10, 2022. Data were collected by using a structured and self-administered questionnaire prepared by reviewing previous related studies. Epi Data version 3.1 and Stata version 14 were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with attitudes toward Tele-psychiatry services. A statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05. RESULT: A total of 413 Participants were enrolled with a response rate of 91.8%. The majority of respondents 230 (55.69%) were male and the mean age of participants was 29 years (SD + 5.02). In this study the majority (49%) of mental health care professionals had a poor attitude toward Tele-psychiatry. Having electronic health technology experience [AOR 16.79; 95% CI (4.26, 29.3)], lack of training in telemedicine applications [(AOR 0.1; 95% CI (0.01, 0.41)], a good computer uses for daily work activities [AOR 3.65; 95% CI (1.14, 11.60)], availability of e-Health technology awareness program [AOR 0.16; 95% CI (0.03, 0.90)], having a positive perception about the importance of e-Health technologies[AOR 0.041; 95% CI (0.01, 0.29)] and having good knowledge of Tele-psychiatry services [AOR 6.89; 95% CI (1.8, 12.0)] were significantly associated with attitude towards Tele-psychiatry services. CONCLUSION: This study found that mental healthcare providers at a public referral hospital in Addis Ababa city generally had poor attitudes regarding Tele-psychiatry services. Considering the significant factors will improve the attitude to use tele-psychiatry services in Ethiopia.

Awareness and readiness of mental healthcare providers to implement telemental health services and associated factors at public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the awareness and readiness of mental healthcare providers to implement telemental health services and the associated factors at public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among mental health professionals working at public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa City from 4 May to 10 June 2022. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 413 (55.7% male and 44.3% female) health professionals participated in the study. The study participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. All mental healthcare providers working at public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa City were considered as the source population. Mental healthcare providers who meet the inclusion criteria were considered the study population. Having a minimum diploma qualification and 6 months or more of work experience and giving written consent were considered the inclusion criteria. OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measure was awareness and readiness to implement telemental health services. RESULT: A total of 413 participants were enrolled, with a response rate of 90.6%. The prevalence of good awareness towards telemental health services was 41% (95% CI 37%, 47%). Being female (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.34; 95% CI 0.15, 0.76), having poor information technology support (AOR=0.32; 95% CI 0.11, 0.99) and having electronic health technology experience (AOR=1.21; 95% CI 1.1, 2.44) were significantly associated with awareness of telemental health services, whereas computer access at the workplace (AOR=0.04; 95% CI 0.003, 0.55) and awareness (AOR=4.34; 95% CI 1.02, 18.48) and attitude (AOR=1.01; 95% CI 1.03, 2.19) towards telemental health services were the variables that showed statistically significant association with readiness of mental healthcare providers for telemental health services. CONCLUSION: Although majority of healthcare providers in this survey were prepared to implement telemental health services, there was typically little awareness among mental healthcare providers.

Tele-pharmacy perception, knowledge and associated factors among pharmacy students in northwest Ethiopia: an input for implementers.

BACKGROUND: Tele-pharmacy is a subset of telemedicine in which pharmacies use telecommunication technology to provide patient care. Tele-pharmacy can improve pharmaceutical care service delivery by reducing medication errors, improving access to health professionals and facilities in remote and rural areas, and minimizing adverse drug events. However, there is limited evidence regarding future pharmacists' knowledge and perceptions of the Tele-pharmacy system in Ethiopia. As a result, this study aimed to assess tele-Pharmacy perception, knowledge and associated factors among pharmacy students in Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 376 pharmacy students in Northwest Ethiopia between July 15 and August 27, 2022. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were entered using Epi info version 7.0 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics, bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to describe pharmacy students' knowledge and perceptions of Tele-pharmacy and identify associated factors. An adjusted odds ratio (OR) and a p-value with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to declare statistical significance. RESULTS: From a total of 352 participants, about 32.4% with [95% CI (27%-37%)] and 48.6% with [95% CI (43%-54%)] had good knowledge and a positive perception toward Tele-pharmacy, respectively. Being age group of 26-30 (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17-0.68), being male (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.26-4.49), Having a CPGA of > 3.5 (AOR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.24-4.19), Taking basic computer training (AOR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.17-3.39), Management support (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.06-3.19) were found to be significantly associated with pharmacy students' knowledge of Tele-pharmacy. Similarly, having access to electronic devices (AOR = 3.80, 95% CI: 1.81-7.97), training related to pharmacy information systems (AOR = 6.66, 95% CI: 3.34-13.29), availability of guidelines (AOR = 2.99, 95% CI: 1.62-5.50) were found to be significantly associated with pharmacy students' perceptions of Tele-pharmacy. CONCLUSION: This study found that pharmacy students have limited knowledge and perceptions of the Tele-pharmacy system. A continuing Tele-pharmacy training package, incorporating pharmacy information system guidelines as part of their education, and providing managerial support could be recommended to improve pharmacy students' knowledge and perception of Tele-pharmacy.

Health professionals' knowledge and attitude towards patient confidentiality and associated factors in a resource-limited setting: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Respecting patients' confidentiality is an ethical and legal responsibility for health professionals and the cornerstone of care excellence. This study aims to assess health professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors towards patients' confidentiality in a resource-limited setting. METHODS: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 health professionals. Stratified sampling methods were used to select the participants, and a structured self-administer questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was entered using Epi-data version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS, version 25. Bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to measure the association between the dependent and independent variables. Odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals and P value was calculated to determine the strength of association and to evaluate statistical significance. RESULT: Out of 410 participants, about 59.8% with [95% CI (54.8-68.8%)] and 49.5% with [95% CI (44.5-54.5%)] had good knowledge and favorable attitude towards patents confidentiality respectively. Being male (AOR = 1.63, 95% CI [1.03-2.59]), taking training on medical ethics (AOR = 1.73, 95% CI = [1.11-2.70]), facing ethical dilemmas (AOR = 3.07, 95% CI [1.07-8.79]) were significantly associated factors for health professional knowledge towards patients' confidentiality. Likewise, taking training on medical ethics (AOR = 2.30, 95% CI [1.42-3.72]), having direct contact with the patients (AOR = 3.06, 95% CI [1.12-8.34]), visiting more patient (AOR = 4.38, 95% CI [2.46-7.80]), and facing ethical dilemma (AOR = 3.56, 95% CI [1.23-10.26]) were significant factors associated with attitude of health professionals towards patient confidentiality. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study revealed that health professionals have a limited attitude towards patient confidentiality but have relatively good knowledge. Providing a continuing medical ethics training package for health workers before joining the hospital and in between the working time could be recommended to enhance health professionals' knowledge and attitude towards patient confidentiality.