Dataset Information

Performance Evaluation of Malaria Microscopists at Defense Health Facilities in Addis Ababa and Its Surrounding Areas, Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Blood film microscopy is the gold standard approach for malaria diagnosis, and preferred method for routine patient diagnosis in health facilities. However, the inability of laboratory professionals to correctly detect and identify malaria parasites microscopically leads to an inappropriate administration of anti-malarial drugs to the patients and incorrect findings in research areas. This study was carried out to evaluate the performance of laboratory professionals in malaria diagnosis in health facilities under the Defense Health Main Department in Addis Ababa and its surroundings, Ethiopia.

Method

A cross sectional study was conducted from June to July 2015. Totally, 60 laboratory professionals out of the selected 16 health facilities were included in the study. Data were collected by distributing standardized pre-validated malaria slide-panels and self-administered questionnaires among professionals, onsite in each study facility. Sensitivity, specificity, and strength of agreement (with kappa score) in performance among the study participants against WHO-certified expert malaria microscopists were calculated.

Result

Of the 60 study participants, 8.3% (5/60) correctly read all the distributed slides in terms of parasite detection, species identification and parasite counting; whereas, each of the remaining 55(91.7%) interpreted at least two slides incorrectly. The overall sensitivity and specificity of participants' performance in detection of malaria parasites were 65.7% and 100%, respectively. Overall, fair agreement (71.4%; Kappa: 0.4) in detection of malaria parasite was observed between the study subjects and expert readers. The overall sensitivity and specificity of participants in species identification of malaria parasites were respectively 41.3% and 100%. Overall, slight agreement (51.1%; kappa: 0.04) in identification of malaria species was observed. Generally, agreement was lower in parasite detection and species identification at low parasite density and mixed infection cases.

Conclusion

The general agreement between the study participants and expert microscopists in malaria parasite detection and species identification was very low, particularly in the cases of low-parasite density and mixed infections. Therefore, regular external quality assessments and further refreshment trainings are crucial to enhance the skill of professionals in malaria microscopy; particularly for those in non-malarious areas where exposure to malaria diagnosis is low.

SUBMITTER: Yitbarek T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5125591 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Performance Evaluation of Malaria Microscopists at Defense Health Facilities in Addis Ababa and Its Surrounding Areas, Ethiopia.

Yitbarek Tigist T Nega Desalegn D Tasew Geremew G Taye Bineyam B Desta Kassu K

PloS one 20161128 11

<h4>Background</h4>Blood film microscopy is the gold standard approach for malaria diagnosis, and preferred method for routine patient diagnosis in health facilities. However, the inability of laboratory professionals to correctly detect and identify malaria parasites microscopically leads to an inappropriate administration of anti-malarial drugs to the patients and incorrect findings in research areas. This study was carried out to evaluate the performance of laboratory professionals in malaria ...[more]

PMID: 27893838

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Project description:BackgroundThe health sectors success has been determined by consistent and reasonably priced health commodities supply. Despite possible death from the disease, Tuberculosis (TB) can be prevented with early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for which enough, effective, and qualified medicines need to be available. However, studies revealed stock of anti-TB drugs in health facilities. Here we present the recent finding on determinants of stock out of Anti-TB drug at public health facilities of Addis Ababa.ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify determinants of stock outs of first line anti TB drugs at public health facilities under Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau.MethodMixed study design were employed. A total of 106 facilities were included in the sampling frame and data were collected from the study population such as drug store managers of health facilities providing TB treatment using semi structured questionnaire and through in-depth interview with Addis Ababa hubs of the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Agency (EPSA), Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau and selected heads of pharmacy departments of health facilities from May 1-30, 2020 considering one year back retrospective data from March 20,2019 to March 20,2020. Structured record review of data from Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) tools having TB drugs was done using structured observation checklist. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS Version 20. Both descriptive and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed.Result52(62.7%) of health facilities encountered stock out for at least one of these drugs during the past 1 year. Rifampicin 75 mg + Isoniazid 50 mg (RH 75/50 mg) were most stocked out first line anti-TB drug from 33(39.8%) of facilities with 17 mean stocks out days while Rifampicin 75 mg + Isoniazid 50 mg + Pyrazinamide 150 mg (RHZ 75/50/150 mg) were the least first line anti-TB drug stocked out from facilities with mean 5 days of stock out. Delayed supply of anti TB drug from EPSA, delivery of reduced quantity of anti TB drugs by EPSA and stocked out of anti TB Drugs at EPSA were significant determinate factors of stock out of first line anti-TB drug from facilities with 95%CI of 10.34(2.167-49.329), 11.452(2.183-60.079) and 5.646(1.240-25.707) respectively.ConclusionAbove median of health facilities encountered stock out of first line anti-TB drug in Addis Ababa. Delayed supply of anti TB drug from EPSA, delivery of reduced quantity of anti TB drugs by EPSA and stocked out of anti TB Drugs at EPSA were significant determinate factor of stocked out of first line anti-TB drug from facilities. EPSA and other responsible bodies shall work collaboratively to improve their service and ensure availability of adequate amount of Anti TB drug in health facilities.

Project description:BackgroundMidwives are the primary source of care and support for mothers and newborns at the most vulnerable time in their lives.The Ethiopian National Reproductive Health Strategy targeted reduction of Maternal Mortality rate to 267/100,000 live births in the years 2006-2015. Midwives play a crucial role in the care of pregnant women, from the first antenatal visit right through to the delivery and the postpartum period.MethodologyInstitution based cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2015 to April 2015 in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia to assess job satisfaction and its determinants among midwives working at government health facilities. A total of 234 midwives were involved from 84 health centers and 8 governmental hospitals proportional to the size of health centers and hospitals using simple random sampling method. A total of 175 and 59 midwives were taken from health centers and government hospitals respectively. Different variables like Socio demographic, Job related domain and Organizational domain were collected using pre structured questionnaire after getting written consent. Data entry and analysis were done using SPSS 21.00. Binary logistic regression was used to determine factors affecting job satisfaction. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.ResultFrom 234 eligible respondents 221 midwives participated in this study which makes a response rate of 94.44%. The overall mean job satisfaction was 52.9%. Independent predictors of job satisfaction includes Sex [AOR = 4.07 (95%CI: 1.36-12.37)], working unit [AOR = 0.04 (95%CI:(0.001-0.45)], Educational status [AOR = 5.74(95%CI: 1.48-40.47)], Marital status [AOR = 3.48 [1.01-11.97)], supervision [AOR = 4.33 (95%CI: 1.53-20.22)], standard of care[AOR 4.80, (3.38-50.10)] and work load [AOR 8.94, (95%CI 2.37-22.65)]. Midwives were least satisfied from salary, extrinsic reward and professional opportunity subscales while they were most satisfied from coworker relation and the standard of care they provided to clients.ConclusionHalf of study subjects were satisfied with their job. Governmental and Nongovernmental organizations should consider the factors that contribute to job dissatisfaction in order to improve service provision.

Project description:BackgroundThe World Health Organization has declared that infection with SARS-CoV-2 is a pandemic. Experiences with SARS in 2003 and SARS-CoV-2 have shown that health professionals are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Hence, it has been recommended that aperiodic wide-scale assessment of the knowledge and preparedness of health professionals regarding the current COVID-19 pandemic is critical.ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the knowledge and preparedness of health professionals regarding COVID-19 among selected hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from the last week of March to early April, 2020. Government (n = 6) and private hospitals (n = 4) were included. The front-line participants with high exposure were proportionally recruited from their departments. The collected data from a self-administered questionnaire were entered using EpiData and analyzed in SPSS software. Both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (chi-square tests) are presented.ResultsA total of 1334 health professionals participated in the study. The majority (675, 50.7%) of the participants were female. Of the total, 532 (39.9%) subjects were nurses/midwives, followed by doctors (397, 29.8%) and pharmacists (193, 14.5%). Of these, one-third had received formal training on COVID-19. The mean knowledge score of participants was 16.45 (±4.4). Regarding knowledge about COVID-19, 783 (58.7%), 354 (26.5%), and 196 (14.7%) participants had moderate, good, and poor knowledge, respectively. Lower scores were seen in younger age groups, females, and non-physicians. Two-thirds (63.2%) of the subjects responded that they had been updated by their hospital on COVID-19. Of the total, 1020 (76.5%) participants responded that television, radio, and newspapers were their primary sources of information. Established hospital preparedness measures were confirmed by 43-57% of participants.ConclusionThe current study revealed that health professionals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, already know important facts but had moderate overall knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic. There were unmet needs in younger age groups, non-physicians, and females. Half of the respondents mentioning inadequate preparedness of their hospitals point to the need for more global solidarity, especially concerning the shortage of consumables and lack of equipment.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Rubella is a vaccine-preventable contagious disease causing an estimated 100,000 children to be born with congenital rubella syndrome each year globally. Studies documented that 18 rubella outbreaks were occurred each year in Ethiopia. Yeka sub-city woreda 13 public health emergency management office reported two measles suspected cases on 8 February, 2018. We investigated this outbreak to identify its etiology, describe the outbreak and implement control measures. METHODS:We described the outbreak using descriptive epidemiology. The study population was defined as students learning in the school where the outbreak occurred. Suspected rubella case was defined as student with generalized rash whereas confirmed case was suspected case tested positive for rubella IgM. Questionnaires, checklists and students record review were used to collect data. We searched for new cases in classes daily and excluded them from classes. The school environment was assessed and the outbreak was described in person and time. RESULTS:We identified 58 cases (median age: 4.6 years; IQR: 4-5 years) with six of them rubella IgM positive and 52 epidemiologically linked. The outbreak began on 8 February 2018 having multiple intermittent peaks during its course reaching its highest peak at 2 April, 2018 and ended on 20 April, 2018. Index cases were reported from two classes; however, cases were occurred in 13/15(86.67%) of the classes during the entire outbreak. Fifty five percent (32/58) and 45/58(77.59%) of the cases were females and 3-5 years children, respectively. Overall attack rate was 58/531(4.05%). Attack rate was higher in females 32/252 (12.7%) than in males 26/279 (9.32%), and higher 45/275(16.36%) in 3-5 years than those in 5-8 years 13/256(5.08%) children. Case fatality ratio was zero. All cases were vaccinated against measles but unvaccinated against rubella. CONCLUSIONS:Attack rate was higher in females than in males and higher in 3-5 years than 5-8 years children. We recommended establishing rubella surveillance system, conducting sero-prevalence of rubella among child bearing age females and establishing CRS surveillance among young infants to provide evidence-based information for RCV introduction. It was also recommended to develop a national rubella surveillance guideline which aid to exclude rubella cases from schools during outbreak.

Project description:BackgroundParasitic diseases are the main challenge of livestock production in the world. They are mainly controlled by the use of anthelmintic drugs. To be effective, the drugs should contain the appropriate amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and have the required physical characteristics. In this study, qualitative and quantitative assessments were performed to evaluate the quality of different brands of albendazole tablets legally circulating in pharmaceutical markets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsUltraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UVS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) were used for identification. Quantitative analysis was performed by HPLC. United States Pharmacopeia standard was used as a control to evaluate the identity and content of the API in the samples. A total of 10 batches of albendazole tablets from six different brands were collected and evaluated.ResultsAll brands of albendazole tablets, except one, had acceptable physical characteristics. There was gross contamination in one batch, weight variation in 4 (40%) batches, and absence of package insert in 2 (20%) batches. All three methods of evaluation (UVS, FTIR and HPLC) confirmed that all batches passed the identity test. Quantitative analysis showed that no batch had API above the acceptable limit. However, 30% of batches from three different brands contained lower amount of API per tablet than the acceptable limit.ConclusionsAll batches of albendazole circulating in the market in Addis Ababa did not fulfil either physical or chemical quality standards. The most important finding of this research was the presence of drugs with lower level of API than the acceptable limit. This can lead to treatment failure and favour the emergence of parasites that are resistant to drugs. Therefore, there should be a thorough evaluation of drugs before approval. The study also revealed the importance of occasional assessment of drugs circulating even in the legal market.

Project description:BackgroundTrihalomethanes (THMs) are the most dominant fraction of all the byproducts formed during chlorination of water. Disinfection by product (DBP) formation in water is a function of numerous factors, including pH, temperature, residual chlorine, source water characteristics, and organic matter. No study has determined the THM level in the drinking water supply of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional design was conducted to collect water samples in the water supply distribution networks of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Twenty-one (21) sampling stations yielded a total of one hundred twenty (120) samples of drinking water. The sample handling and collection procedures were carried out in accordance with USEPA guidelines. A DB-5 capillary column was used to separate the THMs, which were detected using GC-ECD (gas chromatography-electron capture detector). Spectrophotometric and in situ methods were used for physicochemical parameters. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used for data analysis of trihalomethanes and environmental variables using CANOCO 4.5.ResultsThe mean concentration of total trihalomethanes in drinking water in Addis Ababa was 76.3 μg/L. The concentration of chloroform in the drinking water supply in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ranged between 4.03 and 79.4 μg/L. The mean total THMs in the Legedadi and Gefersa water supply systems were 77.4 μg/L and 69.66 μg/L, respectively. The residual chlorine, phosphates, UV absorbance at 254 nm, and combined chlorine had positive correlations with THM formation. However, electron conductivity had a negative correlation with THM formation.ConclusionsChloroform contributed the most to TTHMs in nearly all samples. The residual chlorine, UV absorbance, phosphate and hardness as calcium, and electron conductivity were found to be the main predictors determining the abundance and distribution of trihalomethanes. The monitoring and regulation of the THMs is required on a regular basis to analyse trends and guide the water treatment and distribution system.

Dataset Information

Performance Evaluation of Malaria Microscopists at Defense Health Facilities in Addis Ababa and Its Surrounding Areas, Ethiopia.

Background

Method

Result

Conclusion

Publications

Performance Evaluation of Malaria Microscopists at Defense Health Facilities in Addis Ababa and Its Surrounding Areas, Ethiopia.

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