An Inquiry into the Nature, Causes and Effects of Contraband: Case of Ethio-Somaliland Border Corridor

Even if contraband is rampant in Ethiopian Somali region, little is researched over the topic so far. Basing its investigation on border areas between of Ethiopian and Somaliland, this study investigates the nature, causes and effects of smuggling. The study integrates both primary and secondary data. 75 smugglers, subjected through snowball sampling were considered to explore the causes and effects of contraband at an individual level. Descriptive and analytical tools, case studies, personal observations, were employed to make inferences out of the data and information gathered. The study found out that the prevailing contraband system has two dimensions: large scale and small scale smuggling, each with its own peculiar features. Our finding further reveals that economic hardships, unemployment and institutional problems were ranked in order by smugglers as major derivers to participate in smuggling business. Our analysis shows evidences of involving in contraband activities may have behavioral and psychological effects, which in turn implicates into the socio-economic life of smugglers, calling for even better and through understanding the on the issue. Practicing smuggling affects the labor market in many ways: by dragging people away from formal employments, smuggling decreases the force participation rate; it also affects the quality of labor force mainly by eroding the work ethics & discipline, creating tastes that can`t fit with formal employment, by imposing rent seeking mentality (making smugglers develop a culture of easy money). Keywords: Contraband, Ethiopian Somali regional state, Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authorit

The Effect of Reward System On Employee Creativity

Reward System plays a vital role in enhancing employee creativity. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effect of reward system on employee creativity in Oromia Credit and Saving Share Company (OCSSCO) case of Bale zone branches. Simple random sampling techniques was used to select a sample of 158 respondents from target population of 260.Data was collected using open & close ended questionnaire. The general objective of this study was effect of reward system on employee creativity in Oromia Credit and Saving Share Company case of Bale Zone Branches and in order to answer the research questions, the researcher used a software SPSS 21 version for data operation and analysis. The result of descriptive statistics indicated that practice level of both intrinsic & extrinsic rewards in OCSSCO is low. In addition, the results of Pearson correlation shows there is a significant and positive relationship between extrinsic reward, Intrinsic reward & employee creativity. Moreover, the result of regression analysis indicates almost 76.3% of employee creativity is explained by extrinsic & intrinsic rewards. Similarly, the result indicates intrinsic reward is more contributing factor to employee creativity than extrinsic reward. Therefore, the researcher concluded that in addressing employee creativity and for accomplishment of organizational goal, it is important for the management to make effective use of both extrinsic& intrinsic reward system for their employees. In addition, the management needs to assess reward practice of similar institutions & make necessary adjustments

Prevalence of ixodid ticks infesting Raya cattle breeds in Semi-arid areas of Raya Azebo district, northern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December, 2016 in Semi-arid areas of Raya Azebo District with the objectives to estimate the prevalence of ixodid ticks and assessing the difference in infestation among the different host risk factors such as age, sex and body condition scores. A total of 2697 adult ixodid ticks were collected from 488 Raya cattle breed selected randomly. Tick species were identified morphologically and the prevalence of the infested animals was estimated in relation to sex, age and body condition score. The study revealed that cattle in the study area were infested with atleast one or more ticks with an overall prevalence of 90% (405/448). Six tick species that belongs to the genera of Rhipicephalus (54%), subgenus Boophilus  (5%), Amblyomma (3%) and Hyalomma (2.7%) were also identified. The overall prevalence of ticks on cattle with the age from 6 months to 2 years, 3-5 years and greater than 5 years was 90%, 90%, and 92% respectively. A prevalence of 91% in female and 90% in male cattle was also observed. Similarly, the prevalence of ticks was 100 %, 90.7% and 70% in poor, medium and good body conditioned animals, respectively. The high prevalence and presence of many species of ticks may damage the hide and skins of the cattle and thereby contribute to reduced income from cattle. Hence, appropriate control measures using acaricides, improved cattle management practices and community awareness creation are recommended.Keywords: Body condition; Cattle; Prevalence; Semi-arid; Tic

Assessment of routine health information utilization and its associated factors among Health Professionals in Public Health Centers of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

AbstractBackground: - A Routine Health Information System (RHIS) is referred to as the interaction between people, processes, and technology to support operations management in delivering information to improve healthcare services. Routine health information is likely to allow public health facility providers to document analyze and use the information to improve coverage, continuity, and quality of health care services. In Ethiopia, information use remains weak among health professionals. Besides, more have to be done on the utilization of routine health information among health professionals to strengthen and improve the health of the community at large. This study aimed to assess the level of routine health information use and identified determinants that affect health information use among health professionals. Method: Facility-based cross-sectional study design was used from March to April 2020 among 408 health professionals within 22 public health centers using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data was collected using a Semi-structure questionnaire and an observational checklist. The data collected were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and transferred into SPSS version 20 for further statistical analysis. Stepwise regression was used to select the variable. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 for multiple logistic regression analysis were considered statistically significant factors for the utilization of RHIS. Result: In this study, Routine health information utilization rate among health professionals was 37.3% (95% CI: 32.6%, 42.1%). The findings also showed a significant positive association between routine health information utilization and health professionals who use of Both manual and computer-based files (AOR = 1.474, 95 % CI =1.043-2.082); Organizational rules, values, and practices (AOR = 1.734, 95 % CI =1.212-2.481); Human resource (AOR = 1.494, 95 % CI = 1.056-2.114); Had problem solving skill on HIS tasks (AOR = 2.091, 95 % CI = 1.343-3.256); Professional who believe that routine health information use is important (AOR = .665, 95 % CI = .501- .883); Planning and monitoring practice (AOR = 1.464 95% CI (1.006-2.131)) and Knowing duties and responsibilities (AOR = 1.525, 95 % CI = 1.121-2.073) Conclusion and Recommendations: Good health information utilization status of health professionals in Addis Ababa was low. Use of recording information; Organizational rules, values, and practices; Inadequate Human resource; Problem-solving skill of health professionals on HIS tasks; Professional who believe that routine health information use is important; the Collected information used for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of facility performance; and Staff know their duties and responsibilities in their workplace were found significantly associated with routine health information use. Thus, major improvements must be done in equipping health professionals to utilize the information they have by improving the above key findings/factors in the health care system. And, health professionals have to use routine health information for evidence-based decision-making in health facilities for a better quality of health care system implementation. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(SI-1):05-14] Keywords: Routine Health information Utilization, Health centers, Health professionals, Information Use, healthcare dat

Utilization and determinants of modern family planning among women of reproductive age group in Ethiopia: results from Integrated Family Health Program.

Background: Family planning improves community health and wellbeing by helping women to space and/or limit the number of children they want until they are physically and financially prepared.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess utilization and determinants of modern family planning among women of reproductive age in Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in four major regions of Ethiopia (Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP)) from April 28 to May 30, 2013. 2,404 women of reproductive age were interviewed Samples were selected using a two-stage stratified sampling process. Descriptive and logistic regression methods of analysis were used to analyze utilization of modern family planning and the factors associated with it.Result: The mean age of respondents’ was 28.6 years (S.D=8.67). The most commonly used methods of family planning are injectable. Multivariable analysis showed that discussion with partner/husband about family planning practice in the last 6 months (AOR=6.1, 95%CI=4.73-7.81) and respondents knew health extension workers providing family planning services (AOR=1.57, 95% CI=1.23-2.01) were significantly associated with the use of modern family planning methods.Conclusion: Results of this study revealed that the number of respondents who have discussed with husband/partner about family planning and respondents who knew the family planning service providers were high utilizers of modern family planning methods. Our findings also indicated that current use of modern family planning increases with women’s education, and creating a conductive environment for women’s education is critical. Additional efforts are required to promote modern family planning utilization, partner participation, and couple counselling for join to decision making to improve modern family planning use. Key words: Family planning, Modern methods, Utilization, Reproductive age, Partner discussio

A mixed-methods assessment of Routine Health Information System (RHIS) Data Quality and Factors Affecting it, Addis Ababa City Administration, Ethiopia, 2020

AbstractBackground: Effective and efficient health care services need evidence-based decisions, and these decisions should rely on information from high-quality data. However, despite a lot of efforts, routine health data is still claimed to be not at the required level of quality. Previous studies have primarily focused on organization-related factors while little emphasis was given for perception and knowledge of service providers' gaps. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the quality of data generated from routine health information systems and factors contributing to data quality from diverse aspects. Objective: This study aims in assessing the quality of routine health information system data generated from health facilities in Addis Ababa city administration, providing the level of data quality of routine health information system, and factors affecting it. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 568 health professionals from 33 health centers selected randomly using a two-stage sampling method. A qualitative study was also conducted using 12 key informants. Result: The overall regional data quality level was 76.22%. Health professionals' motivation towards routine health care data have shown a strong association with data quality, (r (31) =.71, p<.001). Lack of adequate Health information system task competence, non-functional PMT, and lack of supervision was also commonly reported reasons for poor data quality. Conclusion: This review has documented the data quality of routine health information systems from health centers under Addis Ababa city. Overall data quality (76.22%) was found to be below the national expectation level, which is 90%. The study emphasized the role of behavioral factors in improving the quality of routine health care data. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(SI-1): 15-24 ] Keywords: RHIS, Accuracy, completeness, timeliness, consistency, Addis Abab

Barriers and facilitators of ART adherence in Hawassa town, Southern Ethiopia: A grounded theory approach

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has the potential to significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission and the spread of tuberculosis and improve quality of life. Patient’s adherence is crucial to get the best out of ART. As ART is scaled up in Ethiopia, there is a need for better understanding of the factors that influence patients’ adherence to ART and improve the service. This study aims to explore patients’ and health care professionals’ views about factors that facilitate and hinder adherence to ART among adult HIV patients.Methods: A qualitative grounded theory study using non-participant observation; and in-depth interview with 23 ART users and 5 health professionals were carried out at two health facilities that serve a large number of HIVpositive individuals in Hawassa town, Southern Ethiopia. The study was conducted from February to April 2014. Simultaneous data collection and analysis was conducted and taped Notes were transcribed into Amharic then translated into English. The grounded theory approach was used for analyzing the data. The analysis began by using the constant comparison approach. The coding process was preceded by open coding, axial and selective coding. To manage the overall coding process, Atlas.ti (v.7) software was used.Results: The commonest barriers to adherence-included poverty, substance misuse, forgetfulness and being busy, fear of stigma and discrimination, pill burden and medication side effects. The most frequently emerged facilitators to adherence included disclosure of HIV status, using an adherence aid, prospects of living longer, social support, experiencing better health and trusting health workers.Conclusion: The study revealed a range of barriers to adherence including individual, medical, environmental and economic related factors. The findings from our study can be used to inform the development of effective interventions that address the barriers and facilitators of ART adherence in Ethiopia. Priority should be given to improving adherence by alleviating financial constraints to ART adherence, better access to treatment services, education and counseling to tackle culture related obstacles, stigma and discrimination. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2016;30(2):66-77]Keywords: Grounded theory, ART, HIV/AIDS, qualitative researc

Attitude of medical students towards psychiatry: the case of Jimma University, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: The inability to attract medical graduates to specialize in psychiatry has always been a serious challenge to psychiatry training programs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the attitude of medical students towards psychiatry.Methods: A comparative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 122 fourth year medical students of Jimma University. The attitude of medical students towards psychiatry was measured by Attitude toward Psychiatry – 30 (ATP-30). The collected Data were analyzed by SPSS version-20 using independent samples t-test plus bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. The level of significance was determined at 95% confidence interval.Results: Medical students who did not take psychiatry clinical rotation had a higher ATP-30 mean score 55.52(±15.2) indicating positive attitude towards psychiatry than those who completed psychiatry clinical rotation (mean= 49.75 ±10.67). Female medical students had significantly more positive attitude towards psychiatry than males (OR=9.23, 95% CI: 2.32; 36.76). Medical students who did not take psychiatry clinical rotation had more positive attitude towards psychiatry than students who completed the psychiatry clinical rotation (OR=7.58, 95% CI: 2.02; 28.37). Subjective experience of mental illness and reported family history of mental illness significantly predicted positive attitude toward psychiatry.Conclusion: The findings suggest that doing psychiatry rotation might have affected the attitude of medical students towards psychiatry. Future research should assess the experiential factors during psychiatry training of medical students that affect their attitudes. Also, future research needs to evaluate the attitudes of fourth year medical students before and after their psychiatry clinical rotation.Keywords: Attitude, psychiatry, medical students, medical trainin

Data quality and it’s correlation with Routine health information system structure and input at public health centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

AbstractBackground: The Government of Ethiopia, together with its partners, has made significant progress over the years in the standardization and implementation of health information system (HIS). The sector continues to be challenged by its lack of accurate, timely and thorough data, which therefore has affected the quality of care, planning and management systems in the country. This study assessed HIS for managing health care data and data quality in the Addis Abeba City Administration in Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the quality of the data. The study was conducted in 25 health centers in Addis Ababa City. Connected woreda assessment tools have been used. Composite analysis was carried out to determine the implementation of routine health information system structure and input. Univariate and multiple linear regression are used to identify predictors of overall data quality,reporting findings using a regression coefficient and 95 % confidence interval. Result: The overall |implementation of RHIS structure and input was 63.9% at health facilities. The mean score of RHIS structure and input was 19.2/30 + 4.7. The overall data quality was found to be 57.9% with a 95 Confidence interval of (95%CI (51.0-64.9%). Overall data accuracy, completeness, and timeliness in all assessed health facilities was 69.6% (95 IC 59.8-79.3%), 49.5% (95 CI 38.3-60.7%), and 56% (95 CI, 48.8_63.2), respectively. Supportive supervision and mentorship found to be associated to data quality, as supervision mean score increase by one-unit data quality increases by 1.42 with 95% CI (0.10-2.76) given another variable held constant. Conclusion and recommendation: Overall data quality was much lower than the national acceptable level of less than 90%. Supportive supervision and mentorship has a significant correlation with data quality. A considerable number of health facilities have not yet fulfilled all the input required to strengthen the HIS. Strengthen support supervision and mentorship is an opportunity to improve data quality at the level of health facilities. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(SI-1):33 - 41] Keywords: Data quality, RHIS structure and input, healthcare dat

Patterns of essential health services utilization and routine health information management during Covid-19 pandemic at primary health service delivery point Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

AbstractBackground: Health information system refers to any system that captures, stores, manages, and transmit information related to health of individuals. The essential health service includes Antenatal care, skilled birth attendant, emergency, outpatient, Inpatient, Pneumonia, and Immunization. The current pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has proved devastating in low-income countries, which were already suffering from low access for basic health service utilization. The pandemic might generate disruptive collateral damage to ongoing healthcare services through diverting available healthcare resources to the fight against the pandemics in these countries. This study aimed to assess the pattern of essential health services utilization, data accuracy checking, and information use performance review practice at selected public health center in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Methods: We employed cross-sectional study and retrospectively reviewed health records to assess the pattern of selected essential health service utilization, data quality, and performance review practice before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of twenty-seven health centers, nine health centers were randomly selected from three sub-cities to review key indicators using a guiding checklist. Data were extracted using record verification protocol. Data was entered, cleaned, and analyzed using STATA version 14. We used average change in proportions to describe the pattern of service utilization, data quality and performance review practice before and during COVID 19. The mean difference before and during COVID 19 was compared using paired T-test statistics. Result: Essential health services utilization has been partially or completely disrupted in the selected health centers. Pneumonia (70%), Upper respiratory diseases (65%), PICT (54%), Out-patient (42%), and 39% for data quality and performance review practice (39%) showed significant reduction during COVID 19 cases reported in the country. ANC1, ANC4, Penta1, and Penta4 service show almost in a similar trend from month to month before and during COVID-19. Conclusion: Service utilization like emergency, out-of-patient, and VCT cases significantly reduced during COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, routine data accuracy checks, and RHIS performance reviews practice were also significantly reduced. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(SI-1):90-97] Key words: Data quality, data use, health service utilizatio