Utilization of modern contraceptives among female health care workers at Gulu university teaching hospitals in Northern Uganda

BACKGROUND

The global high rate of unintended pregnancy is a direct result of underutilization of contraceptives methods. Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a pivotal role in promoting and facilitating access to modern family planning services. By examining the extent to which healthcare providers practice what they preach, this research aimed to shed light on the prevalence and factors associated with modern contraceptive use among female HCW at two university teaching hospitals in northern Uganda.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among qualified female healthcare workers (FHCWs) at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital (GRRH) and St. Mary's Hospital-Lacor in Gulu, Uganda. Convenient consecutive sampling was used to enroll study participants. Linear regression analysis was employed to determine factors independently associated with modern contraceptive use. P < 0.005 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

We enrolled 201 female HCWs, with a median age 31 (interquartile range: 27-38) years. Overall, 15 (7.5%, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 4.4 -11.1) participants utilized modern methods of family planning in the last 3 months while lifetime use was at 73.6% (n = 148, 95%CI: 67.3 - 79.4%). Most common method utilized was intra-uterine devices [IUDs] (51%, n = 76), followed by sub-dermal implants (15.4%, n = 23). Eighty-five (42.3%, n = 85) participants had desire to get pregnant. Factors independently associated with utilization of modern methods contraceptives were working at GRRH (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 5.0, 95% CI: 1.59 - 10.0, p = 0.003), and being single (aOR: 3.3, 9%CI: 1.02 -10.57, p = 0.046).

CONCLUSIONS

Utilization of modern methods of contraceptive among female HCWs in this study is lower than the Uganda national estimates for the general female population. Most utilized method is IUDs followed by sub-dermal implants. More studies are recommended to see if this finding is similar among FHCWs in other regions of Uganda and the rest of Africa while also considering Male Healthcare Workers.

Assessment of hospital-based adult triage at emergency receiving areas in hospitals in Northern Uganda

BACKGROUND

Limited health service resources must be used in a manner which does "the most for the most". This is partly achieved through the use of a triage system. Whereas efforts have been made to introduce paediatric triage in Uganda such as Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment Plus (ETAT+), it is not clear if hospitals have local protocols for adult triage being used in each setting.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the presence of existing hospital triage systems, the cadre of staff undertaking triage and barriers to development/improvement of formal triage systems.

METHODOLOGY

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Acholi sub-region was randomly selected for the study among the three sub-regions in Northern Uganda. The study was conducted in 6 of the 7 hospitals in the region. It was a written self-administered questionnaire.

RESULTS

Thirty-three participants from 6 hospitals consented and participated in the study. Only one hospital (16.7%) of the 6 hospitals surveyed had a formal hospital-based adult triage protocol in place. Only 2 (33.3%) hospitals had an allocated emergency department, the rest receive emergency patients/perform triage from OPD and wards. Lack of training, variation of triage protocols from hospital to another, shortage of staff on duty, absence of national guidelines on triage and poor administrative support were the major barriers to improvement/development of formal triage in all these hospitals.

CONCLUSION

Formal adult hospital-based triage is widely lacking in Northern Uganda and staff do perform subjective "eyeball" judgments to make triage decisions.