Abstract:
ack ground: Quality management system is continuously analyzing, improving, and re examining of resources, processes and services within a healthcare and its serve to document
processes and procedures that allow a laboratory to the benchmark and measure the level of
quality which indicates service that meets too the standards.
Objective: To assess the implementation of laboratory quality management system and its
challenges in public hospitals in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia, 2022.
Methods: Public health facility based cross sectional descriptive study was implemented from
November 2021 to January 2022, by using quantitative and qualitative study design to assess
laboratory QMS implementation and its challenges in public hospitals in Jimma Zone. The
quantitative data were collected by WHO-AFRO SLIPTA checklist auditing laboratories and
laboratory professionals working in that hospital’s by using self-administered questionnaire. The
qualitative data were collected by using key informant interview from purposely selected key
informants of the five hospitals in Jimma zone.
Result: In this study, 99% questionnaires were responded by laboratory staff and 91.4% key
informants from five hospitals were included. The current laboratory QMS implementation status
in public hospitals was averagely 76.6%. From those hospitals only Jimma university medical
center laboratory was scored 87%, that rating to 4-stars and accredited against EAS that certified
in single GeneXpert test since 2019. In this study routine workload, poor equipment quality
management, shortage of laboratory supplies, inconsistent mentorship and training, and low
attention to quality among the challenges were identified in study area.
Conclusion and recommendation: The study finding showed that the laboratory personnel had
information and participation in implementing of laboratory QMS. The overall findings illustrated
that there is a need for health facilities resource management and should set a specified budget for
laboratory QMS in the hospitals. The hospitals management bodies are better position to
understand the importance of laboratory QMS in their hospital and support it for better laboratory
auditing outcome for improved health care delivery
