Utilization Status of Electronic Information Sources (EIS) for HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Specialized Teaching Hospitals of Ethiopia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: According to the World Health Organization, the use of Electronic Information Sources (EIS) in healthcare is not merely about application of technology, but it is also a foundation to provide higher quality clinical care. This study was aimed to assess Utilization Status of EIS for HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in specialized teaching hospitals of Ethiopia, 2016. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A facility based cross-sectional study design was used. The study populations were 352 healthcare professionals selected by using simple random sampling technique from three randomly selected specialized teaching hospitals of Ethiopia. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed by fitting multivariate logistic regression model and thematically by bringing similar themes together respectively. RESULTS: This study revealed that only 33.2% of the health professionals used EIS as supporting tool in their clinical practice including HIV/AIDS care and treatment. The main reasons for not using EIS were having no training 285(89.9%), followed by preferring print resources 20(6.3 %). Furthermore, there was statistically significant association between use of EIS and perceived electronic information retrieval skills AOR = 3.271, CI (1.942, 4.051), perceived quality of electronic information content retrieved AOR= 2.069, CI (1.051, 3.925) and limited access to computer and internet connection AOR = 5.072, CI (1.834, 5.931). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, only one-third of health professionals used EIS as supporting tool in their clinical practice. Hence, hospital boards should devise strategies to improve utilization of EIS.