Effectiveness of laboratory mentorship practice and Associated factors among public hospital laboratories In wolaita zone, southern ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Effective Laboratory mentoring programs are essential for establishing and strengthening quality management systems and supporting laboratories in achieving accreditation goals. Only a few governmental healthcare institutions in Ethiopia's Wolaita Zone have high scores in SLMTA. With the aim of assessing and increasing the number of accredited medical laboratories, enhancing the quality management system, determining challenges, and strengthening mentorship activities, an operational study was employed. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of laboratory mentorship practice and associated factors among public hospital laboratories in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia, from June 1 to August 30, 2022. Method: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted to collect primary and secondary data from laboratory professionals. A structured questionnaire was used during data collection, which was analyzed by SPSS version 25 statistical software. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with the effectiveness of laboratory mentorship practice. Result: A total of 118 respondents answered a questionnaire, with 32 of them (27.1%) saying that mentors were accessible on a regular and frequent basis and 16.9% saying that the mentor spent more time with the mentee throughout the mentorship practice. In the eight health facilities being followed up on, (or 62.5%) had low scores in the Stepwise Laboratory Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) grade, and 12.5% had high scores (3-star grade). There was a significant association between the effectiveness of laboratory mentorship practice and work experience (AOR = 4.76, 95% CI 1.61–14.06), professional level (AOR = 0.185, 95% CI 0.023– 0.861), lack of experience, lack of accountability, mentor support and lack of staff commitment, all of which had a significant difference with a P value >0.05. Conclusion and recommendation: Low SLIPTA ratings were a consequence of ineffective mentorship practices in medical laboratories in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia. Major factors affecting effective laboratory mentorship practice include lack of work experience, professional level, mentor support, lack of staff commitment, and lack of accountability. Everyone has to focus on creating strong laboratory mentorship practices in order to increase the quality of laboratory services.