Background. Traditional medicine is the sum total of knowledge, talents, and practices that are used to uphold health, as well as to avert, identify, improve, or treat illnesses. Sociodemographic/economic characteristics, culture, and environment can influence the preference and practice of traditional medicine. Objective. To assess the preference and practices of traditional medicine and associated factors. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 271 residents of Jimma town. The data were collected by interviewing selected households. The households were selected by a simple random sampling technique. The data were analysed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics were used for organizing, describing, and summarizing the data. Chi-square (X2) test was used to identify factors associated with the preference and practice of traditional medicine. Results. More than half (221(81.5%)) of the participants practiced traditional medicine. Religion (X2 = 17.18; p = 0.001 ), marital status (X2 = 15.42; p = 0.001 ), occupation (X2 = 19.74; p = 0.001 ), and educational level (X2 = 28.39; p ≤ 0.001 ) were the sociodemographic factors determining the use of traditional medicine. However, 25 (9.2%) of the participants preferred to use traditional medicine. Affordability (25 (100%)), religious affiliation (21 (84%)), and distance from home (20 (80%)) were some reasons for preference. Educational level (X2 = 15.56; p = 0.04 ), marital status (X2 = 12.39; p = 0.04 ), and occupation (X2 = 15.61; p = 0.003 ) were the factors affecting their preference for traditional medicine. Conclusion. A majority of the participants practiced traditional medicine use. Religion, marital status, occupation, and educational level were factors affecting the practice of the participants. More than half of the participants did not prefer to use traditional medicine. Affordability, religious affiliation, and distance from home were some reasons for preferring traditional medicine.

Purpose: To assess traditional medicine practice claims by the community for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 422 households of Jimma Zone, and the data were collected by interviewing individuals from the selected households. The medicinal plants were recorded on Microsoft excel 2010 with their parts used, dosage form, route of administration and source of plants and tabulated in the table. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and organize the data. The Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) was calculated for each traditional medicine to identify the top 10 medicinal products. Results: Around 46% of participants used traditional medicines for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The study recorded 32 herbal and non-herbal medicinal products. Garlic (RFC: 0.166), ginger (RFC: 0.133), lemon (RFC: 0.133), garden cress (RFC: 0.069) and "Damakase" (RFC: 0.031) were the frequently used herbal medicines. Seeds (47.22%) and leaves (30.56%) were the most used parts of medicinal plants. Most preparation of medicinal plants (90.63%) was administered through the oral route. The majority of medicinal plants were from home gardens. Conclusions and Recommendations: Around half of the participants practiced traditional medicines for COVID-19. Garlic, ginger, lemon, garden cress and "Damakase" were the frequently used herbal products. Seeds and leaves were regularly used parts. The oral route is the most used route of administration. The majority of medicinal plants were from home gardens. This quantity of traditional medicine practice is probably challenging to control the pandemic. However, it might open possibilities for pharmaceutical industries and researchers to look into the effectiveness and safety of claimed medicinal products. Therefore, all responsible bodies are advocated to behave accordingly.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new situations that require the effective delivery of health information across the world and it’s important to offer clear, consistent, and credible information on the pandemic to mitigate and control the outbreak. Aim To assess COVID-19 information source, need and trust among the rural community of southwest Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 634 rural communities of southwest Ethiopia. The data were collected by interviewing individuals from selected households and analyzed by SPSS version 26. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess factors affecting information needs. Results Radio 484 (76.3%) was mostly used as a source of information for COVID-19, and government 404 (63.7%) and health professionals 345 (57.7%) were trusted. However, only 10 (1.6%) of the participants acquired information from health professionals. Around 395 (62.3%) of the participants needed additional information on COVID-19. Around 230 (58.2%) and 186 (47.1%) of the participants required additional information on cause and sign and symptoms, respectively. Age of < 45 years old (AOR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.43, 3.12, P < 0.001), and absence of formal education (AOR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.95, P: 0.001) were factors positively affecting the information needs of the participants on COVID-19. Church goers (AOR: 3.24; 95% CI: 2.03, 5.19; P < 0.001), television (AOR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.63, 3.49; P < 0.001) and social media users (AOR: 4.52; 95% CI: 2.26, 9.04; P < 0.001) as source of information required additional information on COVID-19, and the participants that trusted social media (AOR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.64, 3.87; P < 0.001) and friends/relatives (AOR: 2.95: 95% CI: 1.51, 5.76; P < 0.001) were also required additional information on COVID-19. Conclusions The popular sources of COVID-19-related information were radio and television. The participants trusted the government and health professionals on COVID-19. However, less than 2% of the participants had information from health professionals. The majority of the participants wanted to learn more about COVID-19. The areas the participants required additional information include cause and signs and symptoms. Age, educational status, trust in social media, trust in friends, using the church, television and social media as a source were factors associated with information needs.

Background Successful health care and clinical services essentially depend on patients’ realization of ones’ rights, and health workers’ and facilities’ fulfillments and protections of these rights. However, little is documented about how patients and health workers perceive patients’ rights during care-seeking practices. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in four hospitals in Ethiopia through 8 focus group discussions with patients and 14 individual interviews with diverse groups of patients, caretakers, and 14 interviews with health workers. Participants were recruited through a purposive sampling method to meet the saturation of ideas about patients’ rights. The sampled patients, caretakers, and professionals were enlisted from various departments in the hospitals. The data analysis was assisted by ATLAS.ti 7.1.4 Results The study identified three major categories of healthcare rights (clinical, socio-cultural, and organizational), incorporating supporting elements of education, engagement, and empowerment. Study participants reported detailed rights the patients would have during hospital visits which included the right to timely access to care and treatment, adequate medications) with full respect, dignity, and without any discrimination. Patients widely perceived that they had the right to tell their illness history and know their illness in the language they can understand. It was also widely agreed that patients have the right to be educated and guided to make informed choices of services, procedures, and medications. Additionally, patients reported that they had the right to be accompanied by caretakers together with the right to use facilities and resources and get instructions on how to utilize these resources, the right to be protected from exposure to infections and unsafe conditions in hospitals, right to get a diet of their preference, and right to referral for further care. Nevertheless, there was a common concern among patients and caretakers that these rights were mostly non-existent in practice which were due to barriers related to patients (fear of consequence; a sense of dependency, feeling of powerlessness, perceptions of low medical literacy), health workers (negligence, lack of awareness and recognition of patient rights, undermining patients), and facilities’ readiness and support, including lack of guiding framework. Conclusions Perceived patients’ rights in the context of hospital visits were profoundly numerous, ranging from the right to access clinical and non-clinical services that are humanely respectful, fulfilling socio-cultural contexts, and in a manner that is organizationally coordinated. Nonetheless, the rights were not largely realized and fulfilled. Engaging, educating, and empowering patients, caretakers, and health care providers supported with policy framework could help to move towards patient-centered and right-based healthcare whereby patients’ rights are protected and fulfilled in such resource-limited settings.

Background Satisfaction with pharmacy services has many implications, including the degree of interaction with health care providers, the type and quality of service provided, and the extent to which needs and desires are met. This study aimed to identify the dimensions of pharmacy services and quantify client satisfaction with them. Methods A quantitative cross-sectional study was employed to guide this study. Data were entered into Epi Data, exported to SPSS 26.0, and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis to identify the underlying dimensions of pharmacy service. The study was conducted between 14th August 2020 and 28th December 2020. For standardization and comparison purposes, items loaded onto each dimension were computed and rescaled, and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the results. Stepwise linear regression was performed to quantify the contribution of each dimension to overall satisfaction and to identify determinant variables for overall satisfaction. A 95% CI, and a P-value of < 0.05 were used for the declaration of statistical significance. Results The mean overall satisfaction with pharmacy service was found to be (21.62±6.74)/30. There were eight dimensions of pharmacy service identified, and poor customer satisfaction was recorded for the premises and supply dimensions, with mean satisfaction of (12.08±8.49)/30 and (13.66±10.06)/30, respectively. The highest mean satisfaction was recorded with waiting time (24.24±6.54). Of the emergent dimensions, only four (supply, compassion and care, privacy, and premises) were predictors of overall satisfaction (P<0.05). The supply component was the strongest predictor of overall satisfaction, accounting for 20% of the variance in overall satisfaction. The number of prescribed and dispensed pharmaceuticals, marital status, and gender of participants also predicted overall satisfaction (P<0.05). Conclusion The survey uncovered eight underlying aspects of pharmacy services that influence client satisfaction. A significant gap was recorded with premises and supply chain-related components. These dimensions’ contributions to total satisfaction were substantial in terms of practical relevance. As a result, improving the availability of pharmaceuticals and the infrastructure surrounding pharmacy services may enhance consumer satisfaction considerably. Stakeholders must work on addressing supply related and premises difficulties to increase client satisfaction.