BackgroundIncidence of postoperative pain has been reported to be between 47–100%. Ineffective postoperative pain management results in tangible and intangible costs. The purpose of this study was to assess the processes and outcomes of pain management in the surgical wards of Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia.Methods and FindingsA prospective cross sectional study was conducted among 252 postoperative patients during February 13 to April 30, 2012. A contextually modified and validated (Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.78) American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire was used to assess pain experience of patients. Patients’ charts were reviewed to assess the pattern of analgesic use. Incidence of postoperative pain was 91.4%, and remained high over 3 measurements (McNemar’s; p<0.05), and 80.1% of the patients were undertreated. The mean pain intensity, and pain interference on functional status were 6.72±1.44 and 5.61±1.13 on a 10 point Numerical rating scale respectively; both being strongly correlated(r = 0.86: p<0.001). Pain intensity was varied by ethnicity, education and preoperative information (ANOVA; P<0.05). Only 50% of the patients were adequately satisfied with their pain management. As needed (prn), solo analgesic, null analgesic, and intramuscular orders were noted for 31.3%, 89.29%, 9.7% and 20.1% of the prescription orders respectively. Though under dose, diclofenac and tramadol were the top prescribed medications, and only 57% of their dose was administered. Linear regression model showed that the predictors of satisfaction were sex of an individual and pain interference with functional status.ConclusionDespite patients’ paradoxical high satisfaction with pain management, the majority of patients were inadequately and inappropriately treated. Thus, further research is needed to determine how best to break down current barriers to effective pain management.

BackgroundPatient satisfaction is an attitude resulting from a person’s general orientation towards a total experience of health care. It is a key determinant and a legitimate measure for quality of care. In developing countries, satisfaction studies were conducted mainly on nursing care and outpatient services.ObjectiveThis study aims to measure and describe the level of patient satisfaction within inpatient health care services.MethodsAcross sectional study design was conducted from 8 May 2011 to 2 June 2011 at Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Systematic random sampling technique was employed to recruit participants. A standardized structured questionnaire developed by reviewing similar literatures was used to assess the level of patient satisfaction towards the inpatient services. SPSS version 19 statistical packages were used for data management and analysis.ResultA total of 189 patients participated. The proportion of overall net patient satisfaction was 117 (61.9%). Majority of the respondents 148 (78.3%) reported that they got the kind of service they anticipated. Cleanliness of the ward 145 (76.7%) and time to get back to home 27 (14.3%) were found to have the highest and the lowest proportion of satisfied respondents, respectively. Patients with no formal education 60 (76.9%) and patients from the rural areas 75 (68.8%) were satisfied higher than those from their counterparts. Patients at medical 22 (61.1%) and ophthalmology 10 (62.5%) wards were less satisfied than patients in other departments.ConclusionNearly two third of the patients were found to be satisfied by the service they received from the hospital. Most of the patients found to be dissatisfied with the nursing, pharmacy and laboratory services, while some others were still dissatisfied with the level of health education, communication and information they received about their illness. Therefore, the hospital administration system should best work on new innovative approach to keep and improve the administrative system, waiting time, hospital stay, hospital accommodation, access for medications and laboratory services to bring patient satisfaction. Nurses and physicians should have to work best to improve health education, communication and understanding between doctors/nurses and patients. Hospital reformation and modern hospital administration system could work best to keep and improve the level of patient satisfaction.

BackgroundAntibiotics use in in children are different from adults due to a lack of data on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, efficacy and safety of drugs, different physiological spectrum, pediatrics populations being vulnerable to the majority of the illnesses, and the adverse effect of their irrational use is more serious. However, antibiotic use is not explored much in a paediatric population. The current study focused on antibiotic use among pediatric population using data from a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia.MethodsA retrospective cross-sectional study collated data from 614 pediatrics patients admitted in pediatrics ward at Jimma University Teaching Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia. Descriptive analyses were performed to describe the type and pattern of antibiotics. The number of prescriptions per a patient was also compared with the WHO standard. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20 for mackintosh.ResultsAntimicrobials were prescribed for 407(86.4%) patients of which 85.9% were in the form of injectables. A total of 1241 (90%) medicines were administered parenterally followed by oral 110 (8%). The maximum number of medicines per prescription was eight for all types of drugs in general, and five for antimicrobials in particular. All antimicrobials were prescribed empirically without any microbiological evidence. Pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis were the main reasons for antimicrobial use in the ward. Out of the total of 812 antibiotics prescribed; Penicillin G crystalline was the most (20%) frequently prescribed, followed by gentamicin (19%) and ampicillin (16).ConclusionsMajority of the prescribed antibiotics were antimicrobials, and was in the form of injectables. Antimicrobials were over prescribed and the number of drugs per prescription was also far from WHO recommendation. Strict prescribing standard guidelines and treatment habits should be developed in the country, to prevent antimicrobial resistance.

Effective pain management requires a sound knowledge of pain and its treatment. Researches indicated that inadequate knowledge and inappropriate attitudes of nurses regarding pain management have a significant impact of treatment and patient care. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and attitude among health care professionals in Anfillo Woreda health centers and private small clinics in West Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey was used to self-administer four Likert scales validated and adopted 22 pain related items by 89 nurses of three health centers and twenty small clinics. Descriptive data analyses were used. Itemtotal correlation and Cronbach's alpha were computed. The overall mean correct answer for all the 22 items was 49.8%; meaning health care providers were able to correctly answer 49.8% of items on average. Besides, only 3.8% of them scored above the passing score of 70%. The widespread pain related misconceptions identified is of concern demanding continuing education for nurses and pain management quality improvement initiatives so as to alleviate the consequences of poor knowledge and inappropriate attitude towards pain management. Keywords: Attitudes; knowledge; nurse; pain management Özet Etkili ağrı yönetimi, sağlam bir ağrı bilgisi ve tedavisini gerektirir. Araştırmalar, ağrı yönetimi konusunda yetersiz bilginin ve hemşirelerin uygunsuz yaklaşımların, tedavi ve hasta bakımında önemli bir etkiye sahip olduğunu göstermiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Batı Etiyopya'da bulunan özel, küçük kliniklerde ve Anfillo Woreda sağlık merkezlerinde sağlık bakımı profesyonellerin arasında bilgi ve yaklaşım seviyesini değerlendirmektir. Kesitsel ankette, 3 sağlık merkezi ile 20 küçük kliniğin 89 hemşiresi tarafından onaylanan ve benimsenen 22 ağrı ile ilgili maddeleri içeren kendi kendine uygulanan 4 Likert skalası kullanıldı. Tanımlayıcı data analizleri kullanıldı. Madde toplam korelasyon ve Cronbach alfa hesaplandı. Tüm 22 madde için doğru cevabın genel ortalaması %49.8 idi; yani ortalama olarak maddelerin %49.8'ini sağlık bakımı sağlayıcıları doğru olarak cevaplandırdı. Ayrıca, bunların sadece %3.8'i, geçme skoru olan %70'in yukarısında skor almıştır. Yaygın ağrı ile ilgili saptanmış yanlış kavramlar, ağrı yönetimine karşı uygunsuz yaklaşım ve yetersiz bilginin sonuçlarını hafifletmek için ağrı yönetimi kalite iyileştirme girişimleri ve hemşireler için sürekli eğitim talebini önemli hale getirmiştir.

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