Quality Perception and Utilization of Clinical Laboratory Test Results to Increase Physicians towards Laboratory service in Hospitals of South West Ethiopia
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Date
2018-06
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
Background: Medical laboratory work is composed of the technical activities that produce
laboratory results for patient care and the management activities that support the technical work.
It is crucial for proper treatment of patients and surveillance of the disease. However, laboratory
diagnosis in Ethiopia is constrained by inadequate infrastructure, consumables and insufficient
skilled personnel. Furthermore, the perceptions and attitude of physicians on the quality of
laboratory services also present a significant challenge in the utilization of the available services.
Objectives: The objective of the study is to assess the quality perception and utilization of
laboratory test result among physicians.
Methodology: A prospective and retrospective hospital based cross sectional study design was
conducted to assess the quality perception and utilization of clinical laboratory test results among
227 physicians on 12 hospitals of south-west Ethiopia from January to March, 2018. The
reliability of the response was checked using Cronbach’s alpha and it was 69%. The data entry
and analysis were double checked before result reporting.
Result: Of 214 total respondents, 167(77%) were male and the age of participant’s lies 18-46.
The participants 144(67.3%) and 110(51.4%) had poor quality perception and utilization of
laboratory test result respectively. Participants’ educational level and type of institution had
significant association with quality perception and utilization in addition formal customer
handling training, system for physician feedback, physician survey & internal audit and service
interruption had significant association for quality perception while participants’ working
department type, quality perception level and recording of results on patients’ card had
significant association for utilization of laboratory result.
Conclusion: The overall findings illustrate that formal customer handling training, system for
physician feedback, physician survey & internal audit, service interruption, good quality
perception creation and recording of results on patients’ card are factors for quality perception
and utilization of laboratory test result among physicians and intervention that should focus on
those factors.
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Keywords
Perception, Physicians, Quality, Test result and Utilization