Attitude of Health Professionals towards Persons with Disabilities and its Associated Factors at St. Paul Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Date
2023-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The experience that people with disabilities face while using health care services is a complex interaction between their medical condition and the social and physical environment. The attitude of health professional affects the rehabilitation outcome and interaction with the society. The aim of this study is to assess the attitude of health professionals towards person with disability in St. Paul Millennium Medical College Hospital in Ethiopia. A cross- sectional survey was conducted from November 10 to December 9, 2022; to assess the attitude towards disabled patients among health care professionals in St. Paul Millennium Medical College Hospital. The sample size for the study was calculated using single population formula, and a total of 422 study participants were recruited for the study, using random sampling techniques. Data was collected using a self-administered questioner developed by using Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale, consisting of 20 items rated on a six-point Likert Type Scale. The collected data was entered to Epi data software and exported to SPSS version 26, for further analysis. Descriptive and Inferential statistical analysis was conducted to describe the variables and to identify the association between dependent and independent variables. Healthcare professionals participating in the study were with mean age of 27.9±4.1 years. The study showed the proportion of health professionals having a positive attitude towards disabled people to be 77.2%. In addition, factors that showed a statistically significant association with the attitude of health professionals towards disabled persons include: Age of the participants [AOR= 2.67; 95%CI (1.33-11.45)], profession of the participants physicians[AOR=0.25; 95%CI(0.71-0.88)], income level [AOR= 2.97 ; 95%CI(1.34–12.76)],presence of disabled person in family [AOR= 3.12; 95%CI(1.74–14.22)] and contact with disabled[AOR= 2.22; 95%CI(1.98–5.15)]. age of the health care professionals, profession, income level, presence of disabled person in the family, and having contact with disabled persons were determinants of having negative attitude towards disabled persons. Therefore, interventions to improve the attitude of health professionals should focus on the identified factors.
Key words: attitude, health professionals, person with disability