Abstract:
oronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Moreover, there was a dearth of evidence on healthcare provider’s adherence to respectful maternity care guidelines through direct observation. Hence, this study intended to assess
healthcare provider’s adherence to respectful maternity care guidelines during COVID-19 in northwest Ethiopia.
Methods: A multicenter observational cross-sectional study was conducted at hospitals in northwest Ethiopia from
November 15th/2020 to March 10th/2021. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 406
healthcare providers. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and direct observation using a structured questionnaire and standardized checklist respectively. The data were entered into Epi Info 7.1.2 and
exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. A binary logistic regression model was fitted. Both bivariable and
multivariable logistic regression analyses were undertaken. The level of significance was claimed based on the
adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) at a p-value of ≤0.05.
Results: The proportion of healthcare providers adhering to respectful maternity care guidelines during COVID-19
was 63.8% (95% CI: 59.1, 68.4). Job satisfaction (AOR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.18), professional work experience
of 3–5 years (AOR = 2.84; 95% CI: 1.74, 4.6) and ≥6 years (AOR = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.11, 4.38), and having
education parallel to work (AOR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.51) have an independent statistical significant association with adherence to respectful maternity care guidelines.
Conclusion: In this study, six out of ten healthcare providers had good adherence to respectful maternity care
guidelines. Ensuring health worker’s job satisfaction and providing education opportunities by the government
would improve healthcare provider’s adherence to respectful maternity care standards.
