Health information utilization among health professionals and associated factors at governmental hospitals, in North Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022.

Abstract

Abstract Background: Health Information System is designed to collect, store, analyze, and report health data to make evidence-based decisions. Evidence-based decision-making process engrosses extensive data demand and a high degree of information use. Medical errors have continued to be major causes of death in the world and globally around a hundred thousand died due to medical errors. However, due to the poor quality of data and other contributing factors, information utilization is less practiced in the health sector. Low data use results to make a wrong decision. Shreds of evidence indicated that health care provider data use to make decisions is low. However, evidence about data demand and use are limited in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to asses information use, and associated factors among health professionals at hospitals in North Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Objective: This study aimed to assess Information use and associated factors among health professionals in public hospitals in North Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, and Northwest Ethiopia 2022. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional census was conducted from Jun to July 2022 among 335 health professionals working in public hospitals in North Gondar Zone, Amhara Region, and Northwest Ethiopia. Data was collected using interviews administered questionnaires and it was collected by trained data collectors guided by two supervisors. Data was entered with epi data 4.6 versions and cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression was carried out to see the effect of explanatory variables on the outcome variable. Results: A total of 327 study subjects participated in this study with a 97.6% response rate. The mean age of the study participants was 28.48 years and 187