Abstract:
Background: Globally, 2.4 million children died in the first month of life in 2020-with about
a third of all neonatal deaths occurring within the first day after birth. However, evidence
indicates that nurses and midwives do not effectively practice according to World Health
Organization recommendations for essential newborn care.
Objective: To assess knowledge and practice of essential newborn care and associated factors
among Nurses and Midwives in Health Facilities of South West Shawa Zone, Oromia Region,
Ethiopia, 2022.
Methods: Institution based cross sectional study design supplemented with qualitative
research was conducted from August 28 to September 28/2022. A total of 311 Nurses and
Midwives were participated. The participants were selected by simple random sampling from
randomly selected four hospitals and forty Health Centers in South West Shawa Zone. The
quantitative data collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire, while interview
guide was used for individual in-depth interview from 12 purposively selected key
informants. In addition, observation checklist was used to assess 25 actual procedures in
delivery room. The collected data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Texts,
tables, and proportions were used to present categorical data. Binary Logistic regression was
carried out to identify independently associated factors of knowledge and practice of essential
newborn care. Finally, in the multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted odds ratio
(AOR) with 95% CI and p-values less than 0.05 were used to identify significant
variables. For in-depth interview representative quotes were triangulated accordingly.
Results: -A total of 311 nurses and midwives separately 166 nurses and 145 midwives
participated in this study, making a response rate of (100%). In this study, 43.7 %( 95%CI:
38.1, 49.4%) and 52.4% (95%CI: 46.7%, 58.1%) of midwives and nurses had good
knowledge and good practice on essential newborn care respectively. Type of health facility
(AOR=3.83, 95%CI: 1.2, 11.94) and Monthly salary (AOR=0.36, 95%CI: 0.17, 0.75) were
associated with good knowledge on essential newborn care. Whereas type of profession
(AOR=4.78, 95%CI: 2.02, 11.32), educational level (AOR=11.43, 95%CI: 4.86, 26.82), type
of health facility (AOR=4.37, 95%CI: 1.91, 10.01) and having in service training
(AOR=0.2.9, 95%CI: 1.37, 6.33) were associated with good essential newborn care practices.
Conclusions and Recommendation: -The study population had poor knowledge and practice
on some components of essential newborn care. In service training, improving educational
qualification, giving mentorship and experience sharing with hospitals staff were areas to
bring required knowledge and practice of Essential new born care.
