Knowledge of partograph and its associated factors among obstetric care providers in North Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Globally, there are 210 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2013. Ethiopia is one of the ten countries contributing to 60 % of the global maternal deaths. Most of these deaths could be averted by enhancing safe motherhood strategies and providing skilled care at each delivery. This skilled care includes the use of partograph to monitor the progress of labor. With this aspect, this study is aimed to assess knowledge of partograph and its associated factors among obstetric care providers in North Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted in June, 2013. Four hundred three obstetric care providers were included in the study. A pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered into the Epi—Info software and exported to SPSS software for further analysis. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify the associated factors. Odds ratios with 95 % confidence interval (CI) were computed to determine the presence and strength of association. RESULTS: In this study; 287 (71.2 %) of obstetric care providers had a good level of knowledge on the partograph. Working in the hospital [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.71, P = 0. 027, 95 % CI 1.32, 5.57) and getting on the job training (AOR = 5.49, P = 0.001, 95 % CI 3.32, 9.08) were significantly associated with knowledge about partograph. CONCLUSIONS: A significant percentage of care providers had a good level of knowledge about partograph. Working in the hospital and getting on the job training were factors affecting provider’s knowledge on the partograph. The provision of on the job training is necessary to improve provider’s knowledge on the partograph. Moreover, giving a due attention for provider at health centers is also important. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1363-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.