Academic Achievements in National Competence Assessment Among Health Extension Students in Regional Health Science Colleges, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: The national competency assessment (NCA) is a strategy with the objective of creating a competent, motivated, adaptable and innovative workforce in Ethiopia. However, of all the students that had taken the NCA, below average students had passed the assessment in the study settings. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of academic achievements of health extension students (HESs) and identify the influencing factors that contribute to the failure of HESs on NCA in the study settings. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study complemented with qualitative methods was conducted from 18th to 27th January 2019 of a sample of 186 level III health extension students in Regional Health Science Colleges. A self-administered structured questionnaire and focus group discussion guiding tool were used to collect the data. The data were checked for completeness, coded and entered into EPI info version 7.1.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was done to assess the association between each independent variable and the outcome variable with p<0.25. Multivariable analysis was done to control the influence of potential confounding variables and to identify influencing factors. The significant level was declared at p<0.05. RESULTS: A total of 186 study subjects were involved in the study with a response rate of 100%. Of the total participants, only 31.7% of students passed the national competency assessment. After adjusting for covariates, fathers’ education level, fathers’ occupation, and students’ English language understanding were significantly associated with the passing of the NCA. CONCLUSION: Students’ competency in the NCA is below average. Therefore, the health science colleges should give due attention to the inclusion of the English language as a unit of competency. The regional government and stakeholders should give priority to paternal awareness about the health extension program. Follow-up studies are recommended exploring other influencing factors related to the NCA.