Evidence-based intrapartum care practice and associated factors among obstetric care providers working in hospitals of the four Wollega Zones, Oromia, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Even though Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is a key component of quality of Intrapartum care and links to improved health care outcomes, consistent application of EBP in patient care remains a challenge for health care providers. In the study area, there are no previous studies conducted on evidence-based Intrapartum care practice among obstetric care providers. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the magnitude of evidence based intra-partum care practice and its associated factors among obstetric care providers working in hospitals of Wollega zones, Oromia Region, West Ethiopia, 2022. METHOD: An institution-based cross-sectional study using quantitative method was conducted from January to April/2022 in 11 hospitals of the four Wollega zones. All obstetric care providers (278) who were practicing intrapartum care in the selected hospitals were included. The data was collected using structured self-administered questionnaire and observational checklist. Data was entered via Epi-Data version 3.1 and analyzed by SPSS version 25 statistical software. To see the association between the independent variables and evidence based Intrapartum care practice, multivariable logistic regression analysis was done. The statistical significance of association was declared at p-value ≤ 0.05. Tables, figures and charts were also used in descriptive statistics. RESULT: The overall magnitude of evidence-based Intrapartum care practice was found to be 63.7% [95% CI (59.7, 67.7)]. There was a statistically significant association between evidence-based Intrapartum care practice and having good knowledge about Intrapartum care practice [AOR = 2.95; 95% CI (1.52,5.73)], positive attitude towards Intrapartum care practice [AOR = 3.13; 95% CI (1.59,6.16)], availability of updated Intrapartum care guideline [AOR = 2.88; 95% CI (1.46,5.70)], number of obstetric care providers per a shift (≥5 care providers) [AOR = 2.31; 95% CI (1.01,5.29)], number of deliveries within a day (<10 deliveries) [AOR = 4.61; 95% CI (2.28,9.31)], educational level (MSc and above) [AOR = 5.75; 95% CI (2.23,14.84)] at p-value ≤ 0.05. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that, magnitude of evidence-based Intrapartum care practice was found to be low according to the WHO recommendation. These findings indicate that additional attention and monitoring is required to implement current Intrapartum care practices with the WHO guidelines.