Medical Laboratory Service Provision in Public Health Centers of War-Torn Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.83407/nkfft228Keywords:
Armed conflict, medical laboratory service, Tigrai, health center, EthiopiaAbstract
Background
The armed conflict broke out on November 2020 had numerous impacts on the health system of Tigray. However, its impact on the medical laboratory services is not well documented. Thus, the study was conducted to assess the medical laboratory services in public health centers of war-torn Tigray, Northen Ethiopia.
Objectives
To assess the medical laboratory services provision in public health centers of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in the medical laboratory units of 197 Health Centers except Western zone and some woredas for security reasons. Data were collected using well-developed checklists between July 10 and 30, 2021. Descriptive statistical analysis was used for tabulation, cross-tabulation and computation of frequencies and percentages. The status of medical laboratory equipment, consumables and services before and during the war compared using Paired t-test at P-value < 0.05 level of significance using STATA V.15 statistical software.
Results
A total of 197 health centers which met data completeness criteria were included in the study. The number of health centers which had microscope, micro-hematocrit and general centrifuge before the war were 80.7%, 76.7% and 79.1%, respectively. However, availability of these equipment was significantly dropped to 31.5%, 26.9% and 30.0%, respectively. The availability of blood film, hemoglobin and Human Immune Deficiency Virus tests before the war were 86.3%, 76.7% and 91.9%, respectively. However, these has dropped to 24.4%, 19.83% and 32.5%, respectively.
Conclusions
Medical laboratory services in the health centers of Tigray were disrupted due to the armed conflict and associated siege. The most common and critical laboratory tests were available in nearly 30% of the health centers. The non-availability of these tests would bring significant morbidity and mortality. Thus, urgent restoration of the medical laboratory services in the health centers is recommended
