Vol. 4, Issue 1, Part A (2022)

Background: The neonatal stage is one of the most vulnerable in a child's existence due to the high risks of mortality and illness during such a time. One-fourth of newborn mortality worldwide is caused by asphyxia, with Ethiopia bearing a disproportionately large share of this burden among low- and middle-income countries. Poor resuscitation brought on by inexperienced medical staff had a significant impact on this asphyxia-related mortality and morbidity. The aim of the study is to assess magnitude & associated factors toward neonatal resuscitation among nurses working in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted in selected hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 409 health professionals, including nurses, midwives, general practitioners, interns, residents, and obstetric gynecologists, worked in selected hospitals for this study. Data was collected using validated self-administered questionnaires. Bivariate analysis was used to see the association between each independent variable and the outcome variable, and multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out to determine the effect of various factors on the outcome variable. All variables with a p-value ≤ 0.25 were taken into the multivariable model to control for all possible confounders. Results: A total of 409 healthcare professionals with a 100% response rate were included. The majority of 357 (87.3%) of the participants had adequate knowledge, and 365 (89.2%) had good practice in neonatal resuscitation. In this study, the odds of health care providers having work experience greater than 5 years were 3.14 (AOR=3.14, 95% CI: 1.20-8.19), receiving neonatal resuscitation training was 2.68 (AOR=2.68, 95% CI: 1.02-7.03), having adequate knowledge about neonatal resuscitation was 6.18 (AOR=6.18, 95% CI: 2.08–18.37), having appropriate suctioning for neonates was 6.14 (AOR=6.14, 95% CI: 2.39-15.74), and neonates during resuscitation placed under neutral positioning were 3.44 (AOR=3.44, 95% CI: 1.45-8.16) significantly associated with practice of neonatal resuscitation. Conclusion and Recommendation: The overall knowledge and practice score of health professionals was good. Hospital managers and decision makers also need to provide periodic supportive supervision and refreshment training to update knowledge and practice of HCPs.