THE AVAILABILITY OF ISOLATION ROOMS IN SELECTED GOVERNMENTAL HOSPITALS, ADDIS ABEBA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Summary Background: Isolation refers to separation of individuals having a particular disease or who have been exposed to an infectious agent from those who are not affected by that transmissible illness; includes the establishment of a separate area within a hospital ward and the restriction of the movement of the infected patients in order to minimize the spread of disease. Dedicated isolation wards maybe pre-built into hospitals, or isolation units maybe temporarily designated in facilities in the midst of epidemic emergency. Many hospitals in countries like Ethiopia lack these facilities. Objective: The main aim of this research to explore about the availability of isolation rooms for highly contagious diseases in selected governmental hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Method: A qualitative exploratory research design was conducted to execute this research. The study is conducted in four government-owned hospitals; one teaching hospital under Addis Ababa University (Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital), one hospital under AACAHB (Zewditu Memorial Hospital), one hospital under the FMoH (St. Paul’s hospital millennium medical college) and one Army and Police Hospital (Armed Forces General Hospital). Purposeful sampling of one hospital from each category was taken. Data was collected using an in-depth interview with key informants of the hospitals and observation. Results were analyzed using thematic analysis. Result: Results from this study have shown that all four hospitals studied have isolation rooms. These rooms are not available at all wards but mainly in medical and pediatric wards. Regarding the quality, none of these isolation rooms are specially designed. The most common disease that needs isolation is TB in all four hospitals followed by measles in the pediatric wards. Protective isolation rooms were only present in two of the four studied hospitals but lack proper design and instructions. Strict use of PPE by healthcare professionals and visitors was not seen. Conclusion: Isolation practices suggested by the national as well as international guideline were not being adhered to in the governmental hospitals found in Addis Ababa. This is related to the economic status and infrastructure of hospitals in the country in general. It also showed lack of effective management in the application of the national and worldwide guidelines. Additionally, it showed the need for task specific education and standard policies to be developed by each hospitals.