Purpose: Despite the fact that hospitals are always at a high risk of disasters, the preparedness status in many of the Ethiopian hospitals is not well recognized. It is with this research gap in mind that this study motivated the authors to assess disaster preparedness level in selected hospitals of the western part of Ethiopia and their authorities' risk perceptions. Methods: This was a facility-based study conducted by using mixed qualitative and quantitative research designs among selected hospitals of western Ethiopia. While disaster and emergency readiness was evaluated using a modified World Health Organization observation check list. The key informant interview method was used to assess the disaster risk perception of the hospitals' authorities in the study area. Results: The overall level of emergency and disaster preparedness in the selected hospitals was weak with an average calculated preparedness score of 45.6%. The score of readiness in terms of disaster response and recovery planning was 33.3%. Moreover, we have not got a documented disaster plan in all of the hospitals and the hazard-specific response sub plans were also not consistently in place. Of prime concerns, this study has revealed that there was no patient evacuation plan in all of the selected hospitals. The human resource preparations of the hospitals were relatively better with an average readiness score of 60%. The study has found that no committee was responsible for emergency readiness at all of the sampled hospitals. The hospital authorities' disaster risk perception was found to vary according to the type of calamities and this was from moderate to high level. Conclusion: This study concludes that although their authorities' risk perception of disasters was high, the selected hospitals were ill-prepared for the potential disaster strikes in this study area.

Back Ground. Epidemiological data related to poisoning is very limited in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the patterns, associated factors, and clinical outcomes of poisoning among poisoned cases brought to selected hospitals in western Ethiopia. Methodology. Hospital-based prospective cross-sectional study design was employed. Five administrative zones in west Ethiopia were selected as geographical clusters. Area sampling technique was utilized to select the hospitals. Finally, consecutive sampling technique was used to recruit the study participants. Since the objective of this study was to determine the pattern and outcome of poisoning during the specified study period, no specific sampling size determination was employed. As such, all of the 211 poisoned cases presented to the selected hospitals during the specific study period were consecutively included. Data were collected using a comprehensively organized and pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results. The broad types of poisoning were identified in about 193 (91.47%) cases of poisoning in this study. Pesticides exposure and food poisoning have, respectively, contributed for 32.70% and 20.91% of the poisoning incidence. On the other hand, chemical from industry has contributed the least percentage (2.81%). Out of a total of 24 agents identified, 26.80% of the agents were organophosphates followed by raw meat (18.40%). Difference in the incidence of poisoning was also observed as seasons in a year change. Among the victims who have taken household materials as a poisoning agent, about 47.87% of them have taken the agents during daytime. The remaining cases of poisoning developed by household chemicals occurred at night. More than half (54.98%) of the poisoned patients have encountered the incidents inside their home. Regarding the final poisoning outcome, about 7.10% poisoning cases in this study died of the poisonings. Factors such as place, time, intention, and source of poisoning were observed to determine poisoning outcomes. Although poisoning attempt was lesser among urban residents as compared to rural community, rural dwellers were four times more likely to die of poisoning they had attempted (AOR: 4.072 (1.197–13.85)). Conclusion. This study has clearly showed that the incidence of poisoning was varied with seasonal variations. The encountered poisonings ended up with mixed clinical outcomes, which were also affected by patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics. Fertilizers, unclean food items, household materials, and drugs have caused majority of the poisonings. Creating community awareness and designing sound prevention strategies are recommended to reduce morbidity and mortality related to poisoning.

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Background. There has been a steady rise in the absolute number of emergency room admissions over the last few decades. The healthcare delivery system of a country is required to be adjusted to patterns of morbidity and mortality to mitigate the minimized prolonged ill health consequences and premature death of adults. The spectrum, patterns, morbidity, and mortality of health and health-related emergency conditions for which patients visit hospitals often reflect the magnitude of different health problems in a society. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the spectrum, pattern, characteristics, and clinical outcomes of emergency department admissions among adult people who visited EDs of the selected hospitals in western Ethiopia. Methodology. Hospital-based prospective cross-sectional study design was utilized. To select hospitals to be included in the study, the area sampling technique was used. Five administrative zones in west Oromia were selected as geographical clusters. Then, four hospitals were randomly selected from each zone. Finally, the consecutive sampling technique was utilized to recruit the study participants. Results. The mean age of the patients admitted to emergency departments (EDs) of the selected hospitals was 34.98 years. The male-to-female ratio of the respondents was nearly equal (1 : 1.04). While one-fourth (20.4%) of the patients arrived by ambulances (without identifying reason), 23.6% of them visited the emergency department as they had no other place to go. Medical emergencies (45.4%) were the leading types of emergencies followed by traumatic emergencies (27.3%). Respiratory distress (12.43%), extremity fractures (9.61%), and hypertensive disorders (8.6%) were among the top leading causes of adult ED admissions. Vital signs were deranged in about 59.4% of the cases. The most common type of immediately life-threatening problems identified on arrival was impairment of breathing (37%), followed by circulatory compromises (30%). Emergency department admission patterns were variable with peak admissions in the month of February and the lowest in November. The vast majority (90.9%) of emergency patients survived. While 8.5% of patients died of the various types of emergency conditions, the final clinical outcome was not identified in 1.5% of the patients. Conclusion. This study has showed mixed cases with varied patterns and outcomes of adult emergency department admissions. As overall there is a need to be alert during specific seasons, actions must be taken to improve the readiness of existing emergency room services. Furthermore, it is worthwhile to invest further on standardizing and organizing prehospital services at the community level.

Willingness to work in disasters is context-specific and corresponds to the nature, magnitude, and threats posed by a particular public health emergency. None us is certain that our health professionals will continue to provide service should the COVID-19 pandemic crisis climb to its worst level. It was with this uncertainty in mind that this study was done to assess predictors of the unwillingness of health-care workers (HCWs) to continue providing their professional services during the climax of the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: This was a facility-based descriptive cross-sectional study undertaken among 633 HCWsin western Ethiopia. Results: Overall, 205 (32.4%) providers said that they would be unwilling to continue work if COVID-19 peaked. Of these, 176 (27.9%) respondents reported that they would stop going in to work before they were at greatest risk. Statistical analysis performed to predict HCWs unwillingness' to continue work at peak COVID-19 showed male sex (AOR 11.4, 95% CI 8.32-12.6), younger age (AOR 25.3, 95% CI 4.61-40.67), lack of experience in handling similar pandemics (AOR 5.15, 95% CI 1.1-255), and low perceived level of hospital preparedness (AOR 2.05, 95% CI 0.80-5.21) were predictors of unwillingness. In accordance with the extended parallel-process model, higher threat perception (P≤0.001) and low efficacy perception (P≤0.040) were associated with unwillingness of the HCWs to continue working. Conclusion: The proportion of HCWs unwilling to continue their job during COVID-19 is sufficient to affect efforts tof fight the pandemic. As the question of whether our HCWs must risk themselves to treat COVID-19 patients does not have a uniform answer, working on predictors of potential unwillingness is of paramount importance.