ATTITUDES TOWARDS SAFE ABORTION CARE AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS WORKING IN PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITIES AT HARAR CITY, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Unsafe abortion is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide despite being preventable. Provision of safe abortion care is greatly affected by providers‟ attitudes towards safe abortion. Factors like training on safe abortion and abortion knowledge were explained differently by different authors. Little is known about providers‟ attitudes towards safe abortion in Ethiopia. There is a paucity of evidence on attitude towards safe abortion and associated factors among health care provider‟s working in the public health facility at the study area. Objective: To assess health care providers‟ attitude towards safe abortion service and its associated factors in public health facilities at Harar city, Eastern Ethiopia from June 20 – July 20, 2021. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 422 health care providers who are working at public health facilities in Harar city. A simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Collected data were entered into EpiData 4.6 and then exported to Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 for processing and analysis. Descriptive statistics, Bivariable, and multivariable logistic regression analysis were carried out to compute prevalence and to identify factors associated with the outcome variable. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval and p-value <0.05 was used to declare significant association. Results: More than half (58.4%, 95%CI: 53.8-63.2) of the health care providers had a favorable attitude towards safe abortion care. Being male (AOR=2.90; 95%CI: 1.80-4.65), ever trained on safe abortion (AOR=2.55; 95%CI: 1.39-4.66), familiarity with current abortion law (AOR=2.38; 95%CI: 1.40-4.05), preference of unrestricted abortion law (AOR=1.86; 95%CI: 1.15-3.02), and having good knowledge of safe abortion (AOR=2.43; 95%CI: 1.47-4.01) were the factors significantly associated with a favorable attitude of health care providers towards safe abortion care. Conclusion and recommendation: Nearly three out of five health care providers in this study had a favorable attitude towards safe abortion care. Giving pre-service or in-service training on safe abortion care and support health care providers to be familiar with current abortion laws were recommended