Partograph Utilization and Associated Factors among Obstetric Care Providers in Public Hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021

Background Worldwide, 13% of maternal deaths were caused by protracted and difficult labour, which can be decreased by wise use of the partograph while giving birth. It is crucial to spot any irregularity during labour by employing a partograph during professional aided delivery. Partograph use is influenced by a variety of circumstances according to the literature however, the extent of partograph use and the associated factors are not well understood in the research area. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of partographs utilization and associated factors among obstetric care providers in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out at 296 obstetric care providers in selected public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Systematic random sampling techniques were used to select study participants. A structured self-administered questionnaire and direct observation was used to collect data. Epi-data version 4.6 was used to enter the collected data, which was then exported to statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 26 for analysis. Variables with p-value≤0.25 were included in the multivariable model to control for confounders. The statistical significance level was declared at p-value≤0.05. Results The study included 296 (100%) obstetric care providers. 184 (62.0%) of those who used partographs did so on a regular basis for all laboring mothers. Service year ≤5-years (AOR=10.66, 95% CI: 3.11, 36.51) and 5-10-years (AOR=4.74, 95% CI: 1.27, 17.73), on-the-job training (AOR=2.72, 95% CI (1.53, 4.83), knowledge (AOR=2.78, 95% CI (1.29, 5.99) and attitude (AOR=4.11, 95% CI (2.31, 7.32). Conclusion The overall utilization of partographs was low. Partograph utilization was significantly associated with service year (year of work experience), on-the-job training, partograph knowledge, and obstetric care providers’ attitudes toward partograph. To follow the progress of labour, these observation findings indicated that molding of fetal head, status of amniotic fluid, continuous monitoring of maternal and fetal condition was lacking.