Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ababa, Ethiopia
By:
Advisor:
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................4
1.1 Background............................................................................................................................4
2. Literature Review.....................................................................................................................7
3. Objectives.................................................................................................................................9
4. Methods..................................................................................................................................10
4.2 Population............................................................................................................................10
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4.4.2 Sampling Technique......................................................................................................11
5. References..............................................................................................................................13
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1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Health care management is a profession that provides leadership and guidance to organizations
that provide personal health care services and to divisions, departments, units, or services within
those organizations. Accordingly, health care managers are decision-making leaders who lead
and manage health care organizations at different levels [1]. Such decisions have a significant
impact on the effectiveness of the healthcare delivery process and the success of healthcare
organizations. Ensuring the quality and safety of health care delivery, cost-effectiveness and
decision-making [2].
EBM is an approach to health care management that involves making managerial decisions
through the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of four sources of information:
administrator expertise and judgment, evidence from the local context, critical assessment of the
best available research evidence, and the perspective of the population that might be influenced
by organizational decisions [3]. The core concept of EBM is that high-quality decisions require
both critical thinking and the use of "best available evidence." This "evidence" may come from
scientific research, but "evidence" also consists of internal hospital information and even the
necessary competencies for the effective management of modern healthcare organizations and
proposed managerial competencies that include the acquisition, evaluation and implementation
of scientific research findings for managerial decisions [4]. Therefore, health care managers are
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1.2 Statement of the Problem
Healthcare settings are complex; as a result, the types of decisions that need to be made are
usually complicated as well. Often decisions are based on incomplete and outdated information
and personal experience [5]. The use of evidence in the decision-making process can therefore
lead to an improvement in the quality of managerial decisions [6]. Healthcare managers should
make effective and efficient decisions that lead to better organizational productivity, and accurate
and precise use of the best evidence from various sources to increase outcomes is the result of
EBM [7]. The decisions of healthcare managers have a significant impact on the effectiveness of
providing quality patient care and the success of healthcare organizations. Therefore, it is
important for health care managers to acquire EBM knowledge and skills and adopt EBM as best
practices in decision-making to improve the quality of patient care and availability of health
Despite the increasing emphasis on EBM to achieve effective management, many public health
EBM was slowly adopted by health care managers [8]. To strengthen the implementation of
EBM, it is necessary to ascertain the current state of EBM practice and to identify the factors
influencing EBM practice [8]. However, there is limited knowledge about the extent of adoption
and factors influencing the practice of EBM among managers of Ethiopian public health
institutions. This study seeks to fill this gap by examining the status of EBM practices and
related factors among managers of public health institutions in Addis Ababa. This information
will be useful in decision making, policy formulation and implementation and ultimately to
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1.3 Rationale and Significance of the Study
There are several rationales and importance for conducting research on EBM practices and
related factors among managers of public health institutions. First, EBM practices have been
shown to contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of public health institutions. These
procedures are based on rigorous scientific research and use objective data as a basis for decision
making. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that facilitate or hinder the adoption
Second, research on EBM practices can provide insight into the challenges managers face in
implementing these practices in public health institutions. This information can be used to
develop strategies and interventions that support managers in adopting EBM practices. Third,
EBM practices can improve the quality of health care services provided by public health
institutions, ultimately benefiting both patients and the public. By identifying the factors that
influence the adoption of these practices, it is possible to design effective policies and programs
that support the practice of EBM. Finally, research on EBM practices can contribute to the
broader field of management and organization theory by providing insight into how EBM
outside of public health institutions and can help improve management practices in a wide range
of organizations. The findings will have implications for health policy and practice, particularly
in terms of supporting evidence-based decision-making among managers. The study will also
highlight the need for further research to examine barriers to the adoption of EBM practices in
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2. Literature Review
A study conducted to explore attitudes and identify perceived barriers to EBM practice among
healthcare managers in Saudi Arabia showed that lack of EBM training, lack of time, limited
understanding of scientific research, and lack of organizational support and culture for
implementing an EBM approach were the main barriers to EBM practice [8]. Similarly, a study
conducted to identify factors influencing EBM adoption among US health care administrators
revealed that lack of training, ignorance of EBM, lack of skills to critically appraise the quality
of evidence, and lack of organizational support were factors hindering EBM adoption [9].
A study conducted to explore attitudes and identify perceived barriers to EBM practice among
healthcare managers in Saudi Arabia showed that lack of training, lack of time, limited
understanding of scientific research, and lack of organizational support and culture for practicing
EBM were the most common factors hindering EBM practice. Similarly, a study conducted to
identify factors influencing EBM adoption among healthcare administrators in the US found that
lack of training was one of the top barriers to EBM practice [9]. Researchers suggested that
training in EBM would increase the competence of healthcare managers in making better
A study conducted to explore attitudes and identify perceived barriers to EBM practice among
healthcare managers in Saudi Arabia showed that lack of time was one of the most common
barriers to EBM practice. Healthcare management is a complex profession because it must take
into account the interests of the organization and the patients. As a result, managers are very busy
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and do not have time to educate themselves on the latest management information. Pfeffer and
Sutton stated that it is difficult for managers to adopt EBM because there is too much
information for any manager to consume and lack of time is a major barrier to EBM practice
[12]. Limited understanding of scientific research was perceived as one of the main barriers to
EBM practice. The results of the study by Barend et al. have consistently indicated that the
Evidence have shown that to improve the practice of EBM, hospital leaders must foster a culture
that allows managers to spend time seeking and consulting scientific evidence [7]. However, lack
was found to be one of the main barriers to the application of EBM. The same barrier was also
identified in another study where a lack of organizational culture and support was found to be a
In addition, studies have shown that lack of organizational resources and limited access to
scientific research have been reported as major barriers to EBM practice [8-10]. This may be
because the hospital provides free access to online databases that contain various articles from
academic and scientific journals. At the organizational and personal level, there are several
factors that hinder the adoption of EBM. Effective ways of integrating evidence-based decision-
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3. Objectives
To assess the magnitude of EBM practice and Associated factors among managers of public
To assess the magnitude of EBM practice among managers of public health institutions in
To identify factors associated with the practice of EBM among managers of public health
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4. Methods
4.2 Population
The source population will include all managers of public health institutions in Addis Ababa.
All managers of public health institutions in Addis Ababa during the specified study period will
Socio-demographic factors: age, sex, educational status, marital status, own computer, EBM
EBM resources, understanding of statistical terms used in EBM, leadership styles, perceived
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4.4 Sample Size Determination and Sampling Technique
The sample size is determined by using a single population proportion formula (n = Z 2 P (1-
P)/d2) by taking 50% proportion of EBM practice with the following assumptions: 95% CI and
5% margin of error and by adding 10% none response rate. Where: n= sample size, Z= Z-vale at
95% confidence level (standard of 1.96), and d = margin of error 5% or (0.05). So based on the
formula, n = 1.96 2*0.5*(1-0.5)/ (0.05)2= 384. After adding 10% to account for non-respondents,
A stratified random sampling technique will be used to select participants from the selected
public hospitals in Addis Ababa. To get a representative sample of the study subjects from each
hospital, selection will be first stratified by place of working. Then, considering their proportion
Data will be collected using self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire has four sections;
The quality of the data will be assured through careful design and pretesting of the tools, proper
training of the data collectors and supervisors. One day training will be provided for the data
collectors on how the data should be obtained and recorded. The training will be given on the
topics; study objectives, the questionnaire, the use of survey instruments, interview techniques,
and direction as to how to interview the respondents using the structured questionnaire. The
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principal investigator and supervisors will make continuous follow-up and supervision
throughout the data collection period. In addition, regular check-up for completeness and
consistency of the data will be made on daily basis. Pre-test will be conducted in a similar setting
before the actual data collection time on 5% of the sample size in order to check the reliability of
the instrument and to modify the questionnaire accordingly. Using the data obtained from the
pre-test, the questionnaire will be checked for reliability (internal consistency) using the
The collected data will be cleaned, coded, and entered in to Epi-info version 7.2 and SPSS
version 26 for further analysis. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, mean (SD)/median
(IQR), and percentages will be computed to summarize the data. Binary logistic regression
model will be fitted to identify factors associated with EBM practice. Initially, bivariate analysis
will be performed to identify candidates for multivariable binary logistic regression analysis.
Then, variables with a p-value less than 0.25 will be selected to be considered for multivariable
analysis. Finally, variables having significant associations with EBM practice will be identified
based on Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR), with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a P- value less
than 0.05.
Ethical clearance will be obtained from the Ethics Review Board of the University. An official
letter will be obtained from the University and will be communicated with selected public health
institutions. Participants will be asked to voluntarily participate in the study and will be informed
that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time without notice. Data will be
collected only after briefly explaining the purpose of the study and obtaining informed consent
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from each participant. Participants will be assured of confidentiality and their identifying
5. References
2. Guo R, Hermanson PM, Farnsworth TJ. Study on hospital administrators' beliefs and
66. doi:10.1080/00185868.2016.125888.
management/
4. Stefl M. Common competencies for all healthcare managers: the Healthcare Leadership
200811000-00004.
5. Pfeffer J, Sutton R. Hard facts, dangerous half-truths, and total nonsense: profiting from
Manage. 1998;1751:307–17.
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8. Barends E, Villanueva J, Rousseau D et al. Managerial attitudes and perceived barriers
2017;12(10):e0184594. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184594
9. Guo R, Berkshire SD, Fulton LV, Hermanson PM. Factors affecting the adoption of
2006;22(3):23-30. doi:10.1097/01974520200601000-00003.
12. Willmer M. How nursing leadership and management interventions could facilitate the
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2007.00751.x.
in program management: a systematic review of the literature. BMC Health Serv Res.
2014;14(1). doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-171.
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