Hospital Readiness and Perceived Health Professional Challenges to Prevent Pandemics in Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia: A Mixed-Method Study

Abebayehu Zemedkun,1 Getnet Melaku,2,* Seid Shumye,3,* Addisu Alemayehu Gube,4,* Hailemariam Mulugeta1,* 1Department of Anesthesiology, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia; 2Department of Midwifery, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia; 3Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia; 4School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Getnet Melaku, Dilla University, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, P.O Box: 419, Dilla, Ethiopia, Tel +251912711797, Email getsen12@gmail.comBackground: Pandemics pose serious threats to health, society, and economy worldwide. Ethiopia has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused millions of deaths and disrupted essential health services. The readiness of health systems and the challenges that health professionals face in delivering pandemic-related services are crucial for preventing and controlling pandemics. However, these aspects have not been adequately assessed in low-income countries like Ethiopia, where poor prevention techniques and challenging work conditions can increase the transmission of diseases and overwhelm the weak healthcare system. This study aimed to assess hospital readiness and health professional challenges to prevent pandemics in Ethiopia.Methods: A mixed-methods study design was used to collect data from 24 health professionals and four public hospitals using interviews and a checklist which explored the challenges and barriers of health professionals in preventing pandemics and assessed the hospital readiness. Data were analyzed thematically with open code software and descriptively with SPSS software.Results: The study revealed the alarming gaps in the hospitals’ readiness and the health professionals’ capacity to prevent and control pandemics. Most of the hospitals had insufficient ...