Abstract

Background: Nowadays, obstetric analgesia is provided routinely in most developed countries. However, in developing countries, labor pain management is not a well-established service. The poor utilization of labor analgesia in low-income countries including Ethiopia results in laboring mothers in unmeasured suffering, let alone analgesia. The aim of this study was to assess utilization of obstetric analgesia in labor pain management and associated factors among obstetric caregivers in public health facilities of KembataTembaro Zone, Southern, Ethiopia.

Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among all obstetric caregivers at Kembata Tembaro Zone in public health facilities from March to April 2017.Data were collected by a pretested, self-administered, and structured questionnaire. A convenient sampling technique was used and descriptive analysis was done to characterize the study population. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with utilization of labor analgesia. The adjusted odds ratio with 95%CI was used to show the strength of the association and a P value <0.05 was used to declare the cutoff point in determining the level of significance.

Results: Three hundred forty respondents participated in the study with a response rate of 93%. The prevalence of labor analgesia use by the respondents was 37.9%. On multivariable logistic regression analyses, inadequate knowledge, positive attitude, and unavailability of labor analgesia drugs were significant independent predictors of obstetric analgesia utilization.

Conclusion: Proportion of analgesia utilization was low; inadequate knowledge, positive attitude, and unavailability of analgesia drugs in the facilities were significantly associated with obstetrics analgesia utilization. Health institutions and health personnel should work on provision of training for those obstetric care providers, and necessary drugs should be available in each facility.

Keywords: pain management, analgesia, obstetric caregiver, Ethiopia