Patient safety culture and associated factors: A quantitative and qualitative study of healthcare workers’ view in Jimma zone Hospitals, Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Patient safety culture is an important aspect for quality healthcare delivery and is an issue of high concern globally. In Ethiopia health system little is known and information is limited in scope about patient safety culture. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the level of patient safety culture and associated factors in Jimma zone Hospitals, southwest Ethiopia. METHODS: Facility based cross sectional quantitative study triangulated with qualitative approaches was employed from March to April 30/2015. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 637 study participants among 4 hospitals. The standardized tool which measures 12 patient safety culture composites was used for data collection. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 20. Significance level was obtained at 95 % CI and p-value < 0.05. Semi structured guide in depth interview was used to collect the qualitative data. Content analysis of the interview was performed. RESULTS: The overall level of patient safety culture was 46.7 % (95 % CI: 43.0, 51.2). Hours worked per week (β =−0.06, 95 % CI:−0.12,−0.001), reporting adverse event (β = 3.34, 95 % CI: 2.12, 4.57), good communication (β = 2.78, 95 % CI: 2.29, 3.28), teamwork within hospital (β = 1.91, 95 % CI: 1.37, 2.46), level of staffing (β = 1.32, 95 % CI: 0.89, 1.75), exchange of feedback about error (β = 1.37, 95 % CI: 0.91, 1.83) and participation in patient safety program (β = 1.3, 95 % CI: 0.57, 2.03) were factors significantly associated with the patient safety culture. The in depth interview indicated incident reporting, resources, healthcare worker attitude and patient involvement as important factors that influence patient safety culture. CONCLUSIONS: The overall level of patient safety culture was low. Working hours, level of staffing, teamwork, communications openness, reporting an event and exchange of feedback about error were associated with patient safety culture. Therefore, interventions of systemic approach through facilitating opportunities for communication openness, cooperation and exchange of ideas between healthcare workers are needed to improve the level of patient safety culture. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1757-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Factors Affecting Rental Income Tax Payers Compliance with Tax System: In Case of Hawassa City Administration, Snnprs, Ethiopia

The main objective of the study was to assess rental income tax payer’s compliance with tax system in case of Hawassa city administration, SNNPRS. To achieve this objective, the researcher used both primary and secondary data. The collected data was analyzed by using the statistical software program namely Statistical Package for Social science (SPSS) version 20. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and a number of techniques of analysis were used including Reliability test, Correlation and Multiple Regressions. According to the response of the respondents, certain factors were found to be the major determinants of non residential house rental income tax payers’ voluntary compliance. These are: financial constraints, referent group influences, awareness of tax payers, perception on tax fairness, understatement of income, educational status, absence of government incentives, trust in tax assessment and collection procedure and rental tax audit.  Based on the findings some possible recommendations were given. These include, building understanding of tax payers, upholding tax fairness and equity, constructing capacity of the tax authority, and providing required social services to the general public to get trust from society and critical follow up over tax payers  those evade tax by their personal problem . Keywords: Rental income, Tax compliance, Tax system, Attitud

Physico-chemical and Microbiological Assessment of Drinking Water Quality from Different Sources in Digalu-tijo Woreda(District), Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Human health depends on safe water more than any other things. The objective of present study was to determine the physico-chemical and bacteriological quality of water from different sources. To do this, a cross-sectional study was conducted  and a total of 62 water samples we collected from five different water sources and eight physico-chemical parameters(turbidity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, Electrical conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids, chloride and nitrate and two microbiological parameters(total coliform and faecal coliform) were analyzed using the Membrane filtration method. The physicochemical parameter results ranged in the following trends: Turbidity 50.90±1.4 to 1.82±0.13 NTU, Temperature 18.25±0.57, to 16.17±0.29°C, Dissolved oxygen 4.83±0.07 to 3.05±0.05 mg/l, Electrical conductivity 1030.2±41.8 to 93.46±16.11μS/cm, pH7.75±0.15 to7.13±0.12, Total dissolved solids 515.0±21.0 to 46.76±8.05 in mg/l, Chloride 43.00±6.00 to 9.29±1.07mg/l, Nitrate 34.0±8.00 to 1.34±0.17 in mg/l, Total coliform 342.5±255.5 to 12.00±1.25cfu/100ml and faecal coliform 82.5±23.5 to 5.25±0.78 in cfu/100ml. The results indicated that all the physicochemical parameters of all water sources in Digalu-Tijo woreda were found within and below the range of National and International standards except Turbidity (USOS (11.1%), UHDW and UR), Temperature (PSWDS, UHDW, UD and TW) and PH (7.4% of USOS). However, 93.5% the water samples were found to harbor coliform in numbers greater than the required. So, majority of the drinking water sources had unacceptable quality or were grossly polluted particularly unprotected Hand dug well and River. Therefore, regular quality control mechanisms, proper sanitation and drainage network system should be given priority to ensure safety of drinking water. Keywords: Bacteriological parameters, Coliform, Physico-chemical parameters, sanitary survey inspection, Water quality DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-3-01 Publication date: February 29th 202

Evaluating Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Hydro- meteorological Variables in Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

Climate change impacts are the main concern for sustainability of water management, water use activities and agricultural production throughout the world. Climate changes alter regional hydrologic conditions and results in a variety of impacts on water resource systems. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of climate change on the hydro climatology of Finchaa Sub-basin located in upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia. The GCM (General Circulation Model) derived scenarios (HadCM3 A2a &amp; B2a SRES emission scenarios) were used for the climate projection. The statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) was used to generate future possible local meteorological variables in the study area. The down-scaled data were then used as input to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to simulate the corresponding future stream flow in of Finchaa Sub-basin. The time series generated by GCM of HadCM3 A2a and B2a and Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) indicate a significant increasing trend in maximum and minimum temperature values and a slight decreasing trend in precipitation for both A2a1 and B2a2 emission scenarios in sub-basin for all three bench mark periods. The hydrologic impact analysis made with the downscaled temperature and precipitation time series as input to the SWAT model suggested an overall decreasing trend in annual and monthly stream flow in the study area, in three benchmark periods in the future. Potential evapotranspiration in the watershed also will increase annually on average 3 to 16 % for the 2020s and 4 to 19 % for the 2050s and 2080s for both A2a and B2a emissions scenarios. As a result, at the ut let of the watershed the projected on average annual flow decrease by 5.59 %,9.03 %,11% and 2.16 %,4.15 and 3.46 % for the 2020s,2050s and 2080s for both A2a and B2a emissions scenarios. The paper also includes potential strategy recommendations to communities, policy and decision makers for measuring and enhancing effective adaptation option for future climate change impacts on hydrology. Keywords: A2a, B2a, climate change; Finchaa sub-basin, GCM, SDSM, stream flow; SWA

Human Resource Dynamics in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia: Trends and Challenges

The most important resource in the recent years is no more the availability of natural resources or cheap labor but skilled and motivated workforce in order to achieve economic development. The overall purpose of the study is therefore to examine the dynamics of human resource management in Oromia regional state. This study followed a descriptive survey and focused on analysis of two-year report of human resources of sectors at all levels of the regional state and interview of key informants. The findings indicate that human resource planning has a problem. Therefore it is important for the regional sectors to have SMART human resource plans. Recruitment of higher level professionals is very less as compared to the lower level employees. The civil service organizations of the regional state have low level of educational qualifications and public sector reforms could not be properly implemented and could not bring transformative changes. So, the public sector may bring only incremental changes instead of paradigm shifts. The regional sectors did not have human resource plan which is properly aligned with the organizations’ strategic human resource plan. Employees are not committed to their work due to poor benefits, payment difference for similar qualifications poor heath and safe working environment and excessive politicization of the civil servants. Improving the working environment for the employees, de-politicization of the civil service by focusing on the merit system rather than political loyalty, and applying equal pay for similar work are among the areas that need improvement in the regional state’s sectors. Hence, it is necessary and better if politicians kept their distance. Keywords: human resource dynamics, employee mobility, human resource, Ethiopia, Oromi

Studies on Temporal Relationship between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Rainfall in the Southern Part of Ethiopia

Nowadays remote sensing has become a powerful tool for many aspects of global monitoring for its convenience and high efficiency. This study analyzed temporal distribution of normalized differences vegetation index (NDVI) on the southern Ethiopia and their correlation with rainfall factors from 1995 to 2004. Monthly and annual data of NDVI and rainfall are examined to determine the consequence of rainfall variability on the NDVI of vegetation cover. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from  the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites and rainfall data from National Meteorology Agency (NMA) were used to investigate the temporal pattern of rainfall and  the response  of vegetation to rainfall in Southern part of Ethiopia. Thus, NDVI is an important variable for climate applications and agricultural productions. It is also important to study the NDVI for different seasons and at different agro-ecological areas to investigate its effects. The temporal pattern of NDVI and rainfall revealed that vegetation responded directly to rainfall. The temporal patterns showed that there was between 0 to 1 months lag between rainfall and vegetation. However it was not possible to draw conclusion regarding the annual and monthly relationship between rainfall and NDVI because, it is not solely explained by rainfall parameter. Determining time series relationship between rainfall and vegetation (NDVI) will improve the prediction of local level rainfall distribution. Effective dissemination of this information to stakeholders will enhance the suffering of communities from vulnerability to climate related risk by improving their management. Keywords: NDVI, Rainfall, Correlation, Variability, Southern Ethiopi

Performance of Microfinance Institution Integrating Financial and Non-Financial Metrics: In BGRS, Assosa Zone

The major objective of this study is to assess the financial &amp; non-financial performance of Assosa Zone Microfinance Institutions by integrating financial and non-financial metrics. The research is descriptive in type and both quantitative and qualitative research approach was adopted. Also both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were employed for this study to collect data from primary and secondary data and primary data collected using five scale Likert question and secondary data were collected from the report of Assosa Zone Microfinance Institutions to &nbsp;National bank of Ethiopia (NBE) from 2014 to 2018. A total of 6 microfinance experts, 48 staffs and 376 clients participated in the study. The analysis is done using descriptive statistics and SPSS version 21. Concerning the findings, after the three non-financial perspectives (customer, internal business process and learning and growth) and financial perspective aggregated on the model of overall performance index,&nbsp; the entire performance which advanced by enhancing indicators identified with high, low and average score under each of the four perspectives is approach to average result.&nbsp; However the average of financial performance was high. Thus, this indicates that non-financial performance factor is highly affecting the overall performance of MFIs in BGRS, Assosa zone. There is also evidence that learning and growth in general, research and development, Ratio of Operating Expense to Loan Portfolio, depth of outreach and portfolio at risk are major determinants in this study. So the BGRS, Assosa zone in particular will take appropriate action on each identified problems

Factors Affecting Rental Income Tax Payers Compliance with Tax System: In Case of Hawassa City Administration, Snnprs, Ethiopia

The main objective of the study was to assess rental income tax payer’s compliance with tax system in case of Hawassa city administration, SNNPRS. To achieve this objective, the researcher used both primary and secondary data. The collected data was analyzed by using the statistical software program namely Statistical Package for Social science (SPSS) version 20. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and a number of techniques of analysis were used including Reliability test, Correlation and Multiple Regressions. According to the response of the respondents, certain factors were found to be the major determinants of non residential house rental income tax payers’ voluntary compliance. These are: financial constraints, referent group influences, awareness of tax payers, perception on tax fairness, understatement of income, educational status, absence of government incentives, trust in tax assessment and collection procedure and rental tax audit.  Based on the findings some possible recommendations were given. These include, building understanding of tax payers, upholding tax fairness and equity, constructing capacity of the tax authority, and providing required social services to the general public to get trust from society and critical follow up over tax payers  those evade tax by their personal problem . Keywords: Rental income, Tax compliance, Tax system, Attitud

Role of Agronomic Practices in Buffering Impacts of Climatic Change on Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Productivity

This review was focused on agronomic practices influenced negative impacts of climate change. Coffee is the only crop which more than 25 million people in the world depend on, and the second most important commodity next to oil. However, in recent decades, coffee production has been influenced by severity of climatic changes. Agronomic practices have great function in sustain coffee production due to their attribution in buffering climatic change. Thus, this review conducted with the intension of agronomic practices task in buffering of climatic change impacts in coffee production and productivity. Because of climate change, the optimum production zone for coffee is projected to decrease up to 40% and at the end of this century, temperature will rise by 4-6°C. This severity and hazardless will tremendous in developing countries which extremely vulnerable to the risk. Furthermore, deforestation due to over population and absence of awareness in agroforestry are another problem increases the risk of climate change. Familiarity of contributions of agronomic practices in mitigating climate change is less recognizing and practiced informally than  improve and scientific way.  However, shading has capacity to reduce air temperature by 4°C, banana intercropping with coffee contributed as sources of income in off season for coffee yield. Finally, agronomic practices such as shading, mulching, irrigation, intercropping, pruning and soil conservation practices are the best option for sustaining coffee production and for buffering the direct and indirect impacts of climatic changes. Keywords: Agronomic practices, buffering, Climate change, Coffee arabica DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-12-03 Publication date: December 31st 202