Abstract
BackgroundThe government of Ethiopia launched an innovative program called Urban Health Extension Program (UHEP) in 2009, aims to produce better health outcomes to the urban populations using urban health extension professionals (UHE-ps) by enabling households to implement most health intervention packages designed by the government, which is referred to as model households (practice and implement at least 75% of the training provided by UHE-ps on UHEP packages). The objective of this study was to assess health service use and its associated factors.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the health service use in Addis Ababa. Structured questionnaires were filled out by 1086 women, and a binary logistic regression was performed.ResultsUrban health extension professionals performed home visits to 57.1% (95% CI (confidence interval) =54.2 to 59.8%) of the households. Mothers who had heard of the program (had information about UHEP) were 2.13 times more likely to visit the health center (HC) (AOR (adjusted odds ratio) =2.13, 95% CI = 1.36 to 3.32) than mothers who had not heard of the program. Mothers from model households were 2.12 times more likely to visit the HC (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.16 to 3.88) than mothers from non-model households. Mothers whose households were visited by the UHE-ps were 1.89 times more likely to visit the HC (AOR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.22 to 2.94) than mothers whose households were not visited. Similarly, mothers who were in the reproductive age group (18 to 49 years) were 1.74 times more likely to visit the HC (AOR = 1.74, 95%CI = 1.12 to 2.71) than mothers above 49 years old.ConclusionsModel households and mothers in the reproductive age group exhibited significant associations with health service use. Sustaining the practices of graduated and certified model households is essential to maximize the benefits of the UHEP’s activities regarding health service use. Regular home visits to both model and non-model households are essential to scale up health service use and design re-graduation or other sustainable options for already graduated households.
Highlights
The government of Ethiopia launched an innovative program called Urban Health Extension Program (UHEP) in 2009, aims to produce better health outcomes to the urban populations using urban health extension professionals (UHE-ps) by enabling households to implement most health intervention packages designed by the government, which is referred to as model households
A total of 1086 households were sampled in the survey, and 1078 females participated in this study, corresponding to a response rate of 99.1%
Mothers who had heard of or had information about the UHEP were 2.13 times more likely to visit the health center (HC) (AOR = 2.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.36 to 3.32) than mothers who had not heard of the program
Summary
The government of Ethiopia launched an innovative program called Urban Health Extension Program (UHEP) in 2009, aims to produce better health outcomes to the urban populations using urban health extension professionals (UHE-ps) by enabling households to implement most health intervention packages designed by the government, which is referred to as model households (practice and implement at least 75% of the training provided by UHE-ps on UHEP packages). The government of Ethiopia launched an innovative program called Urban Health Extension Program (UHEP) in 2009, intended to produce good health status to the urban populations using urban health extension professionals (UHE-ps)as lead implementer of the program [1]. Households that attend at least 75% of the training and put at least 75% of the UHEP packages into practice will be graduated and certified by the catchment UHE-ps [2]
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