Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) provided Quality Improvement (QI) and mentorship skill training for project support team at Kaleb Hotel, Addis Ababa from December 11-14, 2017. Participants were Ob-Gyns and midwives from Chiro Hospital, Ambo Hospital, Ataye Hospital, Gelemso Hospital, Robe Hospital, Kobo Hospital, Inchini Hospital, Lalibela Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College.
The training aimed at equipping participants with the appropriate mentorship skills so that they will later mentor the quality of health services at project sites. Quality as the training highlighted, among other issues, is an effective, patient centered, timely, efficient, and equitable health services.
Participants raised lots of experience based issues under each of these yardsticks. From shortage of operating tables and gloves to inefficient surveillance; from payment centered practice to the load on medical professionals; from only-quantity-centered service to communications barriers; from staff attitude to poor concern for Family Planning (FP) and Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC), participants shared their experiences and observations at their respective institutions.
The three and half days training also involved participants preparing plans to be followed later by project coordinators to oversee progress made on mentoring project sites. QI training is also planned to be provided at zonal level on FP and CAC providers.
The training was provided under the running projects of ESOG: Implementing Quality Improvement in Reproductive Health /Family Planning and Comprehensive Abortion Care/ in selected Hospitals and Health Centers of Amhara and Oromia Region and De-stigmatization of Safe Abortion among Health Care Workers in Ethiopia.
Funded by David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the project has the objective of implementing integrated national QI in RH: CAC and FP among 60 health facilities in Amhara and Oromia Regional States. The strategic objective of the project is to implement integrated national quality improvement in RH (FP and CAC) among 60 health facilities in Amhara and Oromia regions and to develop de-stigmatization document on safe abortion and train 130 health care providers using the document. The project has five Expected Results (ERs): (ER-1) Provision of technical support on QI on biannual basis; (ER-2) improved quality of care in RH (ER-3) Evidence based intervention on poor perception and attitude to safe abortion among health care workers, (ER-4) developing and using de-stigmatization training materials on safe abortion for health care workers and (ER-5) Improved attitude of health care workers toward safe abortion.
