Knowledge and experience sharing practices among health professionals in hospitals under the Addis Ababa health bureau, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND Health professionals need updated health information from credible sources to improve their knowledge and provide evidence based health care services. Various types of medical errors have occurred in resource-limited countries because of poor knowledge and experience sharing practices among health professionals. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge-sharing practices and determinants among health professionals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 randomly selected health professionals from August12-25/2012. A pretested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data about different variables. Data entry and analysis were done using Epi-Info version 3.5.4 and SPSS version20 respectively. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses were applied to describe study objectives and identify the determinants of knowledge sharing practices respectively. Odds ratio at 95% CI was used to describe the strength of association between the study and outcome variables. RESULTS Most of the respondents approved the need of knowledge and experience sharing practices in their routine activities. Nearly half, 152 (49.0%) of the study participants had knowledge and experience sharing practices. A majority, 219 (70.0%) of the respondents showed a willingness to share their knowledge and experiences. Trust on others' knowledge, motivation, supportive leadership, job satisfaction, awareness, willingness and resource allocation are the determinants of knowledge and experience sharing practices. Supportive leadership, resources, and trust on others' knowledge can enhance knowledge and experience sharing by OR = 3.12, 95% CI = [1.89 - 5.78], OR = 2.3, 95% CI = [1.61- 4.21] and OR = 2.78, 95% CI = [1.66 - 4.64] times compared with their counterparts respectively. CONCLUSION Even though most of the respondents knew the importance of knowledge and experience sharing practices, only a limited number of respondents practiced it. Individual, organizational and resource related issues are the major determinants of low knowledge sharing practices. Improving management, proper resource allocation, motivating staffs, and accessing health information sources are important interventions to improve the problem in the study area.