Factors Affecting Quality of Laboratory Services in Public and Private Health Facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND Quality laboratory service is an essential component of health care system but in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Ethiopia, laboratories quality system remains weak due to several factors and it needs more attention to strengthen its capacity and quality system. METHODOLOGY A cross sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire to assess factors affecting the quality of laboratory service at private and public health institutions in Addis Ababa. RESULTS A total of 213 laboratory professionals participated in the study and 131 (61.5%) participants had bachelor degree. Majority, 133 (62.4%), of the professionals did not attend any work related training. Seventy five (35.2%) respondents believed that their laboratories did not provide quality laboratory services and the major reported factors affecting provision of quality services were shortage of resources (64.3%), poor management support (57.3%), poor equipment quality (53.4%), high workload (41.1%), lack of equipment calibration (38.3%) and lack of knowledge (23.3%). Moreover logistic regression analysis showed that provision of quality laboratory service was significantly associated with result verification (AOR=9.21, 95% CI=2.26, 37.48), internal quality control (AOR= 6.11, 95% CI=2.11, 17.70), turnaround time (AOR=5.11, 95% CI=1.94, 13.46), shortage of equipment (AOR=7.76, 95% CI=2.55, 23.66), communication with clinicians (AOR=3.24, 95% CI=1.25, 8.41) and lack of job description (AOR=3.67, 95% CI=1.319, 10.22). CONCLUSION In conclusion, the major factors that affecting the quality of laboratory service were associated with poor human resource management, poor resources provision, poor management commitment, ineffective communication system and lack of well-established quality management system.