Factors associated with knowledge towards postoperative nausea and vomiting management among health professionals in referral Hospitals of Northwest Ethiopia. A multi-center cross-sectional study

Background: Knowledge of health care professionals on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and antiemetic prescription trends affects patient's outcome after surgery and anesthesia and also patient and family satisfaction. Hence, knowing the knowledge status of health professionals towards PONV management is vital for the optimal care of surgical patients. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the knowledge and factors associated with PONV management among health professionals in referral hospitals of Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted on 407 health care professionals from March 1 to 30, 2019. A Simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with the knowledge level of health professionals on PONV management. In the multivariable analysis, variables with a p-value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, about 52.8% (95% CI: 47.9, 57.2) of the participants had good knowledge of PONV management. Being male (AOR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.20, 3.17), Physician (AOR = 5.36; 95% CI: 2.20, 13.5), Anesthetist (AOR = 3.88; 95% CI: 1.66, 9.08), and taking training on PONV management (AOR = 5.32; 95%CI: 1.58, 17.89) were positively associated with good knowledgeable of health professionals about PONV management. Conclusion: and recommendation: More than half of health care professionals who are working in the perioperative sites of the referral hospitals had good knowledge about the PONV management. Being male, Physician, Anesthetist and taking in-service training on PONV management were significantly affecting the knowledge level of health professionals on PONV management. Thus, providing regular in-service training on PONV management, especially for physician and anesthetist is highly recommended.