Injection practice in north western Ethiopia

A community based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in December 1994 in Bahir Dar District, north western Ethiopia, to describe injection practices. Systematically selected 1380 households both from the urban and rural settings were included in the study. A two-week overall prevalence of injection therapy was found to be 13%. The rates were comparable in the rural and urban settings, as 12 and 14%, respectively. Diarrhoea and fever were the major symptoms for which injection was received. The informal health care providers were consulted more by the rural population than the urban. Disposable syringe and needle use was more common among the urban injection receivers. Age was the only factor observed to be significantly associated with the injection medication. A statistically significant (P < 0.05) higher injection treatment rate was observed among children under five. Improvement of the supplies of injection equipments and regular on-the-job training and supervision are recommended to improve the safety of injections.