Evaluation of the performance of Abbott Panbio™ COVID-19 antigen rapid diagnostic test for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 at Harar, Eastern Ethiopia.

Background: Rapid antigen tests can help in the effective isolation of symptomatic cases and the systematic tracing of close contacts. However, their reliability must be validated before implementing them widely. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 236 COVID-19-suspected patients visiting four different health institutions in Harari Regional State, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia, from June to July 2021. Two nasopharyngeal samples were collected and processed by the Panbio™ Ag-RDT kit and qRT-PCR. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Results: The Panbio tests had a sensitivity of 77.5% (95% CI: 61.6-89.2%) and a specificity of 98.5% (95% CI: 95.6-99.7%). It also had a positive predictive value of 91.2% (95% CI: 76.9-96.9%), a negative predictive value of 95.5% (95% CI: 92.3-97.4%), and a kappa of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.7-0.9). The test had a sensitivity of 94.4%, 100%, 100%, and 90% in the samples collected from patients within the 1-5 days post-onset of COVID-19 signs and symptoms, of age group ≤18 years old, with cycle threshold values of <20, and with household contact, respectively. Conclusion: This test can be used as point-of-care testing for the diagnosis of symptomatic patients with short clinical courses and contact with patients in households.

Satisfaction with simulation-based education among Bachelor of Midwifery students in public universities and colleges in Harar and Dire Dawa cities, Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Simulation-based education using low to high fidelity techniques are common in midwifery professionals' education, and it is found to be an excellent alternative to fill the gaps in skills teaching and learning. The aim of this study was to assess the students' satisfaction with simulation-based education and associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study in academic settings was conducted from March to May 2018. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with student satisfaction with simulation-based education and the degree of association was measured by using odds ratios with 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Students who were assisted by their teachers during skills demonstration and practice were 5.6 times more satisfied than those who were not assisted (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=5.62; 95% CI: 2.36-13.40, p<0.001). The students who perceived that the way their teachers conducted the skills demonstration was suitable to their learning styles were 22.4 times more satisfied with the simulation-based education (AOR=22.4; 95% CI: 10.8-37.5, p<0.023). Students who perceived that the number of skills practices per semester was enough were 2.3 times more likely to be satisfied with simulation-based education (AOR=2.3; 95% CI: 1.0-5.3, p<0.042). CONCLUSIONS: The efforts of teachers in assisting their students during skills demonstration, the suitability of the way of teaching to the learning styles of students, and the number of scheduled programs per semester for skills practising were statistically significant factors with satisfaction in simulation-based education.