Examining students' level of understanding toward COVID-19 and its associated factors in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to investigate students' understanding of COVID-19 in Ethiopia and identify associated factors. The primary goal is to pinpoint key contributors shaping students' perception and comprehension of the virus. The study aims to offer valuable insights for developing targeted educational interventions, ultimately enhancing students' overall knowledge and awareness of the pandemic in the specific context of Ethiopia. Methods: The study adhered rigorously to PRISMA criteria, ensuring a standardized methodology. Data from reputable databases like Google Scholar and PubMed were systematically collected. Ten relevant articles were meticulously analyzed using STATA version 11, with heterogeneity assessed by the I2 test. A funnel plot and Egger's test were used to check for publication bias. The determination of the pooled effect size utilized a random-effect model meta-analysis, offering a robust 95% confidence interval. Results: This meta-analysis, based on 10 articles, reveals an overall prevalence of 61.58% (95% CI: 47.26-75.89). Significant contributors to students' comprehension include Social media users (AOR) = 2.38, urban residence AOR = 3.31, news media followers AOR = 2.51, fathers' educational status AOR = 2.35, watching television AOR = 4.71, and health science students AOR = 4.21. These findings underscore crucial elements shaping students' understanding of COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Conclusion: Our analysis indicates that 61.58% of Ethiopian students possess a good understanding of COVID-19. Factors such as active social media engagement, geographic location, frequency of news consumption, father's level of education, television viewing habits, and enrollment in health science programs significantly influence their comprehension. These findings underscore the importance of implementing targeted interventions to enhance health literacy and education among students, thereby facilitating a more effective response to pandemics.

Knowledge of telemedicine and its associated factors among health professional in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine is a useful tool for decreasing hospital stress, patient suffering, ambulance needs, hospital anxiety, and costs while improving the standard of care. Nonetheless, the lack of awareness regarding telemedicine poses a barrier to its application, presenting several difficulties in underdeveloped nations like Ethiopia. This review evaluates Ethiopian-specific telemedicine knowledge and associated factors. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted using a search of several online databases in addition to the main databases, like Medline, PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct. The writers have looked for, reviewed, and summarized information about telemedicine knowledge in the healthcare system. This study contained seven studies that examined telemedicine knowledge in the Ethiopian healthcare sector. Studies that followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA) were found using search engines. The investigation was carried out using STATA version 11. The indicator of heterogeneity (I2) was used to assess the level of heterogeneity among the included studies. The funnel plot was visually inspected, and Egger's regression test was run to check for publication bias. The pooled effect size of every study is estimated using a random-effect model meta-analysis. RESULTS: Examination of 2160 studies, seven studies involving 2775 health professionals, and seven out of the 2160 publications assessed satisfied the inclusion criteria and were added to the systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of Telemedicine knowledge was 45.20 (95% CI: 34.87-55.53). Whereas the pooled factor was computer training was 2.24 times (AOR = 2.24 (95%; CI: 1.64-3.08)), computer access was 2.07 times (AOR = 2.07 (95% CI: 1.50-2.87)), internet access was 3.09 times (AOR = 3.09 (95% CI: 1.34-7.13)), social media access were 3.09 times (AOR = 3.09(95%; CI: 1.34-7.13)), educational status degree and above were 2.73 times (AOR = 2.73; 95% CI: 0.85-8.82), Awareness were 3.18 times (AOR = 3.18 (95%; CI: 1.02-9.91)), Management support was 1.85 (AOR = 1.85 (95% CI: 01.25-2.75)), computer literacy were 2.90 times (AOR = 2.90 (95% CI: 1.81-4.64)), computer owner were 1.70 times (AOR = 1.70 (95% CI: 1.05-2.76)), male gender were 1.95 times (AOR = 1.95 (95% CI: 1.32-2.87)). CONCLUSION: The overall pooled prevalence of telemedicine knowledge was low. Gender, education, management support, computer access, social media access, internet access, telemedicine awareness, and telemedicine training associated with telemedicine knowledge.