Acceptance of e-learning and associated factors among postgraduate medical and health science students at first generation universities in Amhara region, 2023: using modified technology acceptance model.

BACKGROUND: Electronic learning is the process of remote teaching and learning through the use of electronic media. There is a dearth of research on the factors influencing e-learning acceptance in Ethiopia using the modified technology acceptance model (TAM). Previous research appears to have overlooked the mediating impact of factors on e-learning acceptability Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the acceptance of e-learning and its associated factors among postgraduate medical and health science students by applying TAM at first-generation universities in the Amhara region. METHODS: This institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 15 to April 20, 2023, at Amhara First Generation University, Ethiopia. A total of 659 students participated in the study. A self-administered questionnaire in the Amharic language was used to collect the data. SEM analysis was employed to test the proposed model and the relationships among factors using SPSS version 25 and AMOS version 26. RESULTS: The proportion of postgraduate students who agreed to use e-learning was 60.7%, 95% CI (56.9-64.4). SEM analysis revealed that perceived ease of use (ß = 0.210, p < 0.001), attitude (ß = 0.377, p < 0.001) and perceived usefulness (ß = 0.330, p < 0.001) had positive direct relationships with acceptance of e-learning. Perceived usefulness (ß = 0.131, p < 0.001), and perceived ease of use (ß = 0.029, p < 0.01) significantly mediate the relationship between self-efficacy, and acceptance of e-learning. Accessibility had a positive indirect effect on acceptance of e-learning through perceived ease of use (ß = 0.040, p < 0.01). Facilitating condition had a positive indirect on acceptance of e-learning through perceived ease of use (ß = 0.070, p < 0.01), and perceived usefulness (ß = 0.084, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Overall, the proportion of postgraduate students who accepted e-learning is promising. Perceived ease of use perceived usefulness, and attitude had positive direct effects on the acceptance of e-learning. Facilitating conditions and self-efficacy had positive indirect effects on the acceptance of e-learning. Thus, implementers need to prioritize enhancing the provision of devices, students' skills, and knowledge of e-learning by providing continuous support to improve students' acceptance of the use of e-learning.

Improving cervical cancer continuum of care towards elimination in Ethiopia: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the second-leading cause of death among all cancers in Ethiopia. Ethiopia plans to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030, following the World Health Organization's call for action. A scoping review was conducted on the status of the cervical cancer continuum towards elimination in Ethiopia. METHODS: We searched articles in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. All studies conducted on cervical cancer in Ethiopia, from first date of publication to March 15, 2023, type of article, or language of publication, were included. However, conference abstracts, commentaries, and letters to the editors were excluded. We used EndNote X9 software to merge articles from different databases and automatically remove duplicates. Screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts was performed independently by two co-authors. The cancer care continuum was employed as a framework to guide data synthesis and present the findings. RESULTS: Of the 569 retrieved articles, 159 were included in the review. They found that most of the articles focused on knowledge, attitude, and practice. However, there were few studies on health-seeking behavior, perception and acceptability of cervical cancer services, as well as the availability and readiness of a screening program. The review identified inadequate knowledge, attitude, and perception about cervical cancer, and highlighted that screening for cervical cancer is not widely utilized in Ethiopia. Knowledge, attitude, education status, and income were repeatedly reported as precursors influencing cervical cancer screening. Most studies concluded that there is a high prevalence of precancerous lesions and cervical cancer, as well as high mortality rates or short survival times. The review also identified significant heterogeneity in findings across time and geographic settings within each component of the cancer care continuum. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there is inadequate knowledge, perception, health-seeking behavior, screening, and treatment services, indicating that the country is falling behind its targets in eliminating cervical cancer, despite the availability of effective interventions and tools. We argue that implementation research is necessary to identify implementation issues, challenges, and strategies to scale up both primary and secondary prevention services. By doing so, Ethiopia can address cervical cancer as a public health problem and work towards its elimination.

Improving cervical cancer continuum of care towards elimination in Ethiopia: a scoping review.

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the second-leading cause of death among all cancers in Ethiopia. Ethiopia plans to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030, following the World Health Organization's call for action. A scoping review was conducted on the status of the cervical cancer continuum towards elimination in Ethiopia. Methods: We searched articles in PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar. All studies conducted on cervical cancer in Ethiopia, irrespective of date of publication, type of article, or language of publication were included. However, conference abstracts, commentaries, and letters to the editors were excluded. We used EndNote x9 software to merge articles from different databases and automatically remove duplicates. Screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts was performed by two co-authors independently. The cancer care continuum was employed as a framework to guide data synthesis and present the findings. Results: Of the 569 retrieved articles, 159 were included in the review. The found most of articles were about knowledge, attitude, and practice. There were few studies on health-seeking behaviour, perception and acceptability to cervical cancer services and availability and readiness of a screening programme. The review identified that there was inadequate knowledge, attitude and perception about cervical cancer. Screening for cervical cancer is not widely used in Ethiopia. Knowledge and attitude, education status, and income were repeatedly reported as precursors for cervical cancer screening. Most studies concluded a high prevalence of precancerous lesions and cervical cancer, as well as high mortality rates or short survival times. The review also identified that there is huge heterogeneity in findings under each component of the cancer care continuum across time and geographic settings. Conclusions: Overall, there is inadequate knowledge, perception, health seeking behaviour, screening and treatment services. This implies that the country is lagging behind the targets towards eliminating cervical cancer despite the availability of effective interventions and tools. We argue that an implementation research is needed to identify implementation issues, challenges and strategies to scale up both primary and secondary prevention services so that cervical cancer will not anymore be a public health problem.