PRACTICE OF EARLY PHYSICAL REHABILITATION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS IN MEKELLE CITY PUBLIC HOSPITALS, TIGRAI, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA, 2025

Abstract

Background: Rehabilitation is an essential part of universal health coverage along with promotion of good health, prevention of disease/impairment, treatment and palliative care. Early physical rehabilitation (EPR) is crucial for promoting functional recovery, improving patient outcomes, preventing complications, and minimizing long-term disability following injury, illness, or surgery. Despite its critical role in the healthcare service, there remains a significant gap in healthcare providers' practices concerning early physical rehabilitation, along with persistent misconceptions that hinder its effective implementation. Objective: To assess the practice of early physical rehabilitation service and associated factors among health care professionals in Mekelle city PUBLIC HOSPITALS, Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia, 2025. Methods and materials: An institutional based cross sectional study design was used from August 2024 to May 2025. By employing simple random sampling technique 371 health care professionals were participated, and data were collected through structured interview. The data was entered, cleaned and analyzed by SPSS version 27. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done to evaluate the associated factors. And variables with 95% CI, P value of less than 0.05 in the multivariate analysis were considered significant. Result: Out of 371 respondents, the majority of them (65.2%) were females. The practice of EPR service among health care professionals was 27.8% with 95 % CI: (23.3 % -32.65%). Factors like: Female: (OR = 0.42, 95% CI; 0.217 - 0.814), Nurses: (OR = 0.08, 95% CI; 0.02 - 0.367), work experience <5 years: (OR = 0.35, 95% CI; 0.148 - 0.848), knowledge: (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.213 - 0.743), and attitude: (OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.072 - 0.567) were significantly associated with practice of early physical rehabilitation. Conclusion and recommendations: this study revealed that, the practice of EPR among health care professionals is below average (27.8%). Factors significantly associated with practice of EPR are these with sufficient knowledge, positive attitude, being male, being medical doctor, and being senior in experience. It is recommended that policymakers, health bureaus, and other organizations organize and improve the practice of EPR in healthcare through capacity building, continuous professional development, and strong support for the health service systems to guide evidence-based and effective interventions.