Laboratory Professionals' Satisfaction Level and Determinant of Quality Laboratory Service Among Health Facilities in Hossana Town, Central Ethiopia: A Facility-based Cross-sectional Study

Background: Clinical laboratories are essential healthcare systems that provide important data for patient care and public health surveillance. Therefore, data from laboratory services should be reliable and reported on time. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among laboratory professionals working in government and private health facilities in Hossana Town from September 1, 2024, to November 2, 2024. All laboratory professionals employed at these health facilities were included in the study. A structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data on socio-demographics, educational background, job experience, professional motivation, communication with physicians, training availability, quality assurance activities, and other factors influencing laboratory services. All raw data were coded and entered into SPSS version 27 for analysis, using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and logistic regression. Statistical significance was established at a p-value of 0.05. Results: There were 150 laboratory health professionals in this study, resulting in a response rate of 97.4%. Males accounted for 70.7%(104/150) of the study participants. In the present study, 65.3%(98/150) of the laboratory professionals were dissatisfied with their work. Satisfaction was significantly associated with the presence of a continuous professional development program (χ2=6.6, p =0.01), staff recognition (χ2=5.13, p =0.023), and salary (χ2=6.29, p =0.012). In multivariate analysis, communication with physicians (AOR = 3.30, CI: 1.44-7.54, p=0.005), workload (AOR = 6.68, CI: 2.36-18.86, p=0.00), training availability (AOR = 2.33, CI: 1.03-5.24, p=0.042), laboratory result verification (AOR = 2.69, CI: 1.15-6.25, p=0.022), regular internal quality control (AOR = 3.56, CI: 1.43-8.83, p=0.006), and participation in external quality assurance (AOR = 4.39, CI: 1.62-11.93, p=0.004)were found to be significant risk factors for provision of quality laboratory services. Conclusion: Laboratory professional satisfaction is determined by the presence of a continuous professional development program, staff recognition, and salary. In the study area, prominent factors determining the quality of laboratory services are communication with physicians, the presence of training opportunities, workload, result verification, participation in external quality assurance programs, and regular internal quality control.