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Article History

Received: 24 May 2024

Accepted: 7 October 2024

First Online: 18 October 2024

Declarations

:

: The study proposal was approved by the Institutional Ethical Review Board (IRB) at Rift Valley University (RVU) Hawassa campus. An official approval letter from the RVU-HC Vice President's office was sent to the zonal/woreda health department. Cooperation letters were then sent from the woreda office managers to randomly selected health facilities, obtaining permissions from the administrative offices of each hospital and health center. Prior to data collection, the primary author briefed hospital managers and participants on the objectives, significance, benefits, risks, confidentiality, and withdrawal process. Subsequently, informed written consent was obtained from each study participant, emphasizing confidentiality and voluntary involvement, and data collection commenced. The study adhered to the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration for human research ethics.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.