Knowledge, Misperceptions, Preparedness, and Barriers towards Lassa Fever Control among Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Institution in Enugu, Nigeria.

Autor: Ndu, Anne C., Kassy, Wilson C., Ochie, Casmir N., Arinze-Onyia, Sussan U., Okeke, Theodora A., Aguwa, Emmanuel N., Okwor, Tochi J., Chinawa, Awoere
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Health Care for the Poor & Underserved; Aug2019, Vol. 30 Issue 3, p1151-1164, 14p
Abstrakt: Background. Lassa fever outbreaks are common in Nigeria. The study aimed to assess knowledge, misperception, preparedness and barriers towards Lassa fever among health care workers (HCWs) in a tertiary hospital in Enugu. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study among 400 HCWs of a Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Results. The study showed that 56.5% had fair knowledge while 42.0% and 1.5% had poor and good knowledge, respectively. Over 84% had good risk perception of acquiring Lassa fever while 15.8% had poor risk perception. Only 13% received training on emergency preparedness while 90.3% desired this training. Associations between occupation and knowledge were significant. Barriers to Lassa fever control were non-availability of infection control tools, lack of training on preparedness, absence of local laboratory, and non-availability of ribavirin. Conclusion. The study showed poor level of preparedness for Lassa fever and recommended routine training of HCWs on emergency preparedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index