Knowledge, attitude and practices related to tuberculosis among healthcare workers at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most important infectious diseases in the world. A lot of efforts have been put in place to curb its menace since the global epidemic in the 1990s. Even though progress has been made in recent time, the incidence and mortality rates of tuberculosis leaves a lot to be desired. Good knowledge, positive attitude and good preventive practice on the part of healthcare workers (HCWs) are pivotal in the fight against TB worldwide. A deficit in the knowledge, attitude and TB preventive practice among HCWs can lead to the delivery of substandard care, ineffective use of resources and poor service delivery which would impact health outcomes negatively as well as increase the risk of TB transmission and compound the issues of antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, positive attitude and preventive practice (KAP) of HCWs as well as the determinants of KAP among HCWs in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). Method: This study was a descriptive cross – sectional survey. A structured knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire was administered among Doctors/Physicians, Nurses, Midwives, Pharmacists/Drug Dispensers, Biomedical Scientists. Results: Three hundred and sixty nine (369) healthcare workers (HCWs) in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) participated in this study. These included two hundred and nine (209) Nurses, Seventy-seven (77) Midwives, fifty - nine (59) Doctors/Physician Assistants, thirteen (13) Pharmacists/Pharmacy Technicians and seven (7) Biomedical Scientists. Knowledge (overall mean score = 0.74, SD=1.3), attitude (overall mean attitude score = 0.67, SD = 0.08) and TB control practice (overall mean attitude score = 0.77, SD = 0.17) of HCWs were good. Nonetheless some gaps were identified. With regard to TB knowledge, knowledge deficit was observed on the signs and symptoms, diagnoses, treatment regimen and the mode of transmission. Again healthcare workers (70 %) were not willing to work aon TB patients as they perceived TB as threatening and stressful. Poor practice was identified with regard to adequate training of staffs on TB and timing of diagnosing TB suspected cases. Educational level of HCWs was a predictor of TB knowledge where HCWs holding a Bachelor degree were five times likely to have good knowledge on TB (AOR: 5.17, 95% CI: 1.24-21.65). Nurses were 16 % likely to demonstrate positive attitude (AOR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.03-0.7) compared to Doctor/ Physician Assistants. HCWs with a Diploma (AOR: 17.6, 95% CI: 4.37-70.93), Bachelor‟s Degree (AOR: 0.85, 95% CI: 1.55-22.07), Masters (AOR: 14.38, 95% CI: 1.23-168.85) were also more likely to demonstrate positive attitude. Females (AOR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.17-4.10), Nurses (AOR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.15-4.8) and Midwifes were likely to practice good TB infection control. Conclusions: The outcome of this result is encouraging since majority of respondent had good knowledge, attitude and effective practice in the control and management of TB. Even though the aforementioned were identified to be good, some gaps were undoubtedly disclosed necessitating the need for adequate education of Healthcare workers on TB disease and infection.

Source: KNUST