Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South India
Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic to be a public health emergency of international concern. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the highest risk of infection, as they may come into contact with patients’ blood or fluids. This study was con...
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The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
2016-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
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| Online Access: | https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/7578 |
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| author | Akram Ahmad Muhammad Umair Khan Shazia Qasim Jamshed Bandari Deepak Kumar Gogikar Sudhir Kumar Puchchakayala Goverdhan Reddy Sudhakar Ajmera |
| author_facet | Akram Ahmad Muhammad Umair Khan Shazia Qasim Jamshed Bandari Deepak Kumar Gogikar Sudhir Kumar Puchchakayala Goverdhan Reddy Sudhakar Ajmera |
| author_sort | Akram Ahmad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic to be a public health emergency of international concern. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the highest risk of infection, as they may come into contact with patients’ blood or fluids. This study was conducted to assess knowledge and attitudes of HCWs towards EVD in India.
Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in a multispecialty public sector referral hospital of Telangana, India. Knowledge and attitude of HCWs were evaluated using a pre-validated questionnaire. A sample of 278 participants was selected to participate in this study. The Chi-squared test was used to assess the relationship between attitudes and demographic characteristics. Logistic regression was used examine the association between knowledge and study variables.
Results: Of 257 participants who responded (92.4% response rate), 157 (61.1%) were females. The majority of the respondents were physicians (n = 117, 45.5%). Radio and television were the major sources of information about EVD reported by participants (89%). Overall knowledge of HCWs was poor (mean knowledge score: 6.57 ± 2.57). Knowledge of physicians and experienced workers (≥ 10 years) was significantly higher than their respective groups. The overall attitude of the participants was positive (mean attitude score: 1.62 ± 0.57). Significant positive correlations between knowledge and attitude were observed.
Conclusions: The findings indicate that participants lack basic understanding of EVD. We recommend future studies be conducted across India to identify and subsequently bridge the knowledge gaps among HCWs.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a68a6897a82e4d719e18c22c3b32fb95 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1972-2680 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-08-01 |
| publisher | The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
| spelling | doaj-art-a68a6897a82e4d719e18c22c3b32fb952025-08-20T02:27:23ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802016-08-01100710.3855/jidc.7578Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South IndiaAkram Ahmad0Muhammad Umair Khan1Shazia Qasim Jamshed2Bandari Deepak Kumar3Gogikar Sudhir Kumar4Puchchakayala Goverdhan Reddy5Sudhakar Ajmera6UCSI University, No. 1 Jalan Menara Gading, Taman Connaught, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaUCSI University, No. 1 Jalan Menara Gading, Taman Connaught, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaInternational Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan, Pahang, MalaysiaVaagdevi College of Pharmacy, Warangal, Telangana, IndiaVaagdevi College of Pharmacy, Warangal, Telangana, IndiaVaagdevi College of Pharmacy, Warangal, Telangana, IndiaMahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Warangal, Telangana, IndiaIntroduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic to be a public health emergency of international concern. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the highest risk of infection, as they may come into contact with patients’ blood or fluids. This study was conducted to assess knowledge and attitudes of HCWs towards EVD in India. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in a multispecialty public sector referral hospital of Telangana, India. Knowledge and attitude of HCWs were evaluated using a pre-validated questionnaire. A sample of 278 participants was selected to participate in this study. The Chi-squared test was used to assess the relationship between attitudes and demographic characteristics. Logistic regression was used examine the association between knowledge and study variables. Results: Of 257 participants who responded (92.4% response rate), 157 (61.1%) were females. The majority of the respondents were physicians (n = 117, 45.5%). Radio and television were the major sources of information about EVD reported by participants (89%). Overall knowledge of HCWs was poor (mean knowledge score: 6.57 ± 2.57). Knowledge of physicians and experienced workers (≥ 10 years) was significantly higher than their respective groups. The overall attitude of the participants was positive (mean attitude score: 1.62 ± 0.57). Significant positive correlations between knowledge and attitude were observed. Conclusions: The findings indicate that participants lack basic understanding of EVD. We recommend future studies be conducted across India to identify and subsequently bridge the knowledge gaps among HCWs. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/7578knowledgeattitudesebolahealthcare workersIndia |
| spellingShingle | Akram Ahmad Muhammad Umair Khan Shazia Qasim Jamshed Bandari Deepak Kumar Gogikar Sudhir Kumar Puchchakayala Goverdhan Reddy Sudhakar Ajmera Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South India Journal of Infection in Developing Countries knowledge attitudes ebola healthcare workers India |
| title | Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South India |
| title_full | Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South India |
| title_fullStr | Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South India |
| title_short | Are healthcare workers ready for Ebola? An assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in South India |
| title_sort | are healthcare workers ready for ebola an assessment of their knowledge and attitude in a referral hospital in south india |
| topic | knowledge attitudes ebola healthcare workers India |
| url | https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/7578 |
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