OE Mbenyi*, EA Nwoke and COA Amadi

Department of Public Health, School of Health Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: OE Mbenyi, Department of Public Health, School of Health Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria.

Received: March 21, 2023; Published: April 06, 2022

Abstract

This research study centered on determining the knowledge, attitude, and practice of standard precautions among selected healthcare workers in the University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The specific objectives are to examine the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, assess the level of awareness of standard precautions among healthcare workers, ascertain the attitude of healthcare workers in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State towards standard precautions, and determine the level of practice of standard precaution. Related literature reviewed. A descriptive survey design was employed in this study. Out of the 400 health workers, Taro Yamane's sample size determination gave a sample size of 200. A well-structured questionnaire was used to extract information from the respondents. Descriptive statistics such as means, and frequency distribution and percentages were used to analyze all the objectives. Chi-Square was used to analyze the hypothesis posed to the study. The result revealed that there were more females (67.5%) who participated in the studies than their male counterparts (32.5%). The majority (42.0%) of the respondents were still within their mid-age of 30-39 years, followed by 26% who were within the age range of 40-49 years of age. Furthermore, the study showed that all participants (100%) had at one time or the other previous knowledge of standard precaution as a concept in the health system. However, their sources of information varied from formal training (65%), colleague/friend (26%) media (5.5), and other means (3.5%). Also, the respondents opined that every employer in the health system should as a matter of utmost importance make provision for training on standard precautions. They believed that standard precaution is helpful in the protection against health hazards in the workplace (= 3.40). Some (50%) thought that recap of the needle after use is a safe way to prevent needle injury and transmission of diseases. Safety measures agreed upon by the respondents 98% include disposal of needles and syringes immediately after use. Method of needle disposal in UPTH include the use of waste bin (50.5%) and enclose and burn (60%). The Chi-Square value (9.88) and p-value (p > 0.05) means that we do not have sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant impact of knowledge of standard precaution on practice.

Keywords: Port Harcourt; Health Care Workers; Standard Precautions; Blood; Attitude

References

1. Bennett G and Mansell I. “Universal precautions: a survey of community nurses’ experience and practice”. International Journal of Clinical Nursing2 (2014): 20-27.
2. Okechukwu EF and Modteshi C. “Knowledge and practice of standard precautions in public health facilities in Abuja, Nigeria”. International Journal of Infection Control 8 (2012): 1-7.
3. Shuper PA., et al. “HIV transmission risk behavior among HIV-positive patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”. AIDS Behaviour 18 (2014): 1532-1540.
4. Ofili AN., et al. “Knowledge and practice of universal precautions among nurses in central hospital, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria”. Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal 10 (2008): 26-31.
5. Arinze- Onyia SU., et al. “Knowledge and Practice of Standard Precautions by Health care workers in a Tertiary Health Institutionin Enugu, Nigeria”. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice2 (2018): 149-154.
6. Atif ML., et al. “Awareness of standard precautions for 4439 healthcare professionals in 34 institutions in France”. Médecine et Maladies Infectieuses 43 (2013): 10-16.
7. Sreedharan J., et al. “Knowledge about standard precautions among university hospital nurses in the United Arab Emirates”. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 17 (2011): 331-334.
8. Amoran O and Onwube O. “Infection control and practice of standard precautions among healthcare workers in Northern Nigeria”. Journal of Global Infectious Diseases 5 (2013): 156-163.
9. Parmeggiani C., et al. “Healthcare workers and health care-associated infections: Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior in emergency departments in Italy”. BMC Infectious Diseases 10 (2010):
10. Punia S., et al. “Healthcare workers and standard precautions perceptions and determinants of compliance in the emergency and trauma triage of a tertiary care hospital in South India”. International School of Research Notices (2014):
11. Mukherjee S., et al. “Knowledge and practice of standard precautions and awareness regarding post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV among interns of a medical college in West Bengal, India”. International Journal of Infection Control 15 (2012): 1-7.
12. Tobin EA., et al. “Knowledge and practice of infection control among health workers in a tertiary hospital in Edo State, Nigeria”. Direct Research Journal of Health Pharmacy 1.2 (2013): 20-27.
13. Abubakar SM., et al. “Assessment of knowledge and practice of standard precautions among nurses working at Federal Medical Centre Gombe, Nigeria”. Direct Research Journal of Health Pharmacy 3.1 (2015): 1-11.
14. Adinma ED., et al. “Knowledge and practice of universal precautions against blood borne pathogens amongst house officers and nurses in tertiary health institutions in Southeast Nigeria”. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice 77 (2009): 1079-1082.
15. Reda AA., et al. “Standard precautions: occupational exposure and behavior of health care work-ers in Ethiopia”. PLoS One 5 (2010): e14420.
16. Luo Y., et al. “Factors impacting compliance with standard precautions in nursing, China”. International Journal of Infectious Diseases 14 (2010): e1106-1114.

Citation

Citation: OE Mbenyi., et al. “Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of standard Precautions among Selected Health Care Workers in University of Port Hacourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State". Acta Scientific Anatomy 2.3 (2023): 03-13.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 OE Mbenyi., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.