The contribution of medical educational system of the College of Medicine, and Health Sciences of the University of Gondar in Ethiopia on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of graduate students of Health Sciences in relation to the prevention and control of nosocomial infections during the academic year of 2018

Assessment of mothers' satisfaction towards child vaccination service in South Omo zone, South Ethiopia region: a survey on clients' perspective

BACKGROUND

Even though childhood vaccination is a common and cost-effective public health intervention in preventing and reducing childhood disease and death, significant numbers of children do not complete vaccination within the first year of life. Studies indicated that user satisfaction influences service utilization and used as a key indicator of quality care. However, evidence on the level of mothers' satisfaction with immunization service are limited in urban and accessible places and not well investigated among remote and pastoral communities. As such, this study aimed to address this gap and investigated mothers' satisfaction towards child vaccination in a pastoralist and agrarian community of the South Omo zone in Southern region of Ethiopia.

METHODS

An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1221 randomly selected mothers with children eligible for childhood vaccination using a structured, pretested, and interviewer-administered questionnaire. Maternal positive evaluations of the overall vaccination service were measured using 5-point Likert scale questions. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.5.1 and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistical package version 25. Exploratory factor analysis was used for Likert scale questions to extract factor scores which facilitate treatment of variables as continuous for further analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with the outcome variable. A P-value < 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI respectively were used to declare statistical significance and degree of association.

RESULT

A total of 849 (69.53%) study participants were satisfied with the vaccination care provided for their children. Factors associated with mother's satisfaction with child vaccination care include maternal age less than 30 years (AOR = 2.12; 95% CI = 1.61-2.79), infants age between 8 and 12 months (AOR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.28, 2.62), not having history of adverse events following immunization (AOR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.01-2.45), having 1 child under the age of 5 years (AOR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.02-1.76), waiting 30 min or less to get the service (AOR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.05-1.85), traveling 30 min or less to the vaccination center (AOR = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.08-1.98), having poor knowledge about the importance of vaccination (AOR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.06-2.16), and having moderate knowledge about the importance of vaccination (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI = 1.06-2.18).

CONCLUSION

Interestingly, mothers' satisfaction with their children's vaccination service was relatively higher in a predominantly pastoral community compared with most of previous studies conducted in Ethiopia. Maternal and child age, number of children under the age of 5 years, history of adverse events following immunization, distance to the vaccination center, waiting time to get service and maternal knowledge were factors significantly associated with mothers' satisfaction. Proactive measures with focus on increasing access to vaccination service, improving waiting time and raising awareness among mothers were recommended.

Mateen M, Aina FO, Hussin OA. Evaluating the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare workers regarding high-risk nosocomial infections: A global cross-sectional study

Background

Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a vital role in delivering care and are frequently exposed to the risk of acquiring infections within the hospital setting. Around 15% of hospitalized patients suffer from these infections globally. However, the role and awareness of HCWs in the transmission of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) or nosocomial infections is still unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) toward high-risk microbial infections among HCWs on a global scale to identify measures to address this problem.

Method

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between 2022 and 2023, with HCWs selected as the study population. Data concerning KAP were collected through a self-administered online survey questionnaire, using a nonprobability convenience sampling method. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

Results

A total of 743 HCWs from various countries participated in the study, with the majority of respondents being doctors (64.9%). Data were mainly obtained from Saudi Arabia (26.78%), Iraq (25.84%), India (15.7%), the United States of America (15.2%), and Africa (Sudan, Nigeria) (13.98%). The frequency of good KAP scores among physicians (KAP: 82.5, 80.66, and 70.5), nurses (KAP: 74.1, 73.07, and 88.7), medical practitioners (KAP: 87.2, 77.58, and 75.1), and technicians (KAP: 76.1, 74.38, and 89.6) were obtained as mentioned. With respect to experience, HCWs showed good KAP scores in 1-5 years (KAP: 82.4, 83.3, and 74.1), 5-10 years (KAP: 80.6, 74.54, 83), 10-20 years (KAP: 74.7, 79.1, and 82.7), and >20 years (KAP: 84.6, 78.8, and 82.8) categories.

Conclusion

This study suggests that HCWs have good KAP regarding infection prevention, but there is still room for improvement. Educational seminars and awareness programs can provide better adherence to barrier protection measures such as hand washing, use of gloves, and hand disinfection.

Knowledge and practice toward hospital-acquired infections prevention and associated factors among nurses working at university referral hospitals in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia 2021

Objective

Hospital-acquired infection is higher in low- and middle-income countries because of inadequate knowledge of hospital-acquired infection prevention and poor adherence to standard infection prevention practices.

Methods

A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 randomly selected nurses working at university referral hospitals in Southern, Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia from 01 to 30 April 2021. Data was collected by self-administer questionnaires. Multivariable binary logistic regressions were used to assess the association between the outcome variables and explanatory variables. The adjusted odds ratio was calculated and variables with a 95% confidence interval were declared as statistically significant.

Results

The study found that 45.5% (95% confidence interval: 40.6%-50.4%) and 64.8% (95% confidence interval: 60.1%-69.5%) of nurses had good knowledge and practices toward hospital-acquired infection prevention, respectively. Being male (adjusted odd ratio: 2.2, 1.41-3.40), having a degree and above in nursing (adjusted odd ratio: 3.6, 1.73-7.38), having more than 5 years of work experience (adjusted odd ratio: 2.0, 1.24-3.26), having training on infection prevention (adjusted odd ratio: 2.6, 1.58-4.37) and adequate materials supplies (adjusted odd ratio: 2.2, 1.08-4.45) had associated with nurses' knowledge about hospital-acquired infection prevention. On the other hand, having a degree and above in nursing (adjusted odd ratio: 1.98, 1.07-3.66), consistent water supply (adjusted odd ratio: 3.4, 1.58-7.30), and being aware of the existence of infection prevention guidelines in their institution (adjusted odd ratio: 1.80, 1.14-2.87) had associated with good practices of nurses toward hospital-acquired infections prevention.

Conclusion

Less than half of the nurses had adequate knowledge and approximately two-thirds of nurses had good practice for hospital-acquired infection prevention.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions Towards Hand Hygiene of Optometry Students Pre- and Peri-COVID-19 at a Tertiary Institution in Johannesburg, South Africa

PURPOSE

Limited research has been completed relating to the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards hand hygiene in optometry. The necessity of identifying possible gaps in the cycle of the optometric examination that may have an impact on standard hygiene practices is essential, especially seen in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to determine if optometry students' KAP towards hand hygiene changed pre- and peri-COVID-19 to minimize the risk of possible infection it may have for their patients, family, and themselves.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional purposeful sample study was completed among optometry students at a training institution in Johannesburg, South Africa, pre- (2019) and peri-COVID-19 (2022). The WHO hand hygiene knowledge and perception questionnaires for health care workers were adapted and used in the current study. Statistical analyses were performed to test for significant changes between the two groups.

RESULTS

There was a significant change (p < 0.01) in the use of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) in 2022 (87.2%) compared to 2019 (46.5%), although only 41% of students peri-COVID-19 (2022), were aware that a minimum of 20 seconds is required to effectively clean hands. Students, both pre-COVID-19 (63.8%) and peri-COVID-19 (81.8%) perceived performing a hand hygiene regime during an optometric examination to be problematic. A significant peri-COVID-19 (2022) change in perception (p < 0.01) regarding the importance of completing required hand hygiene practices in front of a patient during examination was seen.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to research a possible change in KAP towards hand hygiene practices in optometry students that have not been investigated before. Students were more aware of the impact of hand hygiene practices and the perception thereof, especially by patients and fellow students during the peri-COVID-19 (2022) period. An important finding was the difficulty that students experienced to perform a hand hygiene regime during an optometric examination.