Assessment of knowledge of Health Workers on Lassa fever in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria

Abstract

Aim/Background: Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. It is endemic in Edo State, Nigeria.  Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital is a center of excellence for Lassa fever research and control. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of health workers on Lassa fever in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.
Materials and Methods: A total of 225 health workers consisting of Doctors (75), Nurses (115), Pharmacists (10), Laboratory scientists (20) and CHEWS (5) were recruited in the study. The respondents were selected at random from various wards and clinics. They completed the 10 items questionnaire with each item given a score of 2 to make a total of 20.
Results: From the results, 70.2% of the study population had good knowledge while 27.06 had fair knowledge and only 2.2% had poor knowledge.
Conclusion: The following variables were found to have statistical significance with knowledge; Age group, Designation, Years of experience in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, and years of experience in Lassa unit.Sex, years of experience generally as a health worker, attendance of workshops and previous work in Lassa unit did not have any statistical significance in relation with the level of knowledge.

Key Words: Lassa fever, health workers, knowledge