Knowledge, attitude and practice towards control of Ebola infection among community pharmacy workers in Dar es Salaam Tanzania

Abstract

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is an acute and severe illness without specific treatments that has a very high case fatality rate of up to 90%. The disease is a major global health problem, yet the knowledge of the disease to the community, including health care workers, is low. Community pharmacy workers (CPW), being the first line to contact patients, play a crucial role in providing over-the-counter medications, awareness, and knowledge on various diseases and disease prevention strategies in the community. Thus, CPWs should be aware of the signs and symptoms for prompt and appropriate referral of persons suspected of EVD. This study's main objective was to assess the awareness, attitude and perceptions towards the control of Ebola infection by CPWs in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling to recruit consenting CPWs surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 252 community pharmacy workers were recruited. A female preponderance of 160 (63.5%) was observed with an average age of 30.7±8.5years (mean ± SD), with the majority (55.6%) in the 20-29 years age
group. The main source of information about EVD by the CPWs was television (71.8%), newspapers and radio 67.9% and 67.5%, respectively. Direct contact with blood was identified as the main route of transmission of Ebola by 81.3% of CPWs, followed by air (38.5%). When all the individual positive scores for questions on general knowledge of EVD transmission were computed and categorized into low (1-5), average (6-10) and excellent (11-20) knowledge, the majority of respondents (52.8%), had an average knowledge score. However, a positive attitude and practices were revealed by the CPWs towards ways of preventing Ebola. Several misconceptions about Ebola were, however, noted among the participants. Ebola transmission can be prevented by appropriately educating CPWs as a strategy to increase preparedness for an EVD outbreak.