Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety Imperatives
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the functionality of health systems and world affairs. We assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 23...
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Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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Series: | Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/6/1/6 |
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doaj-159d6cd2cd0a49da8e608719c13a6891 |
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Article |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nzaji Michel-Kabamba Nlandu Roger Ngatu Ngombe Leon-Kabamba Astrid Katumbo-Mukemo Olivier Mukuku Jean Ngoyi-Mukonkole Guillaume Ngoie-Mwamba Elie Kilolo-Ngoie Ignace Bwana-Kangulu Dora Kafusthi-Mukemo Deca Blood Banza-Ndala Denis Kabila-Mutombo Marie-Claire Balela-Kabasu Moise Kanyiki-Katala Al Hassan Syed-Mahfuz Akitsu Murakami Kanae Kanda Yukinori Mashima Numbi Oscar-Luboya Tomohiro Hirao |
spellingShingle |
Nzaji Michel-Kabamba Nlandu Roger Ngatu Ngombe Leon-Kabamba Astrid Katumbo-Mukemo Olivier Mukuku Jean Ngoyi-Mukonkole Guillaume Ngoie-Mwamba Elie Kilolo-Ngoie Ignace Bwana-Kangulu Dora Kafusthi-Mukemo Deca Blood Banza-Ndala Denis Kabila-Mutombo Marie-Claire Balela-Kabasu Moise Kanyiki-Katala Al Hassan Syed-Mahfuz Akitsu Murakami Kanae Kanda Yukinori Mashima Numbi Oscar-Luboya Tomohiro Hirao Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety Imperatives Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease COVID-19 Democratic Republic of the Congo health care workers infection prevention personal protective equipment |
author_facet |
Nzaji Michel-Kabamba Nlandu Roger Ngatu Ngombe Leon-Kabamba Astrid Katumbo-Mukemo Olivier Mukuku Jean Ngoyi-Mukonkole Guillaume Ngoie-Mwamba Elie Kilolo-Ngoie Ignace Bwana-Kangulu Dora Kafusthi-Mukemo Deca Blood Banza-Ndala Denis Kabila-Mutombo Marie-Claire Balela-Kabasu Moise Kanyiki-Katala Al Hassan Syed-Mahfuz Akitsu Murakami Kanae Kanda Yukinori Mashima Numbi Oscar-Luboya Tomohiro Hirao |
author_sort |
Nzaji Michel-Kabamba |
title |
Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety Imperatives |
title_short |
Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety Imperatives |
title_full |
Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety Imperatives |
title_fullStr |
Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety Imperatives |
title_full_unstemmed |
Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety Imperatives |
title_sort |
occupational covid-19 prevention among congolese healthcare workers: knowledge, practices, ppe compliance, and safety imperatives |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
issn |
2414-6366 |
publishDate |
2021-12-01 |
description |
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the functionality of health systems and world affairs. We assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 23 referral hospitals located in three towns of the DRC (Lubumbashi, Kamina, Mbuji-Mayi). In total, 613 HCWs were surveyed using the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) “Exposure Risk Assessment in the Context of COVID-19” questionnaire. Participants included medical doctors (27.2%) and other categories of HCWs (72.8%). The mean age was 40.3 ± 11.7 years. Over 80% (range: 83–96%) of respondents had sufficient knowledge on each of the three domains: COVID-19 symptoms, disease transmission, and patient care approach. However, attitudes and practices scores were relatively low. Only 27.7% of HCWs were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available, whereas 55% of HCWs complied with good practices; 49.4% wore masks consistently and, surprisingly, only 54.9% used personal protective equipment (PPE) consistently at work and during contact with patients. Knowledge level was positively associated with the use of social media as a primary source of COVID-19-related information and the category of residence, with HCWs from towns already affected by the COVID-19 epidemic being more likely to have positive attitudes (adjusted OR, 1.64; 95%CI, 1.32–2.20) and comply with good practices (aOR, 2.79; 95%CI, 1.93-4.06). This study showed that most Congolese HCWs had sufficient knowledge on COVID-19, whereas the majority did not comply with consistent PPE use. The government of the DRC should urgently take major steps in capacity building for HCWs in outbreak preparedness and supplying hospitals with PPE. |
topic |
COVID-19 Democratic Republic of the Congo health care workers infection prevention personal protective equipment |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/6/1/6 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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doaj-159d6cd2cd0a49da8e608719c13a68912020-12-31T00:00:21ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662021-12-0166610.3390/tropicalmed6010006Occupational COVID-19 Prevention among Congolese Healthcare Workers: Knowledge, Practices, PPE Compliance, and Safety ImperativesNzaji Michel-Kabamba0Nlandu Roger Ngatu1Ngombe Leon-Kabamba2Astrid Katumbo-Mukemo3Olivier Mukuku4Jean Ngoyi-Mukonkole5Guillaume Ngoie-Mwamba6Elie Kilolo-Ngoie7Ignace Bwana-Kangulu8Dora Kafusthi-Mukemo9Deca Blood Banza-Ndala10Denis Kabila-Mutombo11Marie-Claire Balela-Kabasu12Moise Kanyiki-Katala13Al Hassan Syed-Mahfuz14Akitsu Murakami15Kanae Kanda16Yukinori Mashima17Numbi Oscar-Luboya18Tomohiro Hirao19Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kamina, Kamina 279, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine, Miki-cho 761-0793, JapanDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kamina, Kamina 279, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Technical Medical College (ISTM), Lubumbashi 4748, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Technical Medical College (ISTM), Lubumbashi 4748, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Technical Medical College (ISTM), Lubumbashi 4748, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kamina, Kamina 279, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kamina, Kamina 279, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kamina, Kamina 279, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Technical Medical College (ISTM), Lubumbashi 4748, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Technical Medical College (ITSM) of Mbuji-Mayi, Mbuji-Mayi 1244, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Technical Medical College (ITSM) of Mbuji-Mayi, Mbuji-Mayi 1244, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Technical Medical College (ITSM) of Mbuji-Mayi, Mbuji-Mayi 1244, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Technical Medical College (ITSM) of Mbuji-Mayi, Mbuji-Mayi 1244, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine, Miki-cho 761-0793, JapanDepartment of Public Health, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine, Miki-cho 761-0793, JapanDepartment of Public Health, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine, Miki-cho 761-0793, JapanDepartment of Public Health, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine, Miki-cho 761-0793, JapanDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kamina, Kamina 279, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Public Health, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine, Miki-cho 761-0793, JapanThe SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the functionality of health systems and world affairs. We assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 23 referral hospitals located in three towns of the DRC (Lubumbashi, Kamina, Mbuji-Mayi). In total, 613 HCWs were surveyed using the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) “Exposure Risk Assessment in the Context of COVID-19” questionnaire. Participants included medical doctors (27.2%) and other categories of HCWs (72.8%). The mean age was 40.3 ± 11.7 years. Over 80% (range: 83–96%) of respondents had sufficient knowledge on each of the three domains: COVID-19 symptoms, disease transmission, and patient care approach. However, attitudes and practices scores were relatively low. Only 27.7% of HCWs were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available, whereas 55% of HCWs complied with good practices; 49.4% wore masks consistently and, surprisingly, only 54.9% used personal protective equipment (PPE) consistently at work and during contact with patients. Knowledge level was positively associated with the use of social media as a primary source of COVID-19-related information and the category of residence, with HCWs from towns already affected by the COVID-19 epidemic being more likely to have positive attitudes (adjusted OR, 1.64; 95%CI, 1.32–2.20) and comply with good practices (aOR, 2.79; 95%CI, 1.93-4.06). This study showed that most Congolese HCWs had sufficient knowledge on COVID-19, whereas the majority did not comply with consistent PPE use. The government of the DRC should urgently take major steps in capacity building for HCWs in outbreak preparedness and supplying hospitals with PPE.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/6/1/6COVID-19Democratic Republic of the Congohealth care workersinfection preventionpersonal protective equipment |