Descriptive correlational study of knowledge, attitudes and practices related to blood exposure accidents among operating room nurses in the two university hospitals of Sousse.

INTRODUCTION: The occupational infectious risk in the health care environment is potentially ubiquitous. Several infectious agents are transmitted to healthcare professionals, especially by blood and body fluids. AIM: To describe the knowledge; attitudes and practices related to blood exposure accidents (BEA) among operating room nurses and to determine their associated factors. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study was conducted from February 24 to April 10, 2022, among nurses of the operating rooms in the two university hospitals of Sousse using an auto administrated questionnaire inspired from the literature. RESULTS: Our population was composed of 133 nurses. The average age was 38.79 ±7.75 years and the average length of work was 12.02 ±7.8 years. Overall, the respondents had moderate knowledge about BEA. Indeed, 17.3% did not know the meaning of the acronym BEA. Concerning the attitudes, almost (63.1%) had been the victim of at least one BEA. The most frequent types of BEA were pricks (81%), cuts (37%) and splashes (33.3%). The mechanisms of occurrence were mainly recapping (91.7%) and disposal of health care waste (74.4%). Only 48.1% of respondents had received training on BEA. The systematic use of gloves for health care procedures was unsatisfactory (66.2%). According to the studied practices, in case of injured skin, (82.7%) of the respondents wore gloves if they had any skin lesions. Almost all respondents (90.2%) were vaccinated against hepatitis B. Women had better knowledge about the meaning of the acronym BEA (p=0.011). The comparison of practices showed that recapping dirty needles after use was significantly higher among females than males (p=0.011). CONCLUSION: The solid knowledge about the BEA and systematic application of standard precautions in health care settings must be concretely manifested in the daily practices of health professionals.

[Patient safety culture in neonatal intensive care units as seen by nurses]. / La culture de sécurité des patients dans les unités de soins intensifsnéonatals vue par les équipes.

Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are critical environments in terms of safety of care, with a high risk of adverse events. Measuring the patient safety culture of the professionals working there should help to improve the care offered. A descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted among 141 nurses and childcare workers in 2020 in 5 Tunisian hospitals, examined this question.

Effectiveness of an osteoporosis prevention educational program in Tunisian premenopausal women working in sedentary occupations: a quasi-experimental study.

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an osteoporosis prevention program on knowledge and perception of self-efficacy in adopting preventive osteoporosis behaviors in premenopausal women working in sedentary occupations. Results show the improvement in knowledge and self-efficacy was statistically significant respectively (p < 0.001) and (p = 0.001). INTRODUCTION: The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an osteoporosis prevention educational program on knowledge and perception of self-efficacy in adopting preventive osteoporosis behaviors in Tunisian premenopausal women working in sedentary occupations. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre-post intervention study design. Our study population was composed of female employees, aged 35-50 years, of a company located in the industrial zone Sousse, situated in the center East of Tunisia. Three data collection methods were used: a questionnaire exploring socio-demographic characteristics and anthropometric measures, the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test, and the Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale. The intervention consisted of an educational program relating to the promotion of calcium intake and physical activity. We are referred to the "Health Belief Model." RESULTS: A survey conducted on 97 women. Only 81 subjects completed the study and are included in data analyses. The total knowledge score regarding osteoporosis improved by + 14.57 which corresponds to percentage of 109% between the pre- (T1) and post-test (T2). This improvement in knowledge was statistically significant (p < 0.001), going from 13.41 ± 3.94 at T1 to 27.98 ± 2.49 at T2. The total osteoporosis self-efficacy score has increased by + 9.56, or a percentage of 15% between the pre- and post-test. This improvement in self-efficacy was statistically significant (p = 0.001), going from 64.18 ± 20.84 at T1 to 73.73 ± 14.35 at T2. CONCLUSION: It is important to create an appropriate environment for the adoption of favorable behaviors to healthy bones and to promote health education with political commitment and collaboration with different sectors.

Evaluation of surgical glove integrity and factors associated with glove defect.

BACKGROUND: Surgical glove perforation may expose both patients and staff members to severe complications. This study aimed to determine surgical glove perforation rate and the factors associated with glove defect. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2017 at a Tunisian university hospital center in 3 different surgical departments: urology, maxillofacial, and general and digestive. The gloves were collected and tested to detect perforations using the water-leak test as described in European Norm NF EN 455-1. For percentage comparisons, the χ2 test was used with a significance threshold of 5%. RESULTS: A total of 284 gloves were collected. Of these, 47 were found to be perforated, a rate of 16.5%. All perforations were unnoticed by the surgical team members. The majority of perforated gloves (61.7%) were collected after urology procedures (P = .00005), 77% of perforated gloves were detected when the duration of the procedure exceeded 90 minutes (P = .001), and 96% were from brand A, which were the thicker gloves (P = .015). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlighted an important problem neglected by surgical teams. The findings reaffirm the importance of double-gloving and changing gloves in surgeries of more than 90 minutes' duration.

Evaluation of clinical reasoning teaching for third year medical students.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical reasoning teaching is an educational method based on learning and contextualized education.The aim of this study was to determine the value of clinical reasoning teaching sessions, from the perspective of third year medical students using a self-administered questionnaire. METHOD: Two successive groups of nine students (a total of 18 students) participated in this study.They had anexternship in the cardiology department of HabibThameur hospital during amonth.An anonymous evaluation self-administered questionnaire was submitted to the two groups at the end of the traineeshipperiod. RESULTS: The average scores given by students for the items "quality of education", "workload", "atmosphere", "interest in teaching sessions"and "acquisition of new clinical knowledge" were greater than 8/10. Exposed health problem to be solved has attracted the interest and the motivation of 16 students and prompted 15 others to do further research.Fourteen students opted for clinical reasoning teaching as the preferred teaching method for optimal memorization.Thirteen students have found a real contribution ofreasoning teaching in the management of relationship with the patient.All students assumed that clinical reasoning meetings session should be more frequently usedduring the internship period. CONCLUSION: Clinical reasoning teaching session appears to be widely desired by medical students.

[Perceptions of Tunisian women based on the health beliefs model and their practices related to osteoporosis]. / Les perceptions des femmes tunisiennes selon le modèle des croyances liées à la santé et leurs pratiques relativement à l'ostéoporose.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to describe beliefs and practices of women related to health and osteoporosis in order to develop effective and targeted interventions for the prevention of this disease in the Tunisian context. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 Tunisian women, aged 45 and older, who consult the basic health center in the suburban area of Sousse region (Tunisia). The collection of information was carried out with "osteoporosis health belief scale "developed by Kim and his colleagues validated and translated into Arabic in Tunisia and the questionnaire of "daily calcium inputs calculation" was developed by Patrice Fardellone. The interpretation of the results was based on the "Health Belief Model". RESULTS: Perception participants considered above average for the vulnerability of osteoporosis (58%). The advantages severity of their benefits of calcium intake and health motivation could be considered moderate moderated. However, the practical exposure to disease risks is relatively frequent and essentially related to socio-economic and cultural factors. CONCLUSION: The promotion programs should aim at creating a supportive physical and social environment for the adoption of safer behaviors and especially education must be targeted.

Teaching research methodology to student midwives through a socio-constructivist educational model: The experience of the high school for science and health techniques of Tunis.

Since its independence in 1956, Tunisia's maternal health indicators have steadily improved as the result of the implementation of a national holistic strategy that emancipated women and developed midwifery education and maternal health services provision. The last review of the midwifery education programme, occurred in 2008, and was based on evidence based core competencies. This paper describes the implementation process of the socio-constructivist educational model used by to teach research methodology to student midwives, the changes observed among them, the challenges and the lessons learned.