Leptospirosis Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Town Service Workers in Kuching, Malaysia

@#Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate town service personnel’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding leptospirosis prevention and the influencing factors to its practice. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kuching, Malaysia, involving town service workers using a self-administered validated questionnaire comprising sociodemographic and KAP information. The eligibility criteria included 18 years old and above and having worked for more than six months. The KAP was determined using descriptive analysis, and associations were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results: About 189 town service workers responded, giving a response rate of 87.5%, and a majority of them were Bumiputera Sarawak, with a mean age of 38.6 (±11.00) years old. The mean duration of employment was 9.3 (±6.99) years. About 88.9% had good knowledge of leptospirosis. Meanwhile, 85.2% and 79.9% had satisfactory attitudes and good practices. The knowledge on the aetiology of leptospirosis ranged from 25% to 94%. No significant association was found between the knowledge score and income with the practice score. The attitude score (AOR 1.161; 95% CI = 1.090, 1.238; p = 0.000) and working experience (AOR 1.174; 95% CI = 1.023, 1.346; p = 0.022) were found to be significantly associated with their practice score. Conclusion: Most town service workers have good knowledge and practice regarding leptospirosis prevention. Workers with good attitudes demonstrate good practising habits toward leptospirosis prevention. Awareness and activities related to disease prevention should be encouraged to ensure the continuity of a positive attitude.

Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among adults in two Urban local government areas of Kwara State, North Central Nigeria

Background Covid-19 has unquantifiable negative impacts on the world's socio-economic parameters. The rapid discovery of vaccines to fight this pandemic is a monumental scientific breakthrough. Study objective The study assessed willingness of adult Nigerians to accept Covid-19 vaccine and elucidated on factors influencing such decisions. Methodology Cross-sectional design was employed among 400 respondents recruited using multi-stage random sampling technique in Ilorin, Kwara-State, Nigeria. Pretested interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out. Results Mean age ±SD of respondents was 40.85±13.75 and 215 (53.7%) of them were males. Those who possessed good knowledge of Covid-19 were 321 (80.3%), but few respondents had misconceptions regarding its causation. Attitude to Covid-19 vaccination was positive in 360 (90%) of the respondents, 278 (69.5%) were willing to accept the vaccine. Respondents' Covid-19 knowledge and attitude to its vaccination were the main determinants of willingness to receive the vaccine. Conclusion The Nigerian government urgently needs to leverage on the positive attitude of the people to fully implement its covid-19 vaccination policies which can ensure effective coverage and equitable access to the revolutionary Covid-19 vaccines. Awareness campaign on practice of other preventive measures should be sustained to produce a synergistic control effort

Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Adolescents in Choma District of Zambia

Introduction:Dentalcariesandperiodontaldiseases are the most common oral diseases globally. Early control of oral health behaviours is importantbecauselifestylesacquiredduringadolescence are powerful predictors of adult health. We conducted a study to determine knowledge, attitude and practices on oral hygiene among school-going adolescents in Choma district of Zambia.Methodology:Across-sectionalstudywasconducted among school-going adolescents in randomly selected schools in Choma District. Atotal of 335 participants were included in the study. Data were collected using a closed-end self-administered questionnaire. The sample size was distributed among the six schools in the ratio of their population. The study included anyone from grades 8-12. Data were analysed using IBM software for SPSS. We employedthe Chi-Squaretesttoinvestigate the association between variables. Ap-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study had 173 males and 162 females in the age range of 12-19 years. The majority (87.8%) had good knowledge, 69.4% had good attitude and 87.5% had good practice on oral -hygiene. Practice was influenced by sex with females having good oral hygiene as compared to their male counterparts. About 97.2% thought that dental health education is essential in schools. 34% indicated that they had visited the dentist when they experienced a toothache. However, parental advice to regularly visit the dentist was low (n=39).The majority 49.9% (n=167) indicated that they had not visited the dentist due to fear of the dental equipment set up.Conclusion and recommendation: Despite the majority having good knowledge and attitude on oral hygiene, there is a need to acquaint children with milling and dental units found in most dental offices. This may instil confidence in children to seek specialist dental treatment whenever they develop any dental disease. Further,parents need to be incorporated as partners in promoting oral health hygiene among school-going adolescents.

Factors Associated With Inappropriate Attitude Towards Antibiotic Usage Among Outpatients of a Public Primary Care Specialist Clinic: A Cross Sectional Study

@#Introduction: Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest global threat in modern medicine especially in lower-and middle-income countries (LMIC) as financial limitations and health literacy become barriers to an impactful health policy. The World Health Organization has urge for an improvement in the community antibiotic awareness through effective educational interventions. This study aims to identify the community’s attitude appropriateness, knowledge gaps, the relationship between antibiotic knowledge and attitude as well as factors associated with inappropriate attitude towards antibiotic among outpatients attending a primary care clinic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted among 256 respondents. Data collection was conducted for three months using a self-administered questionnaire which has been validated and translated. Results: It was found that the respondents’ mean attitude and knowledge score were 29.5 ± 4.19 and 5.94 ± 2.4 respectively. The highest inappropriate attitude response was expecting antibiotic from the doctor for common colds and the most frequent incorrect knowledge response was on the domain of role of antibiotics. There is a weak positive relationship between antibiotic knowledge and attitude (r=0.315, n=256, p=0.0001). Respondents with low education level and poor antibiotic knowledge were at least 2.5 times more likely to have inappropriate attitude when handling antibiotics. Conclusion: Antibiotic education should be incorporated in non-pharmacological measures of viral illnesses in primary care that is targeted among those with low education and poor antibiotic knowledge. The weak relationship between antibiotic knowledge and attitude suggest that health campaign should focus on behavioural change rather than a theoretical approach.

Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Patients Right among Nurses in a Teaching Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTIONS: It is important to maintain trust and satisfaction among patients. The health personnel take an important role to overcome their right. The objective of this study was to find out knowledge and attitude regarding patients' rights among nurses in Teaching Hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 122 nurses in different wards of Teaching Hospital. Nurses were selected by using simple random sampling technique for data collection. Ethical clearance was taken from Chitwan Medical College institutional reviewers Committee (CMC-IRC) to conduct the study. A structured, self- administered questionnaire and five-point Likert scale were used to analyze the collected data. Data was collected from 27th Ashadh to 9th Shrawan 2075. RESULTS: This study revealed that out of 122 respondents, 30 (24.6%) of respondents have an adequate level of knowledge whereas about half 62 (50.8%) of respondents had favorable and 60 (49.2%) had an unfavorable level of attitude regarding patients right. Sixty-one (50%) of the nurses were from the age group <22 years, 27 (77.9%) were unmarried, about 93 (76.2%) of nurses had completed Proficiency Certificate Level Nursing, 101 (82.2%) had work experience less than 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: According to the study, it concluded that one-fourth of the respondents have an adequate level of knowledge, one-half of the respondents had a favorable attitude. Therefore, knowledge and attitude regarding patients' rights should be increase through in-service education and seminars should be organized by the administration to promote quality health care service.

Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Pubertal Health among Adolescent Girls.

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a critical period and is associated with physical and psycho-social changes induced by puberty, which builds personality, behaviour, and future health of the adolescents. Thus, the aim of the study was to find out the knowledge and attitude regarding pubertal health of adolescence girls. METHODS: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Bharatpur Metropolitan City's secondary level schools. A total of 183 adolescent girls were selected using probability simple random sampling from 5 schools out of total 43 schools which were also selected by simple random sampling technique. Data was collected by using structured self-administered questionnaire for knowledge and likert's scale was used for attitude regarding pubertal health. RESULTS: Study findings revealed that 61.4% of the students belonged to early adolescence (11-14) age group with the mean age 14.27±1.33 years. Majority (80.3%) had moderate level of knowledge and around half (48.6%) had positive attitude. Knowledge and attitude varied with the respondents' level of education (p=0.001), relation to sibling (p=0.013) and source of information by elder sister (p=0.022), teachers/school (p=0.001).Moderately positive correlation was found between knowledge and attitude which was highly significant (r=0.395, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Majority of respondents had moderate level of knowledge and half of the respondent had positive attitude regarding pubertal health. Findings of the study emphasizes on improvement in education of adolescent girls which can help uplift health status and minimize vulnerability to health issues of pubertal health.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Antibiotics Use and its Resistance Among Medical Students in A Tertiary Care Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent and serious global health problem, demanding considerable attention from health care professionals worldwide. The unavoidable consequence of the widespread use of these agents has been the reason for emergence of antibiotic resistant pathogens, leading to increase in need for new drugs. This study aims to assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards antibiotics use and its resistance in undergraduate medical students. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 228 undergraduate medical students studying in tertiary care hospital in February, 2018. Data was collected through self administered questionnaire and was entered in Statistical Package for Social Sciences 2016. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out to find out knowledge, attitude and practice on antibiotics use and its resistance on medical students. RESULTS: The mean knowledge, attitude and practice score towards antibiotics use among students was 7.44±1.26, 3.35±1.12 and 5.06±1.45 respectively. Out of total students, only 39 (17.1%) had good knowledge and practice whereas 114 (50%) had good attitude towards antibiotics use. Approximately, all 224 (98.2%) students were aware that antibiotics are useful for bacterial infection. Fifty two (22.8%) students said that antibiotics are safe drugs, therefore, can be used commonly. CONCLUSIONS: Although half of the students had good attitude, majority had moderate knowledge and practice towards antibiotics use. Adequate educational training should be provided to future doctors regarding proper prescribing, dispensing and usage of antibiotics.

Cervical cancer and pap smear screening: knowledge, attitude and practice among working women in northern state of Malaysia

@#Cervical cancer is among the most common cancers in women worldwide. The Pap smear test is the primary screening procedure used to detect abnormal cells that may develop into cancer.

Assessment of the Attitude and Knowledge of the Principles and Practices of Orthodontic Treatment Among the Non-orthodontic Specialists and General Practitioner Dentists.

INTRODUCTION: General practitioner dentists and non-orthodontic specialties ought to have the knowledge of the basic principles and practices of orthodontics in order to educate the patients, diagnose their problems correctly and for proper referral. The objective of the present study is to assess the attitude and knowledge of the general practitioner dentists and non-orthodontic specialists towards the basic principles and practices of orthodontics. METHODS: This study was performed by presenting a closed questionnaire to a total of 78 participants out of which 46 were general practitioners and 32 were non-orthodontic specialists. A questionnaire consisting of a total of 21 questions was distributed and each question was allocated 0.5 marks for correct response whereas no deduction for wrong answer. RESULTS: In this present study, the total mean score of the evaluation of the questionnaire came out for general practitioner dentist and the non-orthodontic dental specialists was 13.92 and 16.69 respectively. The present study showed a statistically highly significant knowledge and attitude difference between Group A and Group B ( P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a need for a increased clinically oriented education in the undergraduate courses and a multi-disciplinary inter department seminar presentations and forums set up for the post graduation courses for them to understand the scope of each other's specialties.

Maternal Attitude and Knowledge towards Modes of Delivery.

BACKGROUND: Whether a mother should be allowed to choose between the modes of delivery is a matter of concern among practicing obstetricians. This study aims to explore the knowledge of the Nepalese women attending a tertiary care center about the benefits and complications of vaginal and caesarean delivery and their attitude and preference for the method of delivery. METHODS: The study was a hospital based cross sectional questionnaire survey conducted in Nepal Medical College teaching Hospital, Jorpati from 1stShrawan 2074 to 31st Ashoj 2074. All pregnant women who were 36 weeks or more in gestation attending the clinic during the study period were included in the study. A questionnaire was made of 10 questions for knowledge assessment regarding mode of delivery consisting of the indications, the possible complications and advantages of vaginal and caesarean delivery. RESULTS: A total of 256 pregnant women participated in the study. The knowledge of the mode of delivery, their benefit and complications was medium to good in approximately 90% of the mothers attending the antenatal OPD. Overall attitude for vaginal delivery was positive in 93% of women and negative or neutral in 6.6%.Overall attitude for caesarean delivery was positive in 24% and negative or neutral in 75.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Women in our setup agree that vaginal delivery is a natural and acceptable method of delivery and would prefer to have a vaginal delivery.

Rural male health workers in Western Jamaica: Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward prostate cancer screening.

BACKGROUND: Statistics have shown that since 1988, a significant percentage of males are unwilling to seek medical care. The question is if they had the knowledge, worked in the health system and were educated, would this be any different? AIM: The current study aims to fill this void in the literature by examining the perception of rural male health workers (from the Western Region) about prostate examination, and why they are reluctant to inquire about the probability of having, or the likelihood of not having prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study utilized primary cross-sectional data that was collected during February and March 2008 from 170 males (ages 29 years and older), health-care workers who were employed in particular rural health institutions in Jamaica (i.e. Western Regional Health Authority). SPSS was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: When the respondents were asked "Have you ever heard about the screening procedure for prostate?" 71.2% indicated yes, but only 27.1% had got their prostate checked by a health practitioner. When respondents were asked to state what influenced their choice of not doing a digital rectal examination, 20.6% indicated comfort level; 9.4% stated the gender of the health practitioner, 5.3% mentioned fear and others did not respond. Of those who had the examination 2 years ago, 96.5% did not state the choice of method. CONCLUSION: The current study is limited in terms of its generalizability to rural males or rural males in Western Jamaica, but it does provide an insight into the difficulty of men in breaking away from culture.

Survey of Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Post Operative Pain Management at a Teaching Hospital in Malaysia

Post operative pain is an expected adverse outcome following surgery and it often delays mobilization and overall recovery. Acute post operative pain is subjective and cannot be measured directly. The objective of this study was to determine nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards post operative pain management. A cross sectional study was conducted in surgical wards and the Intensive Care Unit of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre from February to April 2008. A 28 item questionnaire which comprised of two domains: knowledge and attitude towards post operative pain management was used. Eighty four respondents successfully responded to the study. Twenty respondents (25%) possessed high level, 58 respondents (69%) possessed moderate level and 5 respondents (6%) had low knowledge level of post operative pain management. Positive attitude towards post operative pain management was reported by 66 respondents (78.5%). There was a significant relationship between nurses’ academic qualifications and attitude towards post operative pain management (χ² =29.96, p <0.05). In conclusion, nurses in UKMMC possessed moderate level of knowledge and positive attitude towards post operative management. Results of this study show the need to enforce continuing medical education in pain management amongst UKMMC nurses in enhancing the quality of post operative care.