Tuberculosis-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Healthcare Workers in Atlantic Canada: A Descriptive Study.

IF 2.6 4区医学 Q2 INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Pub Date : 2025-07-30 DOI:10.3390/tropicalmed10080214

Harold Joonkeun Oh, Moira A Law, Isdore Chola Shamputa

{"title":"Tuberculosis-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Healthcare Workers in Atlantic Canada: A Descriptive Study.","authors":"Harold Joonkeun Oh, Moira A Law, Isdore Chola Shamputa","doi":"10.3390/tropicalmed10080214","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Despite the key role of healthcare workers (HCWs) in tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control, there is a lack of regional data on their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) regarding the disease in Atlantic Canada.Objectives: To assess the KAPs of HCWs and identify targets for educational interventions to enhance TB care and control.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs in Atlantic Canada aged ≥19 years from October 2023 to February 2024. Participants were recruited via multiple channels such as social media, collegiate email lists, and snowball sampling. Survey data were collected using an online platform and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics v29. KAPs were assessed using Likert-type scales and internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha.Results: A total of 157 HCWs participated in this study (age range: 19 to 69 years); most were women (n = 145, 92%), born in Canada (n = 134, 85.4%), with nearly three-quarters (n = 115, 73.2%) who had never lived outside of Canada. Study participants demonstrated moderately high knowledge (M = 29.32, SD = 3.25) and positive attitudes (M = 3.87, SD = 0.37) towards TB and strong practices (M = 4.24, SD = 0.69) in TB care; however, gaps were identified in HCW abilities to recognize less common TB symptoms (e.g., rash and nausea), as well as inconsistent practices in ventilation and pre-treatment initiation. Internal consistency analysis indicated suboptimal reliability across all three KAP domains, with Cronbach's alpha values falling below 0.7, thwarting further planned analyses.Conclusions: This study found overall moderate-to-strong TB-related KAPs among HCWs in Atlantic Canada; however, critical gaps in knowledge and practice were noted. This new information can now guide future educational initiatives and targeted training to enhance TB preparedness and ensure equitable care for patients in the region.","PeriodicalId":23330,"journal":{"name":"Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease","volume":"10 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12390285/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10080214","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INFECTIOUS DISEASES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the key role of healthcare workers (HCWs) in tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control, there is a lack of regional data on their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) regarding the disease in Atlantic Canada.

Objectives: To assess the KAPs of HCWs and identify targets for educational interventions to enhance TB care and control.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs in Atlantic Canada aged ≥19 years from October 2023 to February 2024. Participants were recruited via multiple channels such as social media, collegiate email lists, and snowball sampling. Survey data were collected using an online platform and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics v29. KAPs were assessed using Likert-type scales and internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha.

Results: A total of 157 HCWs participated in this study (age range: 19 to 69 years); most were women (n = 145, 92%), born in Canada (n = 134, 85.4%), with nearly three-quarters (n = 115, 73.2%) who had never lived outside of Canada. Study participants demonstrated moderately high knowledge (M = 29.32, SD = 3.25) and positive attitudes (M = 3.87, SD = 0.37) towards TB and strong practices (M = 4.24, SD = 0.69) in TB care; however, gaps were identified in HCW abilities to recognize less common TB symptoms (e.g., rash and nausea), as well as inconsistent practices in ventilation and pre-treatment initiation. Internal consistency analysis indicated suboptimal reliability across all three KAP domains, with Cronbach's alpha values falling below 0.7, thwarting further planned analyses.

Conclusions: This study found overall moderate-to-strong TB-related KAPs among HCWs in Atlantic Canada; however, critical gaps in knowledge and practice were noted. This new information can now guide future educational initiatives and targeted training to enhance TB preparedness and ensure equitable care for patients in the region.

查看原文本刊更多论文

加拿大大西洋地区卫生保健工作者的结核病相关知识、态度和行为：一项描述性研究

导论：尽管卫生保健工作者（HCWs）在结核病（TB）预防和控制方面发挥着关键作用，但在加拿大大西洋地区，缺乏关于他们对结核病的知识、态度和实践（KAPs）的区域数据。目的：评估卫生保健人员的kap，确定教育干预的目标，以加强结核病的治疗和控制。方法：对2023年10月至2024年2月在加拿大大西洋地区年龄≥19岁的HCWs进行横断面研究。参与者是通过多种渠道招募的，比如社交媒体、大学电子邮件列表和滚雪球抽样。使用在线平台收集调查数据，使用IBM SPSS Statistics v29进行分析。kap采用likert型量表评估，内部一致性采用Cronbach’s alpha量表评估。结果：157名医护人员参与本研究（年龄19 ~ 69岁）；大多数是女性（n = 145, 92%），出生在加拿大（n = 134, 85.4%），近四分之三（n = 115, 73.2%）从未在加拿大以外生活过。研究参与者对结核病的知识（M = 29.32, SD = 3.25）和积极态度（M = 3.87, SD = 0.37）和结核病治疗的良好实践（M = 4.24, SD = 0.69）；然而，在卫生保健人员识别不太常见的结核症状（如皮疹和恶心）的能力方面存在差距，在通气和开始治疗前的做法也不一致。内部一致性分析表明，三个KAP域的可靠性都不理想，Cronbach的alpha值低于0.7，阻碍了进一步的计划分析。结论：本研究发现加拿大大西洋地区卫生保健工作者的结核相关kap总体为中等至强烈；然而，人们注意到在知识和实践方面存在重大差距。这些新信息现在可以指导未来的教育举措和有针对性的培训，以加强结核病防范并确保该地区患者得到公平的护理。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊