Assessment of doctors’ knowledge, attitude and practice for hepatitis C virus infection control guidelines in Egypt

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus is a blood-borne infection and one of the major global problems. In Egypt, the prevalence is reported to be the highest. Infection through unsafe medical procedures is considered now the primary cause of infection. The study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of doctors regarding infection control guidelines in Ismailia governorate. Material and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on a sample of physicians (355) in Ismailia governorate using a questionnaire to collect data on their knowledge and attitude concerning the control measures related to their years of experiences. Results: Most of the physicians (89.6%) regardless of their years of experience have had contact with blood products. Those who had a history of needle stick injury accounted for 56.3%, with a statistically significant difference as to the highest number being middle career physicians. Concerning knowledge about infection control policies in their hospitals, it was relatively low among all groups. Conclusions: Despite all efforts exerted by the infection control professionals, infections still remain a major unpleasant side effect of health care, often causing harm to patients.. Although Egypt has made great progress in implementing the infection control procedures and policies, there is still a huge problem as the practices of physicians do not really reflect their knowledge and they still do not follow the infection control policies. Education, monitoring, improved availability of resources and disciplinary measures are necessary to improve infection control in health facilities that should be applied to all physicians.