Nursing care for patients carrying multi-drug resistant organisms: Experiences, intention to use protective equipment and ability to comply with measures.

AIMS: The aims of the study were to explore the impact of caring for patients carrying multi-drug resistant organisms on nursing staff and identify factors predicting their intention to use personal protective equipment and their ability to comply with advised infection prevention and control measures. BACKGROUND: Carriage of multi-drug resistant organisms and corresponding infection prevention and control measures have a major impact on patients. Limited research has been done to investigate the impact of caring for these patients on nursing staff. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design. METHODS: Online survey among Dutch nursing staff in various healthcare settings. Prediction analyses were conducted using random forest. The STROBE checklist was used preparing the manuscript. RESULTS: 974 respondents were included. The majority of nursing staff reported to have experience in caring for patients carrying multi-drug resistant organisms. Relevant dilemmas in daily practice were identified. Important predictors of the intention to use protective equipment were practicing hand hygiene, usable protocols, favourable attitudes and perceptions, as well as knowledge. Important predictors of the ability to comply with advised measures were usable and findable protocols, a suitable work environment and practicing hand hygiene. CONCLUSION: We have gained comprehensive insight into experiences, attitudes, perceptions, knowledge and dilemmas in daily practice of nursing staff caring for patients carrying multi-drug resistant organisms. To enhance their intention to use protective equipment and their ability to comply with advised measures, activities should focus on improving hand hygiene and the usability of protocols. Additionally, efforts are needed to improve knowledge, provide better resources and a more supportive work environment. All of which need to be specifically tailored to each healthcare setting. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results can be used in the development of interventions to improve nursing care while reducing the unfavourable impact on nursing staff and supporting adherence to advised measures.

Knowledge, attitude and perception of West Africans towards COVID-19: a survey to inform public health intervention.

BACKGROUND: The first case of the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in West Africa was first confirmed in Nigeria in February 2020. Since then, several public health interventions and preventive measures have been implemented to curtail transmission of the causative agent, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, this study was performed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of West Africans towards COVID-19. METHODS: An online survey was conducted between 29 September to 29 October 2020 among West Africans. Thirty-three survey questions were designed to collect sociodemographic data and participants' knowledge, attitude and perception towards COVID-19. The study targeted all West African nationals who were 18 years and above, and willing to participate in the study. Participants were either in-country or abroad. RESULTS: Overall, 1106 respondents (≥18 years) from 16 West African countries, with about 12.1% of them residing outside the West African subregion, participated in the survey. The respondents had an average COVID-19 knowledge score of 67.82 ± 8.31, with knowledge of the disease significantly associated with the country of residence (p = 0.00) and marginally (p = 0.05) so with settlement types (i.e., urban, suburban and rural areas). Most respondents (93.4%) could identify the main COVID-19 symptoms, and 73.20% would consult a healthcare professional if infected with SARS-CoV-2. Also, 75.2% of the respondents are willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, whereas 10.40% and 14.40% are unwilling and undecided, respectively. Perceptions of what constitute COVID-19 preventive measures were highly variable. Approximately, 8% of the respondents felt that their government responded excellently in managing the pandemic while a third felt that the response was just good. Also, more than half (54%) opined that isolation and treatment of COVID-19 patients is a way of curbing SARS-CoV-2 spread. CONCLUSIONS: Most West Africans have basic knowledge of COVID-19 and showed a positive attitude, with likely proactive practice towards the disease. However, results showed that these varied across countries and are influenced by the types of settlements. Therefore, the health and education authorities in various countries should develop focused measures capturing people in different settlements to improve their preventative measures when designing public health interventions for COVID-19 and any future epidemics or pandemics.

Fertility preservation in Malaysian pediatric cohort: a survey of healthcare providers' knowledge, practice, attitude, perceptions and barriers.

Introduction: Impaired future fertility potential secondary to gonadotoxic therapies for childhood cancer is a shattering aftermath faced by childhood cancer survivors. Fertility preservation (FP) has emerged as a key to mitigate this unwelcomed sequelae. FP services catering to the needs of children and adolescents (C&A) population in developing countries are limited. Malaysia recently launched its pioneering pediatrics FP services. Aims of study: To evaluate healthcare providers' (HCPs) FP knowledge, practice behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, and barriers towards FP counseling/services (C/S) for the C&A cohort. Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted utilizing a questionnaire consisting of 51 items which was adapted from G.Quinn et al. The questionnaire was distributed both online and physically amongst HCPs in a tertiary center. Ethical committee approval was granted by the Research Ethical Committee, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Results: A total of 102 HCPs completed the questionnaires. The majority of respondents were Malays (74.5%), females (80.4%), gynecology/pediatrics specialty (76.5%), and had children (88.2%). Nearly 72% of HCPs demonstrated good knowledge of FP. Almost 73% of HCPs consulted reproductive specialists (RES) on potential fertility issues and over 80% of HCPs referred patients who enquired on fertility issues to RES. Only 17% of HCPs practiced FP discussion, 12% reported no available person to discuss FP, and 10% of HCPs were unaware of who to discuss FP with. Patients' inability to afford FP (30.4%) tops the list of barriers to FP C/S, followed by limited available information on FP for patients (17.6%) and patients too ill to delay treatment (12.7%). Most HCPs (88.2%) demonstrated unfavorable attitudes towards FP C/S. Discussions: In general, the majority of our HCP respondents demonstrated good current FP knowledge and practice behaviors. Mitigating several controversial issues in FP would improve HCPs' attitude towards FP. Main barriers to the uptake of FP C/S for C&A were patient and resource barriers. Addressing these issues by funding aid for FP procedures, increasing FP knowledge dispersion, as well as developing age-appropriate FP-related educational materials would improve FP service provision for C&A in the future. Conclusions: In conclusion, successful corrective action combined with strategic planning points to a promising future for Malaysia's FP services provision for C&A.

Evaluating the Knowledge of and Behavior Toward COVID-19 and the Possibility of Isolating at a City Level: Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Mass testing campaigns were proposed in France during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to detect and isolate asymptomatic individuals infected by SARS-CoV-2. During mass testing in Saint-Étienne (February 2021), we performed a survey of the general population. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated, on the scale of a city's population, the literacy level about SARS-CoV-2 transmission, barrier gesture respect, and isolation acceptability or possibility in case of SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: We used the validated CovQuest-CC questionnaire. Data were analyzed and correlated with volunteer characteristics and their SARS-CoV-2 screening results using multivariate analysis. RESULTS: In total, 4707 participants completed the CovQuest-CC questionnaire. Multivariate analysis revealed that female sex was a determinant of a higher score of knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 transmission (adjusted ß coefficient=0.14, 95% CI 0.04-0.23; corrected P=.02). Older ages of 50-59 years (adjusted ß coefficient=0.25, 95% CI 0.19-0.31; corrected P<.001) and ≥60 years (adjusted ß coefficient=0.25, 95% CI 0.15-0.34; corrected P<.001) were determinants of a higher score on barrier gesture respect compared to ages 20-49 years considered as reference. Female sex was also a determinant of a higher score on barrier gesture respect (adjusted ß coefficient=0.10, 95% CI 0.02-4.63; corrected P<.001). The knowledge score was correlated with the score on barrier gesture respect measures (adjusted ß coefficient=0.03, 95% CI 0.001-0.004; corrected P=.001). Older ages of 50-59 years (adjusted ß coefficient=0.21, 95% CI 0.13-0.29; corrected P<.001) and ≥60 years (adjusted ß coefficient=0.25, 95% CI 0.1-0.38; corrected P<.001) were determinants of a higher score on isolation acceptability or possibility compared to the age of 20-49 years considered as reference. Finally, the knowledge score regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission was significantly associated with a lower risk of RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) positivity (adjusted odds ratio 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.94; corrected P<.03), implying that a 1-point increase in the knowledge score lowers the risk of positivity by 20% on average. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified factors associated with health literacy regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection in asymptomatic individuals in a large French city's population. We can confirm that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the determinants of better health literacy are not the same as those in other contexts. It seems critical to obtain a more detailed understanding of the determinants of individual citizens' behavior, as part of a strategy to combat the large-scale spread of the virus. The harsh experience of this pandemic should teach us how to nurture research to structure customized interventions to encourage the adoption of ad hoc behaviors to engage citizens in adapting behaviors more favorable to their health.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance, Attitude and Perception among Slum and Underserved Communities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review summarises the literature on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination, including acceptance, uptake, hesitancy, attitude and perceptions among slum and underserved communities. Relevant studies were searched from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, following a pre-registered protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42022355101) and PRISMA guidelines. We extracted data, used random-effects models to combine the vaccine acceptance, hesitancy and uptake rates categorically, and performed meta-regression by R software (version 4.2.1). Twenty-four studies with 30,323 participants met the inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence was 58% (95% CI: 49-67%) for vaccine acceptance, 23% (95% CI: 13-39%) for uptake and 29% (95% CI: 18-43%) for hesitancy. Acceptance and uptake were positively associated with various sociodemographic factors, including older age, higher education level, male gender, ethnicity/race (e.g., Whites vs African Americans), more knowledge and a higher level of awareness of vaccines, but some studies reported inconsistent results. Safety and efficacy concerns, low-risk perception, long distance to vaccination centres and unfavourable vaccination schedules were prominent reasons for hesitancy. Moreover, varying levels of attitudes and perceptions regarding COVID-19 vaccination were reported with existing misconceptions and negative beliefs, and these were strong predictors of vaccination. Infodemic management and continuous vaccine education are needed to address existing misconceptions and negative beliefs, and this should target young, less-educated women and ethnic minorities. Considering mobile vaccination units to vaccinate people at home or workplaces would be a useful strategy in addressing access barriers and increasing vaccine uptake.

Assessment of Community Pharmacy Professionals' Attitude and Perception Towards Ethical Issues in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Survey 2020.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to assess the attitude and perception of community pharmacy professionals' towards ethical issues. METHODS: We have undertaken a cross-sectional study among community pharmacy professionals in three selected towns (Gondar, Bahir Dar, and Debra Markos) of Amhara region in Ethiopia from February to March 2020. All community pharmacy professionals who were giving services during the data collection period were the study population. We used a pretested, semi-structured questionnaire developed from a review of previous study. Epi-info 7.1 was used for data entry, and SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Logistic regression was done, and a variable with a p-value < 0.05 with 95% confidence interval was considered to be associated with outcome variable. RESULTS: A total of 305 community pharmacy professionals participated in the study with a response rate of 95.3%. About 252 (82.6%) of respondents received education regarding professional ethics. Majority (89.8%) of the participants had ever accessed ethical information at their work site. Only 145 (47.5%) participants had ever recorded ethical issues in their working site. The most common reasons that obstruct to explain ethical issues to customers were shortage of time (85.9%), unavailability of reliable resources (40.0%), and poor ethical knowledge (37.7%). The reporting rate of respondents is less than 50% for most ethical scenarios. Sex, age, educational status, work experience, number of customers per day, working site, information about ethics, and training about ethics were observed to have a significant association with attitude and perception of community pharmacy professionals towards ethical issues. CONCLUSION: Community pharmacy professionals had poor attitude and perception towards ethical issues. Interventions should be devised to uphold ethical awareness of community pharmacy professionals. A large-scale study is also recommended.

Knowledge, understanding, attitude, perception and views on HPV infection and vaccination among health care students and professionals in Malaysia.

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is known to be a major causative agent of cervical cancers and warts, limited study has been conducted on its associated factors among health care students and professionals in Malaysia. The present study was carried to explore the knowledge, understanding, attitude, perception and views about HPV infection and vaccination. A total of 576 respondents were recruited to complete a self-administered questionnaire through convenience sampling across Malaysia. 80.% and of the females respondents exhibited a positive attitude towards knowledge and understanding and 60% exhibited a positive towards attitude, perception and views. Almost 65% of the population were in agreement that HPV can be transmitted sexually, and 56.7% felt strongly that sexually active persons should essentially be vaccinated. The corresponding values were somewhat lower among the male respondents. Regression analysis suggested that knowledge and understanding were strong associated with gender, age, and occupation. Attitude, perception and views were also evidently associated with gender and age. The Ministry of Health should take steps to improve awareness among the citizens. Efforts should be made to educate people on the risk of HPV as a sexually transmitted diseases associated with HPV, and on the availability of discounted and safe HPV vaccines in government hospitals to increase the uptake rate of HPV vaccines among the Malaysian population.

Perception and Attitude toward Mental Illness in Antenatal Mothers in Rural Population of Southern India: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Mental health disorders globally are on a rise due to various reasons. Gender differences have been one of the reasons. Pregnancy is a stressful event in mothers and it can either exacerbate preexisting mental illness or can give rise to other mental health disorders. Studies have shown that women residing in rural areas are at higher risk of developing mental health problems. Mental health problems have detrimental effects in post-partum period. Most of the complications can be prevented if psychiatric symptoms are detected in early part of pregnancy and if women are aware of these symptoms. AIM: To find the awareness, attitude and perception towards mental illness in antenatal mothers residing in rural area of India. SETTING AND DESIGN: It's a descriptive cross sectional study conducted at primary health care centers. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Total of 300 antenatal mothers attending primary health care centers were recruited into the study after a written informed consent was obtained. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Basic socio demographic data were collected and a semi structured questionnaire was designed. The participants were interviewed according to the questionnaire. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The mean age of the study participants was 24+5. Of the 300 study participants more than 90% were unaware that mental illness can occur during pregnancy and only around 07% could agree say that it can occur in pregnancy. There is poor awareness of mental health problems amongst pregnant women residing in rural part of southern India. The reasons for the same are lack of awareness, low levels of education, lower socio economic status, cultural beliefs and practices, lack of mental health services and stigma associated with mental illness. There is no routine screening for mental health problems during antenatal visits. If done otherwise could bring down adverse maternal outcome.

Attitude and perception among emergency department healthcare workers on organ donation: A multicenter before and after study

@#In the Philippines, organ donation is regulated under the Organ Donation Act (RA7170) and promoted by the Department of Health through the Philippine Network for Organ Sharing (PHILNOS). The number of organ donors to meet the increasing demand in the country continues to lag. The emergency department (ED) was identified in several foreign studies to be a significant source of successful organ donation. This action research project investigated the attitude and perception of 125 ED healthcare workers (HCWs) from three hospitals in Metro Manila before and after an awareness event. The study reveals that ED nurses and doctors are generally supportive and hold positive perceptions and attitudes toward organ donation. Despite the positive attitude, HCWs seem to be uncomfortable or unwilling to perform tasks important to organ donation such as approaching relatives and management of the deceased organ donor. Future training on organ donation will increase the positive attitude, confidence and likelihood to participate in organ donation and transplant activities.

A descriptive study on the attitudes and perceptions toward mental illness of the medical hospital staff in the Medical City

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess broadly the attitudes ad perceptions of consultant doctors, fellows, residents, medical interns, nurses and orderlies toward mental illness.METHODOLOGY: A representative sample of 326 medical hospital staff 18 years old and above in the Medical City was surveyed from March 15, 2010 to June 19, 2010. Attitudes and perceptions of the respondents were measured by using the two scales: Community Attitudes Toward the Mentality III Scale (CAMI) and Empathy Toward the Mentally III Scale. CAMI was divided into 4 subcategories: authoritarianism, benevolence, restrictiveness and Community Mental Health Ideology (CMHI). Empathy Toward the Mentally III Scale represented the eight concepts with a positive and negative counterpart for each concept. Data was encoded and tallied in SPSS Version 10 for windows.RESULTS: Results indicated that orderlies/nurse aides were more authoritative than the residents/fellows as well as medical interns and lowest among orderlies/nurse assistants. Scores with social restrictiveness decreased with increasing age of the respondents. Although there was no significant difference with regard to positive and negative empathy with age, a trend of increasing positive scores with increasing age was noted. According to sex, no significant difference in the attitudes and perceptions of the respondents was found. With regards to previous experience/ contact with mentally ill, higher scores on benevolence and CMHI were seen. Furthermore, higher scores for positive empathy were noted among those with experience on the mentally ill and have the lowest negative score.  On the other hand, among those without previous experience /contact with the mentally ill, higher scores were noted for authoritarianism and social restrictiveness. Highest scores for positive attitude were noted among consultants, residents, fellows, and medical interns and lowest among orderlies/nurse assistants.CONCLUSION: The level of care and service to psychiatric patients can be compromised by stigmatizing attitudes from the medical hospital staff. It is therefore imperative that further education on mental health is promoted in hospital institutions and anti-stigma initiatives established in our society.