Knowledge of the national health act among physicians in two tertiary hospitals in Southern Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Objective: Knowledge of provisions of the National Health Act among physicians and stakeholders is pivotal to its successful implementation. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of the National Health Act (NHA) among Physicians in two tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in two tertiary hospitals in Southern Nigeria. The consecutively recruited eligible respondents were assessed for knowledge of NHA using a 24-item self administered close-ended structured questionnaire. The total obtainable score was 26. Those with <13 points had poor knowledge, 13-21 points had good knowledge and >21 points had excellent knowledge. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software. P-value of < 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: One hundred and ninety-five doctors with a male female ratio of 1.91 participated in the study. The majority (91.8%) were ≤40 years and 129(66.2%) of the participants were ≤ 10 years post qualification. The frequency of correctly answered questions ranged between 7.7% - 89.2%. According to overall knowledge scores; 64.6% had poor knowledge; 35.4% had good knowledge and none had excellent scores. There was no statistically significant association between knowledge of NHA and gender, age, and number of years post qualification (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that only about a third of the participants had good knowledge of key provisions of the NHA. We strongly recommend that relevant sections of the Act should be incorporated into the medical curriculum both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.