Sero-prevalence of hepatitis viral infections among sanitary workers across worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Sanitation or sanitary workers are exposed to hepatitis virus infections because of filthy and dangerous working conditions. The current global systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled sero-prevalence of occupationally associated hepatitis virus infection among them. METHODS: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA), and Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome and study design (PICOS) were used for flow diagram, and review questions, respectively. Four databases other methods were used published articles from 2000 to 2022. Boolean logic (AND, OR), MeSH, and keywords were used: (Occupation *OR Job *OR Work) AND (Hepatitis A *OR Hepatitis B virus *OR Hepatitis C virus *OR Hepatitis E virus) AND (Solid waste collectors [SWCs] *OR Street sweepers [SS] *OR Sewage workers [STWs] *OR health care facilities cleaners [HCFCs)) AND (Countries). Stata MP/17 software was used for pooled prevalence analysis, meta-regression analysis (Hedges) at a 95% confidence interval (CI:95%). RESULTS: A total of 182 studies were identified studies, a total of 28 studies were included from twelve countries. Of these, from developed (n = 7) and developing countries (n = 5). From total a of 9049 sanitary workers, 5951(66%), 2280 (25%) and 818 (9%) were STWs, SWCs and SS, respectively. Globally, the pooled sero-prevalence of occupational-related hepatitis viral infections among sanitary workers was 38.06% (95% CI: 30-0.46.12). Of this, it was 42.96% (95% CI: 32.63-53.29) and 29.81% (95% CI: 17.59-42.02) for high-income and low-income countries, respectively. Meanwhile, by sub-analysis, the highest pooled sero-prevalence of hepatitis viral infections by categories, type and year were 47.66% (95%CI: 37.42-57.90), 48.45% (95% CI: 37.95-58.96), and 48.30% (95% CI: 36.13-60.47) for SWTs, HAV, and 2000 to 2010 year, respectively. CONCLUSION: The consistency of the evidence suggests that sanitation workers, particularly sewage workers, are susceptible to occupationally acquired hepatitis regardless of their working conditions, necessitating significant changes to occupational health and safety regulations from governmental policies and other initiatives to reduce risks among sanitary workers.

Global Occupational Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids among Healthcare Workers: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids has become a serious public health problem for healthcare workers and is a major risk for the transmission of various infections such as human immune-deficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the career time and previous one-year global pooled prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers. Methods: For the review, the articles published in English were searched using the electronic databases (SCOPUS/Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, DOAJ, and MedNar) with a combination of Boolean logic operators (AND, OR, and NOT), Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and keywords. A quality assessment was conducted to determine the relevance of the articles using JBI critical appraisal tools. Furthermore, several steps of assessment and evaluation were taken to select and analyze the relevant articles. Results: Of the 3912 articles identified through the electronic database search, 33 that met the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. The current study found that the global pooled prevalence of blood and body fluids among healthcare workers during career time and in the previous one year accounted for 56.6% (95% CI: 47.3, 65.4) and 39.0% (95% CI: 32.7, 45.7), respectively. Based on subgroup analysis by publication year, survey year, and World Health Organization regions, the highest prevalence of blood and body fluid exposure in the last 12 months was observed among articles published between 2004 and 2008 (66.3%), conducted between 2003 and 2008 (66.6%), and conducted in the Southeast Asia Region (46.9%). The highest career time prevalence was 60.6%, 71.0%, and 68.4% for articles published between 2015 and 2020, conducted between 2015 and 2019, and reported in the African region, respectively. Conclusion: The current study revealed a high prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers and suggests the need to improve occupational health and safety services in healthcare systems globally.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Abattoir Workers Toward Abattoirs Waste Management in Eastern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: During meat production, a large amount of wastes are generated that consist of feces, tissue waste, blood, fat, bone, animal trimmings, intestinal content, and urine that can be a potential risk to humans and the environment. Low knowledge, negative attitude, and poor practice can lead to poor waste management, which is more severe in developing countries like Ethiopia. Thus, the current study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of abattoir workers toward abattoir waste management in Eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Eastern Ethiopia' abattoirs from 1st to 30th of January, 2020. Two hundred and sixty-seven (n = 267) abattoir workers in 4 selected abattoirs (Haramaya University, Haramaya town, Harar town and Dire Dawa City administration) were interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical package. Pearson's correlation was used to determine the strength between knowledge and attitude, knowledge and practice, and attitude and practice. A P-value of .05 was considered as a cut-off point for statistical significance. RESULTS: This study revealed that 203 (76%) of the respondents had less knowledge, 69 (26%) had a positive attitude and 43 (16%) of them had a good practice toward abattoir waste management. There was a statistically significant difference between socio-demographic characteristics (education, work experience, and salary) and knowledge, attitudes and practices of the study participants. This study found moderate positive correlations between knowledge and attitude [r = .404, P = .013], weak positive correlations between knowledge and practice [r = .229, P = .009], and strong positive correlations between attitude and practice [r = .717, P = .023] of the abattoir workers toward waste management. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that more than one-quarter, less than one-quarter, and about 3-quarter of the participants had less knowledge, negative attitude, and poor practice, respectively toward abattoir waste management. Therefore, regulatory bodies and other relevant industries must implement effective control measures that can be important to increase the knowledge, attitude, and practices of abattoir workers toward waste management.

Hand washing practice among public primary school children and associated factors in Harar town, eastern Ethiopia: An institution-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Hand washing with soap and water reduces the risk of diarrheal episode by 28-48% and acute respiratory infection by 20-50%. However, there is limited evidence on hand washing practices among students in Eastern Ethiopia, particularly in Harari town. Therefore, this study aimed to determine hand washing practice among primary school students and associated factors in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was applied among 670 students in Harar town from June 1 to 30, 2021. A multi-stage sampling was employed; 6 out of 20 schools were selected through simple random sampling, while eligible children from each school was selected by probability proportional to size sampling method. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire with a face-to-face interview technique and via observation. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23. Binary and mult-variable analysis were used to determine the association between factors and outcome variable. Finally, a p-value of < 0.05 was considered to declare a statistically significant association. Results: A total of 670 participants were included in the study, of which 248 (37.0%) had washed their hands [95% CI: 33.3-40.06]. Being in grade 8 Adjusted Odd Ratio[AOR = 4.9; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.28-10.52], living in an urban area [AOR = 3.49; 95% CI: 1.29-9.40], having role models (parents [AOR = 4.41; 95% CI: 1.79-10.86], teachers [AOR = 3.69; 95% CI: 1.39-8.81], and health professionals [AOR = 3.17, 95% CI: 1.17-8.63]), availability of hand washing facility [AOR = 3.62; 95% CI: 1.57-8.34], access to soap and water [AOR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.39-5.98] and being membership of water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) club [AOR = 2.39; 95% CI: 1.41-4.03] were found to be significantly associated with hand washing practice. Conclusions: The current study found that nearly a third of students practiced proper hand washing. Hand washing practice was influenced by students' grade level, residence, referents (role models for hand washing), presence of a hand washing facility, access to water and soap, and membership of WASH club. Therefore, the finding revealed that there is a need to improve hand-washing practices in schools by concerned agencies.

Healthcare Workers' Compliance With Standard Precautions and Associated Factors in Bahir Dar Town, Ethiopia.

Background: According to the literature analysis, the majority of the studies focused primarily on public health institutions. Although assessing the compliance of healthcare workers in private and public institutions would give comprehensive evidence on existing problems and appropriate prevention method, as a result, research on adherence to standard precautions are still required. Rely on existing research, to the best of the investigator's knowledge, compliance with standard precautions in hospitals of Bahir Dar town has not been assessed. Therefore, this study will contribute to narrowing these gaps and determining the scope of problems with standard precautions. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 442 healthcare workers working in hospitals from June 10 to 30, 2021. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. Pre-tested and structured questionnaires and an observational checklist were used to collect the required data. The data were entered into EpiData and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to assess the association between independent and outcome variables. Odd ratios at 95% CI were used to measure the strength of the association between the outcome and explanatory variables. Finally, a P-value of <.05 was considered as a cut-off point for statistical significance. Results: Of the 442 healthcare workers who participated in the study, 41% were compliant with standard precautions. Furthermore, 68.1% and 51.8% of the respondents had good knowledge and a positive attitude toward infection prevention, respectively. Consistent water supply availability (AOR = 1.92 and 95% CI = 1.63, 6.27), and access to infection prevention guidelines (AOR = 1.73 and 95% CI = 1.08, 2.77), and availability of personal protective equipment (AOR = 2.32 and 95% CI = 1.35, 3.98) were some of the factors significantly associated with health care workers' compliance. Conclusions: The current study found that only about two-fifths of the healthcare workers complied with standard precautions. The study suggests that there is a significant risk of developing an infection. Therefore, the concerned organizations; Bahir Dar Zonal Health Office, and respective sectors including Amhara Regional Health Office and the Federal Ministry of Health must take appropriate measures to improve the implementation of safety practices.