Assessing Tuberculosis Control Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Healthcare Workers in Benghazi: A Crucial Step towards Infection Control

Background: Despite the fact that tuberculosis is the leading cause of infection-related death in the world, it remains a major public health issue.

Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding tuberculosis infection control measures among health care workers in Al-Kuwaifiyah Hospital, Benghazi.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Kuwifiyah Hospital, it included 112 health care workers. The data was collected by an anonymous self-administrated questionnaire related to TB knowledge, attitudes and practices from March to June 2023, and the data were analyzed by SPSS.

Results: This study indicated that health workers' knowledge level was about 62%. However, the majority of the participants have very low knowledge about MDR-TB. Additionally, it was revealed that doctors' knowledge was slightly higher than nurses. Also, the level was higher among responders who had bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as participants who had worked for more than 11 years. Besides, it found that job profession and gender were not associated with the level of knowledge. Furthermore, the study reported that workers' attitudes are positive regarding TB prevention, and 58% of participants think the work in this hospital exposes the workers to a high risk of getting TB, and only 40% believe MDR-TB is a major health problem. On the other hand, the practices of the responders regarding TB infection control were not very effective at 56.9%, 55.4% of the participants wore surgical masks instead of N95 masks, and 92% of the participants preferred natural ventilation to prevent the spread of TB. Moreover, 56% of the participants separate coughing patients from other patients, and 83.9% provide a mask to coughing patients in the hospital. Additionally, the study indicated no relationship between practices and job profession, gender, qualification and years of experience.

Conclusion: Even though the level of HCW KAP was moderate, some significant knowledge gaps as well as practices regarding tuberculosis control were identified; therefore, workers should receive training and educational programs to enhance healthcare workers' knowledge and understanding of tuberculosis infection control guidelines.