Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Laboratory Personnel Towards the Biosafety Measure For Tuberculosis Testing Laboratory in Selected Health Institutions in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2014-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
TITLE: Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of laboratory personnel towards the
biosafety measure for tuberculosis testing laboratory in selected health institution in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
By: - Henok Birhanu(Addis Ababa,2014)
Background: Transmission of tuberculosis (TB) in health care settings to both patients and
health care workers (HCWs) has been reported from virtually every country of the world and TB
is the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide, after the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is transmitted
mainly through aerosolization of infected sputum which puts laboratory workers at risk in spite
of the laboratory workers’ risk of infection being at 3 to 9 times higher than the general public.
Laboratory safety should therefore be prioritized and optimized to provide sufficient safety to
laboratory workers.
Objective: - To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of laboratory personnel on biosafety
measure for Tb testing laboratories.
Method: - A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from August 2013-May 2014 by
using convenient sampling technique. A total of 126 laboratories professionals who have been
working in Addis Ababa both governmental and private health institutions were enrolled. The
data were collected by using well-structured questionnaires.
Result: -In this study 126 laboratory professional were involved. Of them37.3% of were
laboratory technician and 66.7% were male. Majority of them had <=5 years of work experience
and 69.8% recruited from higher clinic. The overall knowledge, attitude and practice of the
participant were 67.5%, 81.7% and 42.15 respectively. It was observed a major practice gap
towards biosafety measure like only 17(13.5%) had directional air flow, 18(14.3%) had isolated
lab,23(18.3%) had color coded plastic container for waste segregation,29(23%) had fire
extinguisher,53(42.1) had restrict their lab access,15(11.9%) posted biohazard sign on the lab
door,20(15.9%) had updated safety manual,34(27%) had trained on biosafety and only 32(5.4%)
appointed biosafety officer. Level of knowledge had significance association with educational
level (OR=0.211, 95CI=0.74-0.605, P-value=0.004). Degree holder had satisfactory knowledge
as compared to diploma holder. But there were major gaps in practice. Further, the laboratory
personnel work in health center had good practice as compared to private higher clinic
(OR=6.951, 95%CI=2.773-17.424, P-value=0.000). Working in higher clinic had high risk of
getting Tb infection
Conclusion: - The study concluded that knowledge and attitude towards biosafety measure is
good. However, The relatively good knowledge and attitude were not equally translated into
practice. Lack of trained lab personnel and assigned safety officer had major contribution to had
poor practice.
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Laboratory