Effect of education on knowledge, attitude and practices of safety precautions among laboratory technicians of a tertiary care center in Mangalore

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: The clinical laboratory technicians are expected to have knowledge, to have a favourable attitude and practice safety precautions at their workplace. Though they are trained with safety precautions during their study period, they may not adhere to them upon joining the job. The present study was aimed at assessing the effect of educational intervention on knowledge, attitude and practices of safety precautions among laboratory technicians of our medical college hospital. Materials and Methods: This interventional study included all the technicians. A validated questionnaire containing questions related to personal information, knowledge, attitude and practices of safety precautions was used. Pre-test was conducted followed by a lecture session regarding safety precautions. After one hour, post-test was conducted in a similar way as pre-test and responses were collected. Data was analysed using the statistical software SPSS version 28. Qualitative variables were presented as frequency and percentage and quantitative variables as mean SD. McNemar test was employed to find the association between the knowledge, attitude questions with pre-test and post-test scores. Paired t test was used for comparison of knowledge and attitude overall scores. p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study showed a significant difference at the level of knowledge towards safety precautions before and after the educational intervention. There was no significant difference at the levels of attitude among the participants. Conclusion: Regular training of safety precautions may improve the knowledge of laboratory technicians, which will benefit both the technicians and the institution.