Abstract
BackgroundData on viral hepatitis in South Africa is scarce. Although viral hepatitis A, B and C are notifiable conditions in South Africa, discrepancies have been noted in the number of viral hepatitis cases notified by the National Department of Health (NDOH) compared with laboratory confirmed cases from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of health care professionals on the notification of viral hepatitis A, B and C.MethodsA descriptive, cross-sectional study on 385 health care professionals was conducted at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic and Tshwane District hospitals in Gauteng province, South Africa, between March and May 2015. A pre-tested, structured questionnaire with 21 (6 demographic and 15 knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP)) questions was used to collect information from invited participants. A score was assigned to each KAP question and a mean (SD) score was calculated for each section. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in STATA version 13.ResultsOf the total 385 respondents, 65% (n = 250) were nurses and 35% (n = 135) were doctors. The overall mean knowledge score for health care professionals was 2.0 ± 1.6 (mean ± SD) out of a score of 6 regarding viral hepatitis notification. Overall mean scores of practice and attitude towards notification were higher at 2.9 ± 0.4 and 3.3 ± 0.7, out of a score of 4 and 5, respectively. Lack of training, poor knowledge, a complex process and excessive workload were some of the reasons for poor notification of viral hepatitis.ConclusionsOverall, knowledge on notification of viral hepatitis was poor among health care professionals. Adequate training on viral hepatitis, notification process, roles and responsibilities of health care professionals to notify and the implication of viral hepatitis notifications is recommended to improve reporting rate of notifiable diseases and referrals to increase linkage to care.
Highlights
Data on viral hepatitis in South Africa is scarce
On specific knowledge about viral hepatitis notification, 6% (n = 16) of nurses and 14% (n = 19) of doctors knew that viral hepatitis A, B and C infections are notifiable (Additional file 1: Table S1)
The majority (82%, n = 205) of nurses were of the view that only hepatitis B is notifiable whilst 50% (n = 67) of the doctors thought that only hepatitis C is notifiable (p < 0.001, data not shown)
Summary
Data on viral hepatitis in South Africa is scarce. There are five types of viral hepatitis (A-E), only three are of major public health concern: hepatitis A (HAV), B (HBV), and C (HCV). In order to meet the goals of the Global Health Sector Strategy (GHSS) to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030, we need to strengthen surveillance systems to increase diagnoses and treatment [3]. A simple, effective and efficient notifiable diseases surveillance system (NDSS) can benefit health systems with epidemiological data to plan programs for public health interventions and treatment [4]. Over a six-month period in 1993, Rustomjee and Abdool Karim [7] reported that at King Edward VIII hospital, Durban, South Africa, 83% of hospitalized patients with hepatitis B were not reported via the notification system, 6% were incorrectly notified, and no hepatitis B positive cases for hospital outpatients were reported
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