Abstract
BackgroundThere is a rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the sub-Saharan Africa, and calls for integration of management of selected NCDs with primary healthcare (PHC) have been unrelenting. Cost-effective interventions for the prevention and control of NCDs can be delivered at PHC facilities in low-resource settings by clinical healthcare workers (HCWs).AimThis study compared the knowledge of HCWs in PHC facilities regarding the prevention and control of NCDs in rural and urban local government areas (LGAs) of Osun State.SettingA comparative cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 400 eligible HCWs recruited using a multistage sampling technique in PHC facilities of six rural and six urban LGAs.MethodsA pretested self-administered case-scenarios questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of HCWs regarding the prevention and control of three selected NCDs (diabetes, hypertension and chronic respiratory diseases). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted.ResultsThe mean knowledge scores of HCWs regarding the prevention and control of the three NCDs were 17.76 ± 4.41 in rural and 17.62 ± 4.02 in urban LGAs out of 30 maximum scores. The proportion of HCWs with adequate knowledge in the rural LGAs (31.0%) was slightly higher than the urban LGAs (23.0%); however, it was not statistically significant (χ2 = 3.247; p = 0.072). The major determinants of adequate knowledge include cadre of HCWs, location, years in practice with professional certificate, NCD training course attendance and reported experience managing diabetic patients.ConclusionThe HCWs in PHC facilities in rural and urban LGAs of Osun State, Nigeria, had a poor knowledge regarding the prevention and control of NCDs. Training and re-training of less-skilled HCWs in the PHC facilities using relevant WHO NCD protocols and guidelines are imperatives to improve their knowledge about the prevention and control of NCDs.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the main non-communicable diseases (NCDs) include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease.[1,2] These diseases share four behavioural risk factors: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.[2]
Amongst the three selected NCDs, the mean knowledge scores of prevention and control of the NCDs amongst the healthcare workers (HCWs) were lowest for diabetes mellitus, 5.5 ± 1.8 in the rural local government areas (LGAs) and 5.4 ± 1.7 in the urban LGAs
The current study showed that nurses have better knowledge of prevention and control of NCDs amongst the nonphysician healthcare workers (NPHWs) in the primary healthcare (PHC) facilities than Community Health Officers (CHOs) and senior Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs)
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the main non-communicable diseases (NCDs) include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease.[1,2] These diseases share four behavioural risk factors: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.[2] The human, social and economic consequences of NCDs are felt by all countries but are devastating in poor and vulnerable populations.[3]. According to a 2018 WHO report, 71% of all global deaths were caused by NCDs, with cardiovascular diseases (31%), cancers (16%) and respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (7%), being the first, second and third most common causes of global deaths, respectively.[4] Diabetes constitutes 3% of these global deaths.[4] Sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria, are undergoing epidemiological transition with the decline http://www.phcfm.org. Cost-effective interventions for the prevention and control of NCDs can be delivered at PHC facilities in low-resource settings by clinical healthcare workers (HCWs)
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