Abstract
Background Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases worldwide ranking above HIV/AIDS, and Nigeria is rated as the 7th worldwide and the 2nd in Africa among the 30 countries highly burdened with tuberculosis worldwide. Aim To investigate the challenges encountered by nurses in the care of TB patients in a Federal Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Setting. Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. Methods A qualitative contextual method was utilized with the sample size determined by data saturation. Data collection was done through an audiotaped, semistructured interview. The study sample consisted of 20 professional nurses working in the medical and paediatric wards of a selected Federal Teaching Hospital in South West, Nigeria. Data was analysed using Tesch's content analysis approach. Results The majority of the participants were females within the age group of 31–40 years. Challenges included inadequate availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), lack of isolation wards, delegating the care of tuberculosis patients to young inexperienced nurses, long process in diagnosing patients with tuberculosis, lack of policies protecting the nurses from exposure to tuberculosis, and inadequate training. The major concern was the fear of contracting tuberculosis. Conclusion The study suggested that there should be a provision of adequate personal protective equipment; tuberculosis designated wards and provision of periodic training to update the nurses on care of tuberculosis patients. Establishment and execution of hospital policies and practices along with support are equally essential in facilitating a safe workplace for nurses.
Highlights
Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)
Concern about Safety When Working with Tuberculosis Patients
When nurses were asked if they have ever been worried about their safety in their care of TB patients, all of the 20 respondents said they are always concerned about their safety when working with TB patients
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). A report of the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that, in 2018, Nigeria ranks the 7th out of the 30 high-burden TB countries in the world, with TB prevalence being estimated at 330/100,000 individuals and the number of TB-related deaths at 70/100,000 persons [3]. Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases worldwide ranking above HIV/AIDS, and Nigeria is rated as the 7th worldwide and the 2nd in Africa among the 30 countries highly burdened with tuberculosis worldwide. Aim. To investigate the challenges encountered by nurses in the care of TB patients in a Federal Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. E study sample consisted of 20 professional nurses working in the medical and paediatric wards of a selected Federal Teaching Hospital in South West, Nigeria. Establishment and execution of hospital policies and practices along with support are essential in facilitating a safe workplace for nurses
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