PG-5 Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice towards post exposure prophylaxis for HIV among health care workers in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: HIV/AIDS infection in the health care facility is a major health problem in resource limited settings. Health Care Workers (HCW) are caring for a large number of HIV infected patients. This makes them exposed to HIV infection, warranting the use of Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV very critical. Here we assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of HCW towards PEP for HIV. Methods: This study was cross-sectional and was conducted among health care workers in 20 health care facilities providing primary health care, secondary, tertiary and private care in June 2018 under the US President Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire. Results were summarized in percentages, median and Interquartile range (IQR). Results: A total of 195 HCWs completed the survey, 74 (37.9%), 34 (17.4%), 46 (23.6%) and 41 (21.1%) from Primary health care, private, secondary and tertiary health care facilities respectively. Majority of the HCWs were females, 128 (66.7%), 134 (70.2%) were aged 18–39 years and 66 (34.4%) were nurses. The median number of patients seen daily was 28 (IQR 20–50) and the median number of years in practice was 8 (IQR 4–12). One hundred and seventy-seven (92.7%) HCWs had heard of PEP for HIV and 107 (58.5%) had excellent/good knowledge about PEP for HIV. Majority of HCW 168 (92.8%) had good attitude and would recommend PEP for HIV to others; 150 (81.5%) of HCW consider themselves to be at risk and 88 (46.1%), had occupational exposure. Among those exposed, 75 (85.2%) screened for HIV. One hundred and sixty-three (86.7%) of the HCW are aware of hospital policy after occupational exposure and 107 (57.6%) would recommend commencing PEP for HIV within 1–72 hours after exposure; 131 (72.4%) are satisfied with current HIV infection protocol at their facility while 177 (92.7%) feel that more training is required for staff on HIV prevention. Conclusions: Majority of HCW had excellent/good knowledge, favorable attitude and practice towards PEP for HIV. There is need for policy makers in health sector to put policies, guidelines and pogram that will rapidly scale up PEP for HIV services in health care settings. This is much more important given the increased need for staff at these facilities to multitask and can self-expose. Keywords: Health care workers, Post exposure prophylaxis, HIV.