Knowledge Of Study Participants Research Articles

A Study to Assess the Knowledge and Attitude regarding Voluntary Blood Donation among College Going Male Students, a Quasi-experimental Study

Introduction: Voluntary blood donation in developing countries like India is constrained by misconception, fear, and widespread myths regarding blood donation.(1) Donated blood is an essential component in the management of many diseases. It is the main lifesaving for an individual with loss of large volumes of blood from accidents, hemorrhages or surgery.(2) Blood and its product demands is increasing, which can be ensured by increasing awareness and interest in blood donation in different groups of people. Youth is one of those groups. Misconception and low levels of awareness lead to unsatisfactory voluntary blood donation practices among them. The aim is to assess the knowledge and attitude of college students towards voluntary blood. Material and Methods: After prior permission from the College Authority, all the students who were present on the day of the study and who acknowledged their consent for participation were enrolled in the study. A pre-tested, semi-open-ended questionnaire was used as a study tool first as a pre-test to check their prior knowledge and attitude, followed by a health talk. Then, the same questionnaire was used to check their improvement of knowledge about blood donation. Results: As per the Wilcoxon rank test there is a significant improvement in the knowledge of study participants after health talk; out of a total 105 male students, 102 show positive rank (W+). Conclusion: Health education regarding voluntary blood donation is effective in improving the knowledge and attitude of youth. This will further improve the situation of voluntary blood donation by youth.

Assessment of awareness of good touch and bad touch in primary school children of a metropolis in North India

Introduction: ‘Good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ is a sensitive topic whose relevance is very high in the present-day scenario. Children in India are not aware about the topic and thus become more susceptible to child sexual abuse (CSA), a rising evil in society. Objectives: To assess the awareness of ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ amongst school children. Method: An observational, questionnaire‐based cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 children studying in Class III to Class VI in two schools of a metropolis in North India. A structured pre-validated questionnaire was used to assess the awareness and knowledge of study participants on ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 23.0. Results: Of the 200 children 61% said that they have some previous knowledge about ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’, while 39% were totally unaware about it. Excellent scores were obtained by 20% students, good scores by 63% students and average scores by 17% students. There was no significant association of awareness of ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ with any of the socio-demographic variables. Conclusions: Excellent scores were obtained by 20% students, good scores by 63% students and average scores by 17% students regarding awareness of ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Infertile Couples About Assisted Reproductive Technology, 2020: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has referred to infertility as a worldwide reproductive health problem that threatens the mental health of infertile couples and can lead to disorders such as stress, depression, isolation, and guilt.
 Objectives: This study aimed to determine infertile couples’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding assisted reproductive technology in 2020.
 Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 331 infertile persons referred to Al-Zahra Infertility Center in Shahrekord, Iran, in 2020. Sampling was done by convenience sampling method. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire consisting of four parts. The first consisted of 17 demographic questions, the second consisted of 20 questions, the third consisted of 23 questions, and the fourth consisted of 9 questions. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.
 Results: In this study, 331 infertile persons referred to the infertility clinic of AL-Zahra were studied. The mean awareness of infertile couples was 14.26 (moderate knowledge level), and their mean attitude was 57.01 (negative attitude). Comparison of study participants’ knowledge with gender, address, ethnicity, language, education, the duration of infertility, causes of infertility, female factor, age, and years since marriage was significant (P < 0.05). Comparison of attitudes of study participants with gender, address, education, job, and the duration of infertility and causes of Infertility was significant (P < 0.05). The relationship between the knowledge of study participants and the duration of infertility, cause of infertility, knowledge of (IUI, IVF, ICSI, ZIFT, replaced uterus, donated ovum, sperm donation, and the donating embryo) and attitude towards (IUI IVF replaced uterus donated ovum) was significant (P < 0.05). The relationship between the attitude of study participants and the duration of infertility, knowledge of (IUI, replaced uterus and donated ovum), and attitude of (IUI IVF replaced uterus donated ovum) was significant (P < 0.05).
 Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that the higher the level of awareness was, the more negative the attitude toward assisted reproductive technology became. In addition, in people who used more pharmacological methods to treat infertility, the rate of using the new assisted reproductive method was less than the pharmacological methods. Therefore, it is recommended that health system policymakers and guardians improve childbearing status in the country by establishing counseling classes and heightening people’s awareness of new methods of assisted reproduction to address misconceptions about these methods.

A Study on the Assessment of Knowledge and Awareness towards Drug-Food Interactions among Pharmacy Students

Aim: To evaluate the knowledge and awareness towards the drug-food interactions among the Indian pharmacy students.
 Materials and Methods: A total of 132 pharmacy students were participated in this study by filling the knowledge and awareness questionnaire. In this study the questionnaire was divided into 2 categories that include the evaluation of knowledge and awareness. The knowledge of study participants were graded into good (8-10) moderate (5-7) and poor (> 4).
 Results: A total of 132 pharmacy students were participated in the study and among the 43 (32.6%) were found to be males and 89 (67.4%) were found to be females. In this study, 43.2% of the study participants were having good knowledge 53.8% of the study participants were having moderate knowledge and the remianing 3% of the study participants were having poor knowledge about drug-food interactions. About 71 (53.3%) of the study participants had the awareness regarding the usage of the hand book on software programme in order to check the drug interactions before taking them. About 130 (98.5%) of the study participants, felt that the doctors and the pharmacists should update their knowledge about the drug interactions.
 Conclusion: Pharmacy students should have enough knowledge in the aspect of drug-food interactions as they are directly or indirectly involving in the pharmaceutical care plan of the patients once they become professionals. They should take the responsibility in creating the awareness regarding the drug-food interactions among the patients and should work efficiently in providing the better patient care.

Concerns of iodized salt and its effects for women seeking antenatal care in Pakistan.

Pregnant women are the most susceptible group for Iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) whose neonate are at the risk of brain impairment, if they are iodine deficient in utero. The study was carried out to analyze the concerns and effects regarding iodized salt and IDD in women seeking antenatal care in Pakistan. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Obstetrics OPD at Civil Hospital Karachi from April 2017 to January 2018. In this study, antenatal care seeking women (n=360) visiting obstetric outpatient department (OPD) at public sector tertiary care hospital of Karachi were interviewed face to face using a structured questionnaire. Systematic random sampling method was employed. Kruskal Wallis test was applied to assess the significance among study variables. Sixty-three (63.6%) of pregnant women heard about iodized salt. Approximately 40.6% of them received iodized salt related information through mass media. Ninety (90.6%) were ignorant that their unborn child needs iodine for brain development. A statistically significant association was found between the educational status (p<0.001), household income (p<0.001), age (p=0.016), ethnicity (p=0.018), trimester (p=0.005) with the knowledge of study participants regarding iodized salt and IDD. There is an immense need to address the present concerns of women seeking antenatal care by advocacy and health education on individual and at mass level regarding the use of iodized salt among women seeking antenatal care. Advocacy can be done by governmental initiatives, medical personnel and through mass media in all tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Towards COVID-19 Among Abudwak Population, Galmudug, Somalia

The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 among Abudwak Population in Somalia. Cross-sectional study was conducted in this study. Total of 420 participants (214 male and 206 female) were enrolled and analyzed using SPSS version 20. The knowledge of study participants were good and have clear concept of COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the respondent 184 (45%) have heard COVID-19 from social media as the main source of the knowledge. The majority of participant 342(81.4%) has good knowledge the way of transmit of COVID-19. In term of attitude mean score of the respondent their age group &gt;40 years (3.41 16?"&gt; 1.24) were higher than the respondent age group &lt; 25 years (2.98 16?"&gt; 1.14). In the case of month income, income group &gt;$800 per month have practice scores (4.45 16?"&gt; 1.25) which is higher than to the income group &lt;$200 per month (3.91 16?"&gt; 1.16). It is suggested that community should continue to strengthen the knowledge, attitude, and practice towards against the COVID-19 or any new emerging infectious disease, so that Somalia can win the battle against the disease. Keynote: COVID-19, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Abudwak Population. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/96-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

ASSESSMENT OF AWARENESS, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE OF USE OF FACEMASK AMONG THE GENERAL POPULATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY.

Introduction: Masks play a role in the protection of health from acquiring respiratory infections including COVID-19. But there is a paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of facemask use during COVID-19. The purpose of the study was to assess the awareness, attitude and practices of the use of facemask among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire study was conducted among the general population to assess awareness, attitude and practices of use of facemask. The structured, self-administered, close-ended questionnaire was designed to collect the data which consist of two parts and comprised 25 questions related to knowledge, attitude and practices of use of facemask. The reliability and validity of the instrument (Cronbach alpha- 0.681). Informed consent was also taken from all the participants. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics. Results: In this study, there were a total of 350 participants between 18-78 years of age. Only 20% of the participants know that the outside surface of the mask is not to be touched and 28.3% preferred wearing an N95 mask over others. More than half of participants 52% strongly agreed to wear a face mask, while 39.1% of the people often perform hand hygiene before wearing a face mask but not always. Conclusion: The study concluded that the overall knowledge of study participants was average while attitude and practices of use of facemask were good in study participants. Keywords: Attitude, Awareness, COVID-19, Facemask, SARS-CoV-2, Pandemic.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Prevention of Peri-Implant Infection and Inflammation: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey

Even till now, nothing much has been done to explore the inflammation and prevention of the same around the implants placed, hence the aim of this study was to evaluate factor associated with dentist knowledge, attitude along with practice in preventing peri-implant diseases. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, questionnaire based study carried within Dental professionals of Patna city. Stratified random sampling technique was the sampling method utilized in this study. The survey was conducted among 132 dentists. A questionnaire was framed by using google forms. Most of dental professionals were having fair knowledge {61(46.21%)}, positive attitude {61 (46.21%)} and poor practice (47.72%)} towards prevention of Peri-implant diseases. On application of Chi-square test, it was found that knowledge of study participants was significantly (0.05*) associated with gender, average duration of doing Implant surgery while attitude was significantly (0.05*) associated with age and degree. It was concluded that knowledge was fair; attitude was positive and despite this practice was poor regarding the prevention of Peri-Implant diseases among Dental professionals. Factors associated with knowledge, attitude and practice of study participants was gender, average duration of doing Implant surgery, age and degree.

Childhood Asthma Awareness in Saudi Arabia: Five-Year Follow-Up Study.

BackgroundBronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease that is characterized by reversible airway obstruction due to bronchial hyperresponsiveness. It is one of the most common chronic diseases. In Saudi Arabia, asthma affects 2 million people with asthma frequency in children markedly higher than adults with regional variations ranging from 9% to 33.7%.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to measure asthma awareness and knowledge of study participants during the ongoing annual Saudi asthma awareness campaigns and compare them with previous survey data conducted in 2014.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in the form of a survey distributed across three major cities in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, during the National Asthma Awareness Campaign in major regional shopping centers in April 2019. Asthma knowledge scores across different demographic groups were generated from surveyed data. Descriptive and correlative statistical analyses were performed to identify factors associated with changes in asthma knowledge. Scores were compared to previous survey results.ResultsThe mean score for asthma knowledge was 15.6 out of 25. Asthma knowledge significantly correlated with age (P=0.002), asthma status of the participants (P=0.001), having children with asthma (P=0.005) or knowing friends or family with asthma (P=0.029) but not with other socioeconomic factors such as gender, marital status, occupation, level of education and number of children in the family (P > 0.05). There was a significant difference in the asthma scores from 2014 (M= 63%, SD=26) to 2019 (M= 70%, SD= 26) conditions; t (24) = −2.106, p=0.046.ConclusionFurther educational campaigns are necessary to enhance and measure general public awareness of asthma, its differential diagnosis against other respiratory infections, environmental triggers, risk factors as well as treatment options.

Factors affecting awareness and practice of primary health care professionals towards interaction of various medications used in systemic conditions, and its effect on periodontal health.

Background:Interaction of various drugs and its effects on gingival and periodontal health is the area of concern; hence the aim of the present study was to explore factors affecting the awareness and practice of primary health care professionals towards the interaction of various medications used for systemic diseases on periodontal health.Materials and Methods:It was a cross-sectional, descriptive, questionnaire study conducted among 203 primary health care professionals which include 94 medical officers and 109 nurses working in primary health centers in rural areas of Udaipur district. The study was conducted in December 2019. Sampling techniques was stratified random sampling technique. A close-ended questionnaire was prepared to conduct an interview schedule.Results:The majority of health professionals had poor awareness (157 [77.33%]) and poor practice (168 [82.75%]) regarding the interaction of various medications used in systemic conditions and periodontal health. Factors that significantly affect awareness and practice of study participants were age (0.01*), degree (0.05*), and number of patients with oral problems seen in a week (0.05*), gender (0.05*), designation (0.05*).Conclusion:From above it was concluded that awareness and practice of primary care health professionals were poor. The factors that affect significantly affect awareness and knowledge of study participants was age, degree and number of patients with oral problems seen in a week, gender, designation, no. of patient attended in a day.

Assessment of Knowledge of Obstetric Danger Signs During Pregnancy Among Pregnant Mothers in Wolaita Sodo Hospitals and Sodo Town Health Centers in 2017

Background : Pregnancy complications are the major health problems among women in developing countries. Approximately 529,000 women die from pregnancy related causes annually and almost all (99%) of these maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Objective: To assess knowledge of pregnant mothers towards obstetric danger signs durin g pregnancy in Wolaita Sodo town health centers and hospital, April- May, 2017.Methods : Institutional based cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in April-May,2017, on a sample of 365 mothers who are at least 4 months pregnant for prim gravid and multpara pregnant mothers selected from,11 urban Kebeles of Wolaita sodo town and simple random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants.Results: A total of 365 pregnant mothers were enrolled in the study giving a response rate of 100%. The study participants from selected urban kebeles constituted 100%. (46%) of the study participants were found to have poor knowledge. Respondents who got obstetric danger signs information from health institution had 2 times good knowledge of obstetrics danger signs than those respondents who didn’t get information from the same source. Participants who had formal education have 2.5 times knowledgeable than a participants who had informal education obstetric danger signs.Conclusion : Knowledge of study participants was assessed that 54% of participants have knowledge about obstetric danger signs during pregnancy and only 34% have knowledge about obstetrics danger signs during labor and child birth. Keywords : Danger signs, Pregnancy, Obstetric care. DOI : 10.7176/JHMN/65-01 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

Knowledge, facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening among women in Uganda: a qualitative study

ObjectivesTo explore community knowledge, facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening among women in rural Uganda so as to generate data to inform interventions.DesignA qualitative study using focus group discussions...

Knowledge, attitude, practice and associated factors towards post exposure prophylaxis to HIV infection among health care professionals in Debre Markos town public health institutions, Northwest Ethiopia, 2017

Background: HIV/AIDS is being considered as one of the major health problem and an occupational health hazard among health care personnel. Although avoiding contact with infected blood is one of the primary strategies of preventing occupationally acquired Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection, appropriate post-exposure management is an important element in work place safety. Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude, practice and associated factors towards post exposure prophylaxis to HIV infection among Health Care Professionals. Methods: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered questionnaire. After data was coded, entered in to Epi data 3.1, and transported to SPSS version20 for analysis. To see the Association between dependent and independent variables binary and multi logistic regression was done. Results: Among 202 participants, more than two third 120 (59.4%) were male and 152 (75.2%) in the age group of 20- 30 years and the mean age was 29.46 years and SD5.961. The study finding revealed that 36.1% inadequate knowledge towards PEP. About 30.2% had unfavorable attitude towards PEP. With regard to practice from 67(33.2%) of exposed respondents, 29 (43.3%) took PEP. According to this finding 53.2% of health professionals were started PEP after 1 hour of exposure. Profession and attitude were strongly associated with knowledge of study participants (P=0.014, and P=0.002). Knowledge was significantly associated with attitude (P=0.001). Conclusion and Recommendation: Despite adequate knowledge and favorable attitude towards PEP for HIV, this study revealed that there were delay initiation, low use and incomplete use of the prescribed drug of PEP. So, health care personnel need to improve their practice on PEP of HIV through different training program related to PEP.

Community knowledge and the role of health extension workers on integrated diseases among households in East Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia.

BackgroundEthiopia constitutes approximately 1% of the world’s population but it contributes to 7% of the world’s HIV/AIDS cases. Malaria is the most important disease of humans in terms of mortality, morbidity, and long-term effects upon quality of life, especially in Ethiopia. Despite the ongoing efforts and progress in fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria, these diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the country. In this study, we assessed community knowledge and the role of health extension workers on integrated diseases among households in East Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based multistage stratified cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2014 among six woredas of the East Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia. The data were collected from 2,319 households using structured questionnaires. A total of 12 well trained data collectors conducted a face-to-face interview with the head female of each household. The data entered on Epi-Data version 3 were then exported for analysis on STATA version 11.ResultsMultivariable logistic regression showed that among the 1,967 (92.7%) study participants who scored above the mean value in regard to the overall knowledge of HIV/AIDS, study participants who could read/write (adjusted odd ratios [AOR] =2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15–5.61, P=0.021) and worked as a daily laborer (AOR =0.40, 95% CI: 0.17–0.91, P=0.029) were significantly associated with comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, out of the 2,172 eligible study participants for the malaria interview, 934 (43%) scored above the mean in regard to the overall knowledge about malaria. Rural residents (AOR =0.27, 95% CI: 0.17–0.44, P<0.005), >45 years of age (AOR =1.44, 95% CI: 1.04–1.99, P=0.030), and single marital status (AOR =3.81, 95% CI: 1.97–7.37, P<0.005) were significantly associated with comprehensive knowledge about malaria.ConclusionBased on the findings of this study, health extension workers’ number of monthly regular visits of each household was high, with the overall knowledge of study participants regarding malaria was unsatisfactory, unlike the overall knowledge of study participants regarding HIV/AIDS, which is very high.

Immunity against measles among healthcare personnel at the University Hospital Frankfurt, 2003-2013

Despite aiming for the elimination of measles by 2015, the current epidemiological situation in Germany shows that there is still insufficient vaccination coverage among the population. During the present pre-elimination period, nosocomial measles are gaining in importance. The purpose of our study was to determine the immune status of measles among healthcare personnel and medical students at the University Hospital Frankfurt. Moreover, the knowledge of study participants regarding the WHO's goal of the elimination of measles and the general attitude towards vaccination recommendations were investigated. A retrospective study of measles seroprevalence was conducted among healthcare personnel and students at the University Hospital Frankfurt with an observation period of 11 years. In spring 2014, medical students were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire regarding vaccination status, knowledge of measles and acceptance of measles vaccination recommendations. In total, 9,933 serologies were evaluated and 85.7% of the participants had sufficient immunity against measles. Significant changes in immunity to measles over time were not observed. However, a significant difference in the immunity rate of participants born before 1970 and those born after1970 was found. Participants born before 1970 significantly more often showed sufficient immunity against measles compared to those born later (96.4 vs. 83.3 %, p < 0.0001). Almost 20 % of the medical students were not aware of their measles vaccination status and merely 70.7 % indicated that they had received two measles vaccinations. Furthermore, only 45.4 % of the medical students were familiar with the WHO's goal of eliminating measles by 2015; however 95 % could be classified as vaccination-supporters on the basis of the questionnaire. Overall, the immunity rate of measles determined by serology within the study population did not reach the WHO goal of ≥ 95 %, and this gap was even greater in group of medical students. Despite the medical students' positive attitude towards vaccination guidelines, the awareness in this field awaits improvement.

Knowledge of food safety and hygiene and personal hygiene practices among meat handlers operating in western Romania

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of food safety and hygiene and personal hygiene practices among 168 meat handlers operating in 11 meat processing units in western Romania. For this purpose a self-administered, multiple-choice questionnaire was applied, distributed and completed in May–July 2012. The meat handlers interviewed demonstrate a good level of knowledge, with a mean score of 10.34 on a scale of zero to 16, together with excellent practices with a mean score of 9.51 on a scale of zero to 12. Identification of microbiological and chemical hazards and hand hygiene, respectively, are the main deficient knowledge among those surveyed. The knowledge of study participants was significantly different according to education levels ( p p = 0.043) as shown by univariate non-parametric testing. In a similar way, practices differ significantly with education ( p = 0.033) and meat industry professional training ( p = 0.013). However, when controlling for the effect of the other variable, in the General Linear Model (GLM) framework, education is significant ( p = 0.001) only in the case of knowledge and training is significant ( p = 0.038) only in the case of practices. The study shows a significant positive correlation between the level of knowledge and practices of meat handlers ( r s = 0.681, p