Awareness and knowledge of Chikungunya infection following its outbreak in Pakistan among health care students and professionals: a nationwide survey

PeerJ

article

Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi¹  Yusra Habib Khan²  Nida Tanveer³  Allah Bukhsh⁴  Amer Hayat Khan⁵  Raja Ahsan Aftab⁶  Omaid Hayat Khan⁷  Tahir Mehmood Khan⁴ 

[1] Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad;Institute of Pharmacy, Lahore College for Women University;Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad;Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences;Discipline of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia;School of Pharmacy, Taylor’s University;Department of Pharmacy, The University of Lahore

关键词: Chikungunya;    Epidemic;    Vector borne diseases;    Pakistan;    Outbreak;    Viral infection;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.5481

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) declares Chikungunya (CHIK) infection to be endemic in South Asia. Despite its first outbreak in Pakistan, no documented evidence exists which reveals the knowledge or awareness of healthcare students and workers (HCSW) regarding CHIK, its spread, symptoms, treatment and prevention. Since CHIK is an emergent infection in Pakistan, poor disease knowledge may result in a significant delay in diagnosis and treatment. The current study was aimed to evaluate the awareness and knowledge of CHIK among HCSW.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among HCSW from teaching institutes and hospitals in seven provinces of Pakistan. We collected information on socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and their knowledge by using a 30-item questionnaire. The cumulative knowledge score (CKS) was calculated by correct answers with maximum score of 22. The relationship between demographics and knowledge score was evaluated by using appropriate statistical methods.ResultsThere were 563 respondents; mean age 25.2 ± 5.9 years with female preponderance (62.5%). Of these, 319 (56.7%) were aware of CHIK infection before administering the survey. The average knowledge score was 12.8 ± 4.1 (% knowledge score: 58.2%). Only 31% respondents had good disease knowledge while others had fair (36.4%) and poor (32.6%) knowledge. Out of five knowledge domains, domain III (vector, disease spread and transmission) and V (prevention and treatment) scored lowest among all i.e. percent score 44.5% and 54.1%, respectively. We found that socio-demographic characteristics had no influence on knowledge score of the study participants.ConclusionApproximately one-half of participants were not aware of CHIK infection and those who were aware had insufficient disease knowledge. Findings of the current study underscore the dire need of educational interventions not only for health care workers but also for students, irrespective to the discipline of study.

【 授权许可】

CC BY