Research Article Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Health Workers in a Tertiary Hospital in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, towards Ebola Viral Disease

Copyright © 2015 Samuel Anu Olowookere et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Health workers are more prone to Ebola viral disease (EVD) than the general population. This study assessed the preparedness of health workers in the control and management of EVD. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study. Consenting 400 healthworkers completed a semistructured questionnaire that assessed participants ’ general knowledge, emergency preparedness, and control and management of EVD. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results. The mean age (SD) was 34.5 ± 8.62 years ranging from 20 to 59 years. Most participants were medical doctors (24.6%) and nurses (52.2%).Themajority had practised <10 years (73.8%) and were aware of the EVD outbreak in theWest African subregion (85.5%). Colleagues (40%) and radio (37.2%) were their major sources of information. Only 42 % had good knowledge while 27 % knew that there was no vaccine presently to prevent EVD. About one-quarter (24.2%) had low risk perception. The majority (89%) felt the hospital infection control policy was inadequate to protect against EVD. The only predictor of good knowledge was participants’ occupation. Conclusion. There is knowledge gap and poor infection control preparedness among respondents. Thus, knowledge and practices of health workers towards EVD need improvement. 1