scholarly journals Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Cameroonian physicians with regards to acute pain management in the emergency department: a multicenter cross-sectional study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Owono Etoundi ◽  
Junette Arlette Metogo Mbengono ◽  
Ferdinand Ndom Ntock ◽  
Joel Noutakdie Tochie ◽  
Dominique Christelle Anaba Ndom ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Owono Etoundi ◽  
Junette Arlette Metogo Mbengono ◽  
Ferdinand Ndom Ntock ◽  
Joel Noutakdie Tochie ◽  
Dominique Christelle Anaba Ndom ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Pain is the most frequent presenting complaint in patients consulting or admitted to the emergency department (ED). Thus, its acute management is often done by physicians working in the ED. These practitioners are often general practitioners and not emergency medicine physicians in resource-poor settings. Hence, a mastery of pain management by these physicians may be important in relieving acute pain. We aimed to assess the knowledge, to determine the attitudes and practices of physicians in the management of pain in EDs of Cameroon. Methods: We cross-sectional study carried out prospectively over four months in the year 2018. We enrolled all consenting physicians who were neither emergency medicine doctors nor anesthesiologists working at the EDs of five tertiary hospitals of Cameroon. Using a validated and pretested structured questionnaire, data on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of acute pain management at the ED by these clinicians were studied. We used an externally validated score to assess the knowledge as either poor, insufficient, moderate or good. Results: A total of 58 physicians were included; 18 interns and 39 general practitioners. Their mean age was 28.6 ± 3 years and their average number of years of practice was 2.9 years. The level of knowledge was rated “poor” in 77.6% of physicians. Being a general practitioner was significantly associated with a poor level of knowledge (p=0.02; OR=5.1). We found a negative and significant correlation between knowledge and years of practice (p=0.04; r2= 0.06). More than three-quarter (82.8%) of participants used a pain scale to evaluate the severity of pain. The most used scale being the Visual Analog scale (56.9%). The most frequently used analgesic was paracetamol (98.3%), although only 3.5% of physicians correctly knew its half-life, delay of onset of action and duration of action. Conclusion: These findings suggest that physicians in EDs of Cameroon have poor knowledge and suboptimal practices in pain management. General practice and a greater number of professional experience seemed to favour these attitudes. Overall, there is an urgent need for refresher courses in acute pain management for physicians working in these resource-limited EDs.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Owono Etoundi ◽  
Junette Arlette Metogo Mbengono ◽  
Ferdinand Ndom Ntock ◽  
Joel Noutakdie Tochie ◽  
Dominique Christelle Anaba Ndom ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Pain is the most frequent presenting complaint in patients consulting or admitted to the emergency department (ED). Thus, its acute management is often done by physicians working in the ED. These practitioners are often general practitioners and not emergency medicine physicians in resource-poor settings. Hence, a mastery of pain management by these physicians may be important in relieving acute pain. We aimed to assess the knowledge, to determine the attitudes and practices of physicians in the management of pain in EDs of Cameroon. Methods: We carried out a prospective analytic cross-sectional study over four months in the year 2018. We enrolled all consenting physicians who were neither emergency medicine doctors nor anesthesiologists working at the EDs of five tertiary hospitals of Cameroon. Using a 30-item structured questionnaire, data on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pain management at the ED by these clinicians were studied. We used an externally validated score to assess the knowledge as either poor, insufficient, moderate or good. Results: A total of 58 physicians were included; 18 interns and 39 general practitioners. Their mean age was 28.6 ± 3 years and their average number of years of practice was 2.9 years. The level of knowledge was rated “poor” in 77.6% of physicians. Being a general practitioner was significantly associated with a poor level of knowledge (p=0.02; OR=5.1). We found a negative and significant correlation between knowledge and years of practice (p=0.04; r2= 0.06). More than three-quarter (82.8%) of participants used a pain scale to evaluate the severity of pain. The most used scale being the Visual Analog scale (56.9%). The most frequently used analgesic was paracetamol (98.3%), although only 3.5% of physicians correctly knew its half-life, delay of onset of action and duration of action. Conclusion: These findings suggest that physicians in EDs of Cameroon have poor knowledge and suboptimal practices in pain management. General practice and a greater number of professional experience seemed to favour these attitudes. Overall, there is an urgent need for refresher courses in acute pain management for physicians working in these resource-limited EDs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 100184
Author(s):  
Maria de Fátima Carvalho Alves ◽  
Maria da Luz Lima Mendonça ◽  
Janice de Jesus Xavier Soares ◽  
Silvânia Leal ◽  
Menilita dos Santos ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina M. Al Marzouqi ◽  
Michael E. Otim ◽  
Heba H. Hijazi ◽  
Leena S. Kehail ◽  
Ramsha A. Kamal

Abstract Objectives: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a global health pandemic that continues to have an impact on many aspects of everyday life. This study investigates the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) related to COVID-19 among healthcare workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: This study uses a cross-sectional study design. The original data were collected using an online questionnaire distributed via a Google Forms link. Participants were healthcare workers currently working in the UAE healthcare facilities and recruited using snowball sampling. The questionnaire collected information on demographic variables and COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practice.Results: In total, the sample of 107 healthcare workers completed the survey. About 92% of the participants worked in public institutions, 87% were from Dubai, and 673% were female. The majority were aged 31–40 years (34.6%), and 43% were radiographers. 66.4% held bachelor’s degrees and Indian nationalities were (28%) and the Philippinos were (28%). Most (90.7%) participants knew the absence of fever did not mean that the virus could not transmit from an infected person, and 84.1% agreed that wearing general medical masks prevented one from contracting COVID-19. However, only 36.4% strongly believed that wearing a well-fitting face mask was effective. In addition, only 15.9% reported confidently managing patients with symptoms of COVID-19, and 54.2% reported that they were afraid of contracting the virus from patients. Almost half of the participants avoided patients who had symptoms of COVID-19. Conclusion: Overall, healthcare workers’ COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices for healthcare workers in UAE healthcare facilities was very high. However, we found gaps in awareness regarding the spread of the pandemic. Our study recommends that providing healthcare workers with education programs and counseling services would help increase their confidence in treating patients with COVID-19.


Cureus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K Almofada ◽  
Reem J Alherbisch ◽  
Nouf A Almuhraj ◽  
Bander N Almeshary ◽  
Bader Alrabiah ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Jimah ◽  
Ama P. Fenny ◽  
Oladele Ogunseitan

Abstract Background Antibiotic resistance is a major contributing factor to global morbidity and mortality and is associated with inappropriate medication use. However, the level of antibiotic consumption and knowledge about antibiotic resistance in Ghana is inadequately quantified. Our study identifies strategies for improved stewardship of antibiotics to prevent the proliferation of resistant pathogens by assessing the level of antibiotic knowledge, attitudes, and consumption behaviors by region, gender, age, and education in rural and urban Ghana. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 communities in the urban Greater Accra and rural Upper West regions of Ghana. A questionnaire survey was administered to 400 individuals aged 18 years and older in selected locations during September-October 2018 to gather data on individual knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. Multivariate analysis was used to investigate the association between demographic characteristics and knowledge, attitudes, and related behaviors. Results Over 30% (125/400) had not received a doctor’s prescription during their last illness. Seventy percent (278/400) had taken at least one antibiotic in the year prior to the survey. The top five frequently used antibiotics were Amoxicillin , Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid , Ampicillin , Ciprofloxacin , and Metronidazole . Women and older adults had higher knowledge compared to their respective counterparts (p<0.01). Furthermore, prudent antibiotic use was significantly more prevalent in women than men (p<0.05). Although no regional differences were found in overall knowledge, compared to urban residents, individuals residing in rural settings exhibited higher knowledge about the ineffectiveness of antibiotics for viruses like the cold and HIV/AIDS (p<0.001). Two hundred and fifty-two (63%) respondents were unaware of antibiotic resistance. There was generally a low level of self-efficacy among participants regarding their role in preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics. Conclusion Antibiotic knowledge, attitudes, and use varied significantly across demographics, suggesting a context-specific approach to developing effective community interventions.


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