Baseline, Cross-sectional Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Efficient Use of Government Resources in the Health Sector in Malawi

BackgroundMisuse of government resources is a challenge within the health sector that can be addressed by increasing public demand for accountability, reporting suspected misuse of resources, and other client-driven changes. This study was led by the USAID/Health Communication for Life Project to inform the design of social accountability communication messages and interventions. The study also established baseline data on Malawians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to efficient use of government resources in the health sector.MethodsThis baseline, formative research study used a non-experimental, cross sectional survey design. Sampling for the mobile survey was conducted using the random digit dialing technique. Data were collected via mobile phone using interactive voice response technology. Our sample included 1,425 respondents, 67% of whom were male and 33% were female. Respondents were mostly 35 years old or younger, with more than half of female respondents reporting their age as 18–24 years. Results Our findings indicate that Malawians believe misuse of government resources is pervasive in Malawi. Seventy percent of men and nearly 60% of women reported having noticed, found, or seen drugs believed to be from a government health facility being sold elsewhere. Few respondents who had observed or experienced misuse of government health sector resources reported the incident. When asked the likelihood that they would report a request for a bribe, gift, or favor in exchange for health services in the future, 68% of respondents said they would report it.ConclusionsSocial and behavior change communication could serve a key role in motivating those who are aware of misuse of public sector health resources to report the issues they observe and providing them with the information needed to follow through. Further research is needed to understand the best approaches to mitigate underlying factors that drive misuse of resources and underreporting.

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Student Pharmacists during the Pandemic: Development of a COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (COVKAP) Survey

Pharmacy ◽

10.3390/pharmacy9040159 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 159

Author(s):

Alina Cernasev ◽

Meghana Desai ◽

Lauren J. Jonkman ◽

Sharon E. Connor ◽

Nicholas Ware ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Survey Design ◽

Human Life ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Protection Measures ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Predominantly Female ◽

And Behavior ◽

The Impact ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused innumerable changes to all aspects of human life and behavior, including academic life. This study describes the development of a COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (COVKAP) Survey among U.S. student pharmacists. The survey was administered at Doctor of Pharmacy programs in three states—Tennessee, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Methods: The COVKAP survey—an online cross-sectional survey—was distributed to U.S. student pharmacists enrolled in three different colleges of pharmacy in three states during the fall semester of 2020. The survey was developed using literature review and Dillman’s recommendations for survey design. The COVKAP survey consisted of 23 closed and Likert-scale questions, and three open-ended questions. The research team conducted descriptive and inductive thematic analyses on the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively using SPSS (v27) and Dedoose® software. Results: A total of 421 responses were received. Respondents were predominantly female (72%) and White (79%). The average age of respondents was 23.4 years. The qualitative analysis revealed three themes: (1) Wellbeing and mental health struggles; (2) Being part of the decision-making process; (3) Necessity of adequate protection measures. Conclusions: Preliminary study findings indicate that student pharmacists’ concerns and the challenges that they face in their academic pursuits are largely similar across three states and inform about the importance of recognizing and mitigating the impact of widespread disruption in education. This disruption provides an opportunity for pharmacy academia to examine practices and methods that can be improved upon to help students become successful practitioners.

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Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Dengue among Physicians: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Behavioral Sciences ◽

10.3390/bs11080105 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 105

Author(s):

Kranthi Swaroop Koonisetty ◽

Ubydul Haque ◽

Rajesh Nandy ◽

Nasrin Aghamohammadi ◽

Tamanna Urmi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dengue Fever ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Diagnosis And Treatment ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Accurate Identification ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Aedes Mosquitoes ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Dengue fever is one of the most important viral infections transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Accurate identification of cases and treatment of dengue patients at the early stages can reduce medical complications and dengue mortality rate. This survey aims to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among physicians in dengue diagnosis and treatment. This study was conducted among physicians in Turkey as one nonendemic country and Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia as three dengue-endemic countries. The dosing frequencies, maximum doses, and contraindications in dengue fever were examined. The results found that physicians from Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia have higher KAP scores in dengue diagnosis and treatment compared to physicians in Turkey. This may be due to a lack of physician’s exposure to a dengue patient as Turkey is considered a nonendemic country. This assessment may help establish a guideline for intervention strategies among physicians to have successful treatment outcomes and reduce dengue mortality.

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COVID‐19 and Moroccan nursing students: A multicentre cross‐sectional survey on their related knowledge, attitudes and practices

Nursing Open ◽

10.1002/nop2.790 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nada Fakhri ◽

Manar Jallal ◽

Sanaa Belabbes ◽

Khulud Khudur ◽

Rochdi Kaddar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nursing Students ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

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Assessing the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of COVID-19 among Quarantine Hotel Workers in China

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9060772 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 772

Author(s):

Yi-Man Teng ◽

Kun-Shan Wu ◽

Wen-Cheng Wang ◽

Dan Xu

Keyword(s):

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Hotel Workers ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

During the pandemic, quarantine hotel workers face a higher risk of infection while they host quarantine guests from overseas. This study’s aim is to gain an understanding of the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of quarantine hotel workers in China. A total of 170 participants took part in a cross-sectional survey to assess the KAP of quarantine hotel workers in China, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chi-square test, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), descriptive analysis, and binary logistic regression were used to examine the sociodemographic factors associated with KAP levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that 62.41% have good knowledge, 94.7% have a positive attitude towards COVID-19, but only 78.2% have good practices. Most quarantine hotel workers (95.3%) are confident that COVID-19 will be successfully controlled and that China is handling the COVID-19 crisis well (98.8%). Most quarantine hotel workers are also taking personal precautions, such as avoiding crowds (80.6%) and wearing facemasks (97.6%). The results evidence that quarantine hotel workers in China have acquired the necessary knowledge, positive attitudes and proactive practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study can provide a reference for quarantine hotel workers and their targeted education and intervention.

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Evaluation of health system in Iraq from people's point of view: a comparative study of two different eras

Journal of Ideas in Health ◽

10.47108/jidhealth.vol4.iss2.100 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 380-387

Author(s):

Saad Ahmed Ali Jadoo ◽

Adil H. Alhusseiny ◽

Shukr Mahmood Yaseen ◽

Mustafa Ali Mustafa Al-Samarrai ◽

Anmar Shukur Mahmood

Keyword(s):

Health System ◽

Health Sector ◽

Health Resources ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Point Of View ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Current Health ◽

Multi Stage ◽

Geographical Regions

Background: Since the 2003 United States–British Coalition military invasion, Iraq has been in a state of continuous deterioration at all levels, including the health sector. This study aimed to elicit the viewpoints of the Iraqi people on the current health system, focusing on many provided health services and assessing whether the public prefers the current health system or that was provided before the invasion. Methods: A cross-sectional survey designed to explore the Iraqi people’s opinions on their health system. A self-administered questionnaire using a multi-stage sampling technique was distributed in five geographical regions in Iraq to collect the data from the head of household between 1st October and 31st of December 2019. Multiple logistic regressions were recruited to determine the significant contributing variables in this study. Results: A total of 365 heads of households (response rate: 71.7%) with the mean age of 48.36 + 11.92 years (ranged 35-78) included in the study. Most of the respondents (61.4%) complained of healthcare inaccessibility, 59.7% believed that health resources were not available, 53.7% claimed a deterioration in the quality of care, and 62.2% believed that the political / media position did not contribute to positive changes during the past two decades. Indeed, most respondents (66.0%) believe that the current healthcare system is worse than before. In the multivariate analysis, there was a statistically significant relationship between the characteristics and opinions of the respondents. Young age group (p = 0.003), men (p = < 0.001), unmarried (p = 0.001), high educated (p = < 0.001), rural resident (p = < 0.001), unemployed (p = 0.003), monthly income of less than USD 400 (p = < 0.001), consider themselves to be unhealthy (p = 0.001), and those who think that people are unhappy now than two decades ago (p = 0.012) have a more negative opinion of the health system. Conclusions: Most Iraqis surveyed expressed disappointment from the health system after the 2003 US-led invasion. The current health system is faltering at all levels and does not meet the citizens' basic needs. Health Transformation Program (HTP) has become inevitable to develop an accessible, affordable, high-quality, efficient, and effective health system.

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Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Male Transgenders in Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Lahore, Pakistan

Pakistan BioMedical Journal ◽

10.54393/pbmj.v4i1.84 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Akash John ◽

Muhammad Saleem Rana ◽

Asif Hanif ◽

Tallat Anwar Faridi ◽

Sofia Noor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Progressive Failure ◽

Knowledge Score ◽

Control Programme ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

The Mean ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a subgroup of retrovirus causing HIV infection which if prolongs turns into a progressive failure of the immune system called as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is commonly prevalent in Male Transgenders who are born male and disobeys the cultural defined social norms and identify themselves as a female. The objective was to assess knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Transgender Community regarding Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Lahore, Pakistan. A Descriptive Cross-sectional Survey was conducted in Nine Towns of Lahore. A sample size of 79 was calculated and data was collected in duration of 9 months. A self-administered survey-based questionnaire was developed using WHO and National AIDS control Programme guidelines followed and pilot tested. Data was collected after Informed consent.The mean age of Respondents was 29.56 ± 8.27 years with minimum and maximum age as 19 and 50. In this study the mean knowledge score of the transgender about HIV Transmission was 2.804±0.32, the mean score of attitudes of transgender were 3.25±0.19 and the mean practice score was 2.931±0.28.Majority of the transgender have insufficient knowledge, and bad attitude towards their health. They have unsafe sexual practice and Drug Interventions playing a significant role in HIV epidemic. Majority of them are uneducated, unemployed and found sex selling and dancing an easiest way of earning. Their knowledge about HIV screening, transmission, and antiretroviral therapy is low.

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