Conference abstract
Six months evolution of knowledge and practice of health personnel regarding COVID-19 epidemiological surveillance in Douala-Cameroon
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2023:18(22).03
Oct 2023.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2023.18.22.2069
Archived on: 03 Oct 2023
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Epidemiological surveillance, health personnel, Cameroon, COVID-19
Oral presentation
Six months evolution of knowledge and practice of health personnel regarding COVID-19 epidemiological surveillance in Douala-Cameroon
Ketina Hirma Tchio-Nighie1,&, Paul Nyibio Ntsekendio1, Sonia Nafack Sonkeng1, Frank Forex Kiadjieu Dieumo1, Herve Tchokomeni1, Jerome Ateudjieu1
1M.A. SANTE, Yaounde, Cameroun
&Corresponding author
Introduction: the detection, notification, and investigation of cases are central aspects of epidemiological surveillance during epidemics to ensure proper and timely response to the epidemics. Health facilities are the first line for the implementation of epidemiological surveillance activities. This study was conducted to assess the evolution of the knowledge and practice of health personnel regarding epidemiological surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: this involved conducting two independent cross-sectional descriptive studies with a similar sampling process, one conducted in March 2021 and the other in September 2021 targeting all health personnel involved in epidemiological surveillance in health facilities of the Bangue, Bonassama, Cité des Palmiers, and Deido health districts in the Littoral region of Cameroon. Data were collected using a face-to-face questionnaire to assess their practices and knowledge regarding the detection, reporting, and investigation of COVID-19 cases.
Results: we reached 128 and 98 health personnel with 120 (93.75%) and 96 (98.00%) consenting for the first and second surveys respectively. The proportion of health personnel conducting case detection in registers decreased from 20.83% to 8.33% (p-value=0.004) but those conducting case detection during consultations did not change (p-value=0.136). The proportion of health personnel filling and sending detected cases reporting forms to health districts decreased but not significantly (p-value=0.178). The proportion of health personnel knowing that nasal swabs of suspected cases need to be collected and sent for PCR significantly decreased from 18.75% to 0.25% (p-value=0.000).
Conclusion: in 6 months, the knowledge of health personnel on the epidemiological surveillance of COVID-19 reduced for a number of tasks and improved for others. A supervision and monitoring process should be put in place to maintain the knowledge of health personnel during epidemics to ensure continuous case detection.
Six months evolution of knowledge and practice of health personnel regarding COVID-19 epidemiological surveillance in Douala-Cameroon
Ketina Hirma Tchio-Nighie1,&, Paul Nyibio Ntsekendio1, Sonia Nafack Sonkeng1, Frank Forex Kiadjieu Dieumo1, Herve Tchokomeni1, Jerome Ateudjieu1
1M.A. SANTE, Yaounde, Cameroun
&Corresponding author
Introduction: the detection, notification, and investigation of cases are central aspects of epidemiological surveillance during epidemics to ensure proper and timely response to the epidemics. Health facilities are the first line for the implementation of epidemiological surveillance activities. This study was conducted to assess the evolution of the knowledge and practice of health personnel regarding epidemiological surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: this involved conducting two independent cross-sectional descriptive studies with a similar sampling process, one conducted in March 2021 and the other in September 2021 targeting all health personnel involved in epidemiological surveillance in health facilities of the Bangue, Bonassama, Cité des Palmiers, and Deido health districts in the Littoral region of Cameroon. Data were collected using a face-to-face questionnaire to assess their practices and knowledge regarding the detection, reporting, and investigation of COVID-19 cases.
Results: we reached 128 and 98 health personnel with 120 (93.75%) and 96 (98.00%) consenting for the first and second surveys respectively. The proportion of health personnel conducting case detection in registers decreased from 20.83% to 8.33% (p-value=0.004) but those conducting case detection during consultations did not change (p-value=0.136). The proportion of health personnel filling and sending detected cases reporting forms to health districts decreased but not significantly (p-value=0.178). The proportion of health personnel knowing that nasal swabs of suspected cases need to be collected and sent for PCR significantly decreased from 18.75% to 0.25% (p-value=0.000).
Conclusion: in 6 months, the knowledge of health personnel on the epidemiological surveillance of COVID-19 reduced for a number of tasks and improved for others. A supervision and monitoring process should be put in place to maintain the knowledge of health personnel during epidemics to ensure continuous case detection.
