Abstract

The  study  investigated   the knowledge  and  practice of  standard  precautions ( SP)  among  health providers  in a  Lassa  fever endemic community  in    Edo state. A Descriptive  cross sectional  study  was carried  out  among  consenting  doctors,  Nurses,  Laboratory personnel  and  Orderlies   in  the  clinical   departments  of   a  rural tertiary  teaching  hospital  in  Edo  state. Data  was  collected  through  structured self- administered   questionnaires, and  focused  on  knowledge  and  practice  of  hand hygiene,  use  of  gloves  and  protective  gowns  and  sharp  management.  Data was analysed using SPSS version 16.  Results were presented as tables, means and standard deviations.  Associations were tested with chi-square, with p set as < 0.05. One hundred  and  ninety three  (93.2%  )  respondents   had  ever  heard  of  standard  precautions. Of this  number, 11 (5.7%) respondents had  poor knowledge  of  SP, 85(44.0%)  had  fair  knowledge,  and  97 (50.3%)  good  knowledge. Knowledge was significantly associated with profession (p =0.00), with doctors having the highest proportion with   good knowledge, and porters, the lowest.   Eight  (3.9%) respondents   were  found  to  have poor  compliance  to  standard  precaution,  103 (49.8%)  fair  and  96 (46.8%)  good compliance. Compliance  was  significantly  associated  with  profession (p = 0.00) , with nurses  as  the  profession  with  the  highest  proportion with  good practice.