Mallhi Tauqeer Hussain, Khan Yusra Habib, Tanveer Nida, Bukhsh Allah, Khan Amer Hayat, Aftab Raja Ahsan, Khan Omaid Hayat, Khan Tahir Mehmood
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Institute of Pharmacy, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan.
PeerJ. 2018 Aug 30;6:e5481. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5481. eCollection 2018.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declares Chikungunya (CHIK) infection to be endemic in South Asia. Despite its first outbreak in Pakistan, no documented evidence exists which reveals the knowledge or awareness of healthcare students and workers (HCSW) regarding CHIK, its spread, symptoms, treatment and prevention. Since CHIK is an emergent infection in Pakistan, poor disease knowledge may result in a significant delay in diagnosis and treatment. The current study was aimed to evaluate the awareness and knowledge of CHIK among HCSW.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCSW from teaching institutes and hospitals in seven provinces of Pakistan. We collected information on socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and their knowledge by using a 30-item questionnaire. The cumulative knowledge score (CKS) was calculated by correct answers with maximum score of 22. The relationship between demographics and knowledge score was evaluated by using appropriate statistical methods.
There were 563 respondents; mean age 25.2 ± 5.9 years with female preponderance (62.5%). Of these, 319 (56.7%) were aware of CHIK infection before administering the survey. The average knowledge score was 12.8 ± 4.1 (% knowledge score: 58.2%). Only 31% respondents had good disease knowledge while others had fair (36.4%) and poor (32.6%) knowledge. Out of five knowledge domains, domain III (vector, disease spread and transmission) and V (prevention and treatment) scored lowest among all i.e. percent score 44.5% and 54.1%, respectively. We found that socio-demographic characteristics had no influence on knowledge score of the study participants.
Approximately one-half of participants were not aware of CHIK infection and those who were aware had insufficient disease knowledge. Findings of the current study underscore the dire need of educational interventions not only for health care workers but also for students, irrespective to the discipline of study.
世界卫生组织（WHO）宣布基孔肯雅热（CHIK）感染在南亚呈地方性流行。尽管基孔肯雅热首次在巴基斯坦爆发，但尚无文献证据表明医护专业学生和工作人员（HCSW）对基孔肯雅热及其传播、症状、治疗和预防有所了解。由于基孔肯雅热在巴基斯坦是一种新出现的感染性疾病，疾病知识匮乏可能导致诊断和治疗的显著延迟。本研究旨在评估医护专业学生和工作人员对基孔肯雅热的知晓情况和知识水平。
在巴基斯坦七个省份的教学机构和医院的医护专业学生和工作人员中开展了一项横断面研究。我们通过一份包含30个条目的问卷收集了参与者的社会人口学特征及其知识信息。累积知识得分（CKS）通过正确答案计算得出，满分22分。使用适当的统计方法评估人口统计学特征与知识得分之间的关系。
共有563名受访者；平均年龄25.2±5.9岁，女性占多数（62.5%）。其中，319人（56.7%）在进行调查前知晓基孔肯雅热感染。平均知识得分为12.8±4.1（知识得分百分比：58.2%）。只有31%的受访者对疾病有良好的了解，而其他人的了解程度一般（36.4%）或较差（32.6%）。在五个知识领域中，领域III（病媒、疾病传播和传染途径）和领域V（预防和治疗）得分最低，分别为44.5%和54.1%。我们发现社会人口学特征对研究参与者的知识得分没有影响。
约一半的参与者不知道基孔肯雅热感染，而那些知晓的人对疾病的了解也不足。本研究结果强调，不仅对医护人员，而且对学生，无论其学科如何，都迫切需要进行教育干预。
