Assessing healthcare workers' knowledge and confidence in the diagnosis, management and prevention of Monkeypox.

BACKGROUND

Monkeypox (Mpox), is a disease of global public health concern, as it does not affect only countries in western and central Africa.

AIM

To assess Burundi healthcare workers (HCWs)s' level of knowledge and confidence in the diagnosis and management of Mpox.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study an online survey designed mainly from the World Health Organization course distributed among Burundi HCWs from June-July 2023. The questionnaire comprises 8 socioprofessional-related questions, 22 questions about Mpox disease knowledge, and 3 questions to assess confidence in Mpox diagnosis and management. The data were analyzed SPSS software version 25.0. A value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.

RESULTS

The study sample comprised 471 HCWs who were mainly medical doctors (63.9%) and nurses (30.1%). None of the 22 questions concerning Mpox knowledge had at least 50% correct responses. A very low number of HCWs (17.4%) knew that Mpox has a vaccine. The confidence level to diagnose (21.20%), treat (18.00%) or prevent (23.30%) Mpox was low among HCWs. The confidence level in the diagnosis of Mpox was associated with the HCWs' age ( value = 0.009), sex ( value < 0.001), work experience ( value = 0.002), and residence ( value < 0.001). The confidence level to treat Mpox was significantly associated with the HCWs' age ( value = 0.050), sex ( value < 0.001), education ( value = 0.033) and occupation ( value = 0.005). The confidence level to prevent Mpox was associated with the HCWs' education ( value < 0.001), work experience ( value = 0.002), residence ( value < 0.001) and type of work institution ( value = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that HCWs have the lowest level of knowledge regarding Mpox and a lack of confidence in the ability to diagnose, treat or prevent it. There is an urgent need to organize continuing medical education programs on Mpox epidemiology and preparedness for Burundi HCWs. We encourage future researchers to assess potential hesitancy toward Mpox vaccination and its associated factors.