Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of HIV Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) among Primary Health Care Workers in Aba South Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

Health-care workers are predisposed to post-exposure transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. Remarkable knowledge, attitude and practice of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are needful in mitigating the occupation-related transmission of HIV among health-care practitioners. Consequently, the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of HIV Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) among Healthcare Workers in Aba South Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria were investigated. Two hundred and two (202) health workers; including nurses, doctors, laboratory scientists and community health workers were sampled in a cross sectional survey study. Structured questionnaires were tested for internal consistency using the Cronbach’s Alpha, authenticated for face and content validity by institutional Body of Validators and administered on the respondents. Data were analysed, using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20 Software, with both descriptive and inferential statistics of Chi-square (X2) and One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). 86.6% of respondents had knowledge of HIV PEP, 95.5% and 4.5% had positive and negative attitudes to PEP respectively, 83.2% had poor practice, while 16.8% had good practice. Knowledge of HIV PEP did not co-relate significantly (P>0.05) with PEP practice, but co-related significantly (p˂0.05) with attitude towards HIV PEP. Knowledge of HIV PEP across workers differed significantly (P<0.05), attitudes towards HIV PEP across professions did not differ significantly (P>0.05), while practice of HIV PEP across workers differed significantly (P < 0.05). Strategic health education and advocacy on HIV post-exposure prophylaxis among health-care practitioners should be intensified to enhance timely post-exposure prophylactic interventions.