Burden of nosocomial tuberculosis and effect of educational intervention on infection prevention and control among healthcare workers in Kaduna state northwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top ten leading causes of death from a single pathogen, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) affecting the lungs and other parts of the body, pulmonary TB and extrapulmonary TB. TB is the increased rate of transmission among healthcare workers (HCWs), especially in developing nations, due to resource constrained. The study assessed the burden of nosocomial TB and the effect of educational intervention on infection prevention and control among HCWs in Kaduna State. Material and methods: Records of health facilities offering TB services were reviewed and cross-sectional survey designs were used to obtain pre- and post-intervention data from health workers for this study. All healthcare personnel providing TB care services in healthcare facilities across Kaduna State were included in the study population. A multi-stage purposive sampling procedure was adopted for the selection of the healthcare facilities. The educational intervention using World Health Organization guidelines on TBIC was provided among HCWs. The HCW’s knowledge of TBIC was assessed post-intervention. However, post-intervention was also conducted after 6 months to determine the effect of the training intervention. Data were collected using a checklist to determine the case fatality and incidence rate of TB. An adopted questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge on TBIC among HCWS during pre- and post-intervention. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to analyze the data (x = 0.05). Results: The incidence and case fatality due to TB among HCWs in Kaduna State was 0.158% and 30%, respectively. The effect of the educational intervention was statistically significant at (0.001). Despite the low incidence of TB among HCWs, the case fatality is high among this cohort. Conclusion: However, educational intervention in TB infection prevention and control is effective in reducing nosocomial TB among HCWs. A prospective cohort study is recommended to document the actual TB burden among HCWs in the state.