Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana.
Background According to the World Health Organization, snakebites, a common occupational hazard in developing countries accounts for an annual loss of between 81,000 and 138, 000 lives following 5 million bites of which 2.7 million results in envenomation. Since snakebite-associated morbidity and mo...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d85eceb1e7af46248841fddc83428540 2023-05-15T15:16:15+02:00 Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana. Evans Paul Kwame Ameade Isaac Bonney Evans Twumasi Boateng 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 https://doaj.org/article/d85eceb1e7af46248841fddc83428540 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 https://doaj.org/article/d85eceb1e7af46248841fddc83428540 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 15, Iss 1, p e0008756 (2021) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 2022-12-31T07:16:57Z Background According to the World Health Organization, snakebites, a common occupational hazard in developing countries accounts for an annual loss of between 81,000 and 138, 000 lives following 5 million bites of which 2.7 million results in envenomation. Since snakebite-associated morbidity and mortality are more prevalent in agricultural economies such as Ghana, health professionals should be optimally knowledgeable on how to manage the incidence of snakebites. Lack of knowledge or overestimation of a professional's knowledge can affect heath delivery especially for emergencies such as snakebites. The three rurally situated Tongu districts in South-Eastern Ghana with agriculture as the major source of livelihood for their inhabitants, are prone to snakebites. This study, therefore, brings up the need to assess whether the health professionals in these districts are well-equipped knowledge-wise to handle such emergencies and whether they can rightly estimate their knowledge with regards to snakebite management. Methodology/principal findings Data was collected using a de novo semi-structured questionnaire administered through google form whose link was sent via WhatsApp to 186 health workers made up of nurses, midwives, physician assistants, medical doctors, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. This data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25. Association between variables was determined using the appropriate tools where necessary, using a confidence interval of 95% and significance assumed when p ≤ 0.05. This study found male health workers significantly more knowledgeable about snakebite management (11.53±5.67 vs 9.64±5.46; p = 0.022) but it was the females who overestimated their knowledge level (27.9% vs 24.1%). The medical doctors exhibited the best knowledge on snakebite management with the registered general nurses least knowledgeable. Although most professionals overestimated their knowledge, the registered general nurses were the worst at that (53.7%). ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 15 1 e0008756 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Evans Paul Kwame Ameade Isaac Bonney Evans Twumasi Boateng Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background According to the World Health Organization, snakebites, a common occupational hazard in developing countries accounts for an annual loss of between 81,000 and 138, 000 lives following 5 million bites of which 2.7 million results in envenomation. Since snakebite-associated morbidity and mortality are more prevalent in agricultural economies such as Ghana, health professionals should be optimally knowledgeable on how to manage the incidence of snakebites. Lack of knowledge or overestimation of a professional's knowledge can affect heath delivery especially for emergencies such as snakebites. The three rurally situated Tongu districts in South-Eastern Ghana with agriculture as the major source of livelihood for their inhabitants, are prone to snakebites. This study, therefore, brings up the need to assess whether the health professionals in these districts are well-equipped knowledge-wise to handle such emergencies and whether they can rightly estimate their knowledge with regards to snakebite management. Methodology/principal findings Data was collected using a de novo semi-structured questionnaire administered through google form whose link was sent via WhatsApp to 186 health workers made up of nurses, midwives, physician assistants, medical doctors, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. This data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25. Association between variables was determined using the appropriate tools where necessary, using a confidence interval of 95% and significance assumed when p ≤ 0.05. This study found male health workers significantly more knowledgeable about snakebite management (11.53±5.67 vs 9.64±5.46; p = 0.022) but it was the females who overestimated their knowledge level (27.9% vs 24.1%). The medical doctors exhibited the best knowledge on snakebite management with the registered general nurses least knowledgeable. Although most professionals overestimated their knowledge, the registered general nurses were the worst at that (53.7%). ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Evans Paul Kwame Ameade Isaac Bonney Evans Twumasi Boateng |
author_facet |
Evans Paul Kwame Ameade Isaac Bonney Evans Twumasi Boateng |
author_sort |
Evans Paul Kwame Ameade |
title |
Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana. |
title_short |
Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana. |
title_full |
Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana. |
title_fullStr |
Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-A cross-sectional study in Ghana. |
title_sort |
health professionals' overestimation of knowledge on snakebite management, a threat to the survival of snakebite victims-a cross-sectional study in ghana. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 https://doaj.org/article/d85eceb1e7af46248841fddc83428540 |
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Arctic |
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Arctic |
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Arctic |
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Arctic |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 15, Iss 1, p e0008756 (2021) |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 https://doaj.org/article/d85eceb1e7af46248841fddc83428540 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008756 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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