Determinants of knowledge on Lassa hemorrhagic fever among medical students at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Cotonou in Benin
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Abstract
Background: Since 2014, Benin has experienced five epidemics of
Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever (LHF), all of them have been fatal both in
the community and in hospitals, in a context of inadequate health care
safety and late diagnosis. The present research aimed to study the level
of knowledge of medical students at the Faculty of Health Sciences in
Cotonou on Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever.
Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study of medical
students, selected by stratified sampling. Data collected by self-
administered questionnaire were processed by Epi Info version 7.1.4.0
and analyzed in STATA/SE 11.2. The level of knowledge was assessed
by scores, at a threshold of 65%, considered as the limit between
good and bad knowledge. Multivariate logistic regression was used to
identify the determinants of the level of knowledge obtained.
Results: Out of 303 students surveyed, 25.38% (CI95%: 0.05; 0.46) had
good knowledge of LHF. The epidemiology of this zoonosis was known
by 30.94%, the diagnostic approach by 66.05%, the control measures
by 28.67% and 10% of them knew that there was an effective curative
treatment based on ribavirin if this is administered early. Training on
LHF as a source of information was the only factor associated with the
level of knowledge OR: 3.96 (CI95%: 1.41; 11.13).
Conclusion: Given the low level of knowledge of students about LHF,
there is a need for more emphasis on Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers in
medical training programmes tailored to the different grades.
Keywords: Determinants of knowledge, Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever,
Medical students, Benin