Knowledge and Practice of Ebola Prevention Among Healthcare Workers in Yei River County – South Sudan

The third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG3) of the United Nations aims to ensure the healthy and well-being of people of all ages. SDG3 is further divided into sub-goals addressing different health challenges, aiming to reduce their global impact by 2030. To combat diseases, SDG3 has sub-goals devoted to communicable diseases. Healthcare professionals are considered a vulnerable group due to the contagious nature of Ebola, which carries a high risk of mortality. This study, aligned with SDG3, aims to assess healthcare workers' comprehension of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Yei River County, South Sudan. Since healthcare staff play a vital role in minimizing the risk of transmission in several ways, evaluating their attitude is of utmost importance. Consequently, an empirical study has been conducted. A cross-sectional study of 133 healthcare professionals working in health centers of Yei River County was conducted using a combination of purposive and simple random sampling methods. Data was collected via questionnaires that included demographic information, as well as knowledge, attitude, and practice questions pertaining to EVD. SPSS version 21.0 was utilized for data analysis. The study demonstrates that 93% of respondents possess knowledge regarding EVD, with health workers (43.3%) and radio (56.7%) being the primary sources of information. Regarding symptoms of EVD, 50% of respondents indicated bleeding, while 53% recognized bodily contact with an infected person as a potential transmission route. Notably, there is a significant dearth of positive attitudes among health workers responsible for handling EVD patients. There was a subpar level of compliance with EVD prevention measures amongst health workers, with just 43.3% washing their hands regularly, 46.7% washing them once each day, a mere 30% utilizing hand washing as a preventive measure, and 40% of them using PPE for such purposes. A non-parametric analysis employing the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was performed to investigate the potential link between the educational level of healthcare workers and their Ebola disease knowledge, attitude, and practice. The findings demonstrate a significant association between the level of education of healthcare workers and their knowledge, attitude, and practice of Ebola disease since the t-test statistic is -4.80, which is less than the p-value of 0.001. As health worker knowledge regarding Ebola virus disease (EVD) is currently at a moderate level, it is recommended that training and intervention programs be implemented for healthcare workers. Particular emphasis should be placed on transmission routes and signs of EVD in order to improve participants' knowledge and attitudes towards the disease.