Perceived Barriers towards Tuberculosis Risk Reduction Measures among Health Care Workers in Asokoro District Hospital Abuja FCT Nigeria

Globally, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of preventable death in adults and children.Significantly, several studies revealed that Hospital-acquired infection (HAI) of TB among Health Care Workers (HCWs) and patients occurs in high, middle and low-income countries.However, with the effective practice of TB risk reduction measures (TB Infection Prevention and Control Practices -TB-IPC) among HCWs, the risk of TB transmission should be prevented and controlled.The study aimed to identify perceived barriers against the practice of TB risk reduction measures among HCWs in Asokoro District Hospital (ADH) Abuja FCT Nigeria.A qualitative study design with a purposive sampling technique was adopted and eight informants were interviewed using Key Informant Interviews with unstructured interview guides the following findings were revealed: limited supply of surgical and N95 masks, lack of space, nonexistence of isolation ward and shortage of manpower, insufficient periodic training of HCWs on TB risk reduction measures, increased workload, need for TB policy and TB designated professional, ineffective triage, lack of incentives, feeling of discomfort using N95 mask and stigmatization.The findings pointed to the need for making budgetary allocations towards TB-IPC activities along with having a plan for constant periodic training of all HCWs on TB risk reduction measures.Moreover, healthcare facilities must have TB --IPC policy/guidelines with a designated professional who monitors and evaluates the practice of TB risk reduction measures among HCWs within the facility.