ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF HEALTH WORKERS TOWARDS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE IN HEALTH INSTITUTIONS IN BAYELSA STATE

Abstract This study assessed the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers towards emergency preparedness and response in health institutions in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The aims were to examine the level of knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers towards emergency preparedness response across primary, secondary, and tertiary health institutions in the state. A descriptive research design guided the study, targeting a population of 5,086 health workers, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, community health officers, medical laboratory scientists, etc. 735 healthcare workers were sampled using a multistage sampling technique and distributed across primary, secondary, and tertiary care facilities in the study area. Data collection was carried out using a structured questionnaire, while descriptive statistics and Chi-square were used for data analysis. Results of descriptive statistics showed that healthcare workers demonstrated a high level of knowledge of emergency preparedness and a positive attitude toward participating in public health emergency response (61.1% strongly agree and 37.3% agree), making 98.4%. The weighted mean scores for knowledge (3.4) and attitude (3.6) among health care workers also showed acceptable levels. The results of the chi-square test showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the level of knowledge of the workers across different healthcare delivery (ꭓ2 = 3.21; p = 0.524), but across the LGAs, the level of knowledge among health workers was significantly different (ꭓ2 = 190.38; p = 0.001). Also, there was a statistically significant difference in the attitude of the workers across healthcare delivery settings (ꭓ2 = 10.45; p = 0.033) and across LGAs; the attitude towards emergency preparedness among health workers was significantly different (ꭓ2 = 174.86; p < 0.001). It was concluded that health workers in Bayelsa state have good knowledge and a positive attitude toward health emergency preparedness and response.