Knowledge and practices of toxoplasmosis among healthcare workers at two large referral hospitals in Zambia: Implications on the One Health Approach

Victor Daka; Moses Mukosha; Scott K Matafwali; Steward Mudenda; Andrew M Phiri

doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0002235

Knowledge and practices of toxoplasmosis among healthcare workers at two large referral hospitals in Zambia: Implications on the One Health Approach

PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Aug 15;3(8):e0002235. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002235. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Victor Daka^{1

2

3}, Moses Mukosha⁴, Scott K Matafwali⁵, Steward Mudenda⁴, Andrew M Phiri^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
² Public Health Department, School of Medicine, Copperbelt University, Ndola, Zambia.
³ Africa Center for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁵ Clinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene &Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Introduction: Assessing the knowledge and practices of healthcare workers regarding Toxoplasma gondii infection, diagnosis, treatment, and control is crucial for developing an effective management strategy.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 175 healthcare workers at Ndola Teaching Hospital and Namwala District Hospital in Zambia from September 2021 to April 2022.

Results: More than half (57.1%) of the respondents were males. Overall, 46(26.3%) and 68 (38.9%) respondents reported good knowledge and practices, respectively. Respondents with a higher number of years of experience (AOR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.77-0.97), who were nurses than clinicians (AOR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.007-0.41) and working at Ndola teaching hospital than Namwala hospital (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI:0.13-0.89) were less likely to have good knowledge. Respondents with a degree qualification than a diploma (AOR = 3.04, 95% CI: 1.09-8.47) were more likely to have good knowledge. Respondents from Ndola teaching hospital than Namwala hospital (AOR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.17-0.92) were less likely to have good practices.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that healthcare workers had low levels of knowledge and poor practices, which could have negative implications for the management of toxoplasmosis. To improve their knowledge and practices, continuous medical education in Toxoplasma related aspects is recommended for in-service healthcare workers.

Copyright: © 2023 Daka et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Grants and funding

This study is a part of the PhD research work for VD. The field work and tuition fees for VD were funded by the African Centre for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals (ACEIDHA). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. None of the authors received any salary during the conduct of this research.