الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Toxoplasmosis is considered one of the neglected parasitic infections. It is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoal parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The only known definitive hosts for T.gondii are felids such as domestic cats. The prevalence of infection clearly depends on the quality of water resources and hygiene. Humans can become infected by any of several routes: eating undercooked meat of animals harboring tissue cysts, consuming food or water contaminated with cat feces or by contaminated environmental samples (such as contaminated soil or changing the litter box), blood transfusion or organ transplantation and transplacental from the mother to the fetus. Perinatal health professionals play a major role in the prevention of prenatal infections including Toxoplasma. Correct diagnosis by nurses and other health care workers allows the provision of early and appropriate treatment. The health care provider provides the client with education that helps in preventing and controlling the parasite infection. The present study aimed to assess the maternity nurses’ knowledge regarding toxoplasmosis. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was used to carry out this study and research questions were formulated. This study was conducted in four districts out of nine at Menoufia governorate. They were selected using simple random sampling technique. These were (Shebin El-Kom, Menoufe, Tala and El-shohadaa). Using multi- stage random sampling technique, eight villages were chosen. This study was conducted in maternal and child health care centers and health care units that are affiliated to the ministry ofHealth and Population. The participants included 88 maternity nurses. The nurses were recruited according to the following criteria: 1. Working in maternal and child health care centers and health care units. 2. Willingness to fill in the questionnaire. Throughout the course of the study, data were collected using an instrument (with two parts) which were developed by the researcher and validated by a jury of qualified experts. Then the reliability was calculated. Throughout the course of the present study, data were collected using the following instrument which is revised by qualified experts, then tested for validity and reliability. Instrument I: A structured interviewing questionnaire (Appendix I) A specialized designed structured interviewing questionnaire was used to collect the necessary data about the study nurses. This instrument included the following parts:- Part I: The Socio-demographic characteristics of the nursing staff. It includes: name, age, level of education, sex and work experience. Part II: The assessment of the nurses’ level of knowledge related to toxoplasmosis. The nurses’ level of knowledge was evaluated through different questions about the aspects of causes, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, the mode of transmission, treatment, complications and the prevention of toxoplasmosis in the pregnant women.The participants gave an oral consent prior to enrolment. Anonymity and confidentiality were assured and the participants were told that they could withdraw from the study at any time wherever they wanted to do so. The study limitation is related to the nurses were selected from only one specialty (maternity nurses) which may limit the generalizability of the study findings. The main study findings are as follows: The nurses’ ages ranged between 22-59 years with a mean of 39 years age. Regarding the nurses’ level of education, the highest percentage of them (63.6%) a secondary nursing school. Concerning the nurses’ years of experience, less than half (40.9%) of them are more than 21 years of experience. Regarding the knowledge of the meaning of toxoplasmosis, 86.3% of the study nurses knew the meaning of toxoplasmosis. The total nurses ’knowledge of toxoplasmosis revealed that less than half of the sample (40.90%) had poor knowledge of toxoplasmosis and less than half of the nurses (48.90%) had fair knowledge, whereas less than one fourth of the nurses (10.20%) had good knowledge of toxoplasmosis . Concerning the relationship between the nurses’ knowledge and their socio demographic characteristics, it was found that there was no statistically significant difference between the nurses’ age and level of knowledge. Also there was no statistically significant difference between the educational level and the level of knowledge. Regarding the nurses’ years of experience, there was a statistically significant difference between the nurses’ knowledgeand their years of experience with the majority of them (66.7%) having > 21 years of experience. Regarding the relationship between the level of education, years of experience and the nurses’ knowledge of the meaning of toxoplasmosis, it has been found that there was a highly statistically significant difference (p <0.001). Relationship between the years of experience and the nurses’ knowledge of the prevention of toxoplasmosis, there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the level of education and the level of knowledge. There was also a highly statistically significant difference between the years of experience and the level of knowledge (p<0.001). Regarding the correlation between the level of education, the years of experience and the nurses’ knowledge of toxoplasmosis, there was a positive significant correlation between the years of experience and the nurses’ knowledge of toxoplasmosis. According to the findings of the present study that assessed the maternity nurses’ knowledge regarding toxoplasmosis, it could be concluded that: Maternity nurses’ knowledge about toxoplasmosis revealed that where less than one fourth of the study participants had good knowledge about toxoplasmosis whereas less than half of the nurses had poor knowledge and less than half of the study participants had fair knowledge about toxoplasmosis. This answered the first research question stating ”what is the maternity nurses’ knowledge regarding toxoplasmosis?”Also, the current study showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the nurses’ age, educational level and the level of knowledge. Regarding the nurses’ years of experience, there was a statistically significant difference between the nurses’ knowledge about toxoplasmosis and their years of experience. This answered the second research question stating ”is there a relationship between the level of knowledge and the socio- demographic characteristics of the maternity nurses about toxoplasmosis?” According to the findings of the current study, the following recommendations are proposed: 5. Reinforcing the role of maternity nurses in providing counseling health education regarding the prevention of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. 6. A training program about toxoplasmosis for maternity nurses who work in the prenatal care units to increase their awareness of the early detection and prevention of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy is recommended. 7. A poster to be prepared about modes of transmission, symptoms of the toxoplasmosis and ways of prevention and posted in the antenatal clinics. 8. Dissemination of information about toxoplasmosis through seminars in health units and lectures in schools and colleges. Suggestions for future studies: Replication of this study to further settings using a larger sample can be conducted. |