Healthcare workers’ knowledge and strategies utilised for the prevention and management of neonatal sepsis in Nigeria

Background & aim: Sepsis is a major cause of neonatal mortality in the developing countries. The prevention and management of this infection require informed workforce and availability of necessary resources and equipment. Regarding this, the present study was conducted to investigate healthcare workers’ neonatal sepsis knowledge; prevention and management strategies in use for the control of the infection as well as barriers to prevention and management of this infection. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 healthcare workers selected through purposive sampling technique. To collect data a self-structured questionnaire, containing 42 items in three sections including socio-demographic data, knowledge regarding the causes, prevention, and management of neonatal sepsis and also barriers to the prevention of neonatal sepsis was used. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results show that the majority of respondents (79.4%) had a good level of knowledge regarding the causes, prevention, and management of neonatal sepsis. However, 20.3% and 0.3% of them had fair and poor levels of knowledge in this regard, respectively. The healthcare workers’ knowledge level was significantly associated with their profession (X2=10.30, df=4, p=0.036) and health institutions (X2=32.45, df=6, p=0.001). The most frequently utilised prevention strategies among the respondents were equipment sterilization, regular changing of bed sheets, and safe delivery practices. The most frequently adopted management strategies mainly included use of antibiotics and effective breastfeeding. Additionally, the barriers to the prevention and management of neonatal sepsis were identified as poor staffing, parents’ inability to pay for services, and lack of the necessary equipment and resources. Conclusion: As the findings indicated, it is essential to provide the healthcare workers with in-service education on neonatal sepsis. In addition, it is required to improve the availability of equipment and other resources for the prevention and management of neonatal sepsis.