Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov 12;8(4):232-241.
doi: 10.2478/jccm-2022-0024. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Knowledge, Practice and Attitudes to the Management of Sepsis in Jamaica

Karen Roye-Green  1 , Rohan Willis  2 , Sharon R Priestley  3 , Ivan Vickers  1
Affiliations

Knowledge, Practice and Attitudes to the Management of Sepsis in Jamaica

Karen Roye-Green et al. J Crit Care Med (Targu Mures). .

Abstract

Introduction: Sepsis is a life-threatening dysfunction resulting from the dysregulated host response to infection. The mortality of sepsis in Jamaica remains high amid the proven efficacy of the Surviving Sepsis Guidelines implementation in some countries.

Aim of study: To evaluate the inter-relationship of healthcare workers' attitude towards, knowledge of and practice of sepsis management in Jamaica.

Material and methods: A survey was done using an anonymous self-administered validated questionnaire to healthcare workers across Jamaica. Questions on knowledge, attitude, and practice of sepsis within private and public hospitals were answered.

Results: A total of 616 healthcare workers were eligible for analysis. Most respondents agree that healthcare workers need more training on sepsis (93.7%) and that formal sepsis training modules should be implemented at their hospitals or practice (93.2%). Several signs of sepsis as outlined by qSOFA were correctly identified as such by most respondents (60.6% to 76.4%), with the exception of a low PaCO2 (34.9%), which was correctly identified by a minority of respondents. While a majority (69.3%) were able to correctly define sepsis, only 8.8% of respondents knew the annual sepsis mortality rate. Postgraduate training (p<0.01) and formal sepsis training (p<0.05) were both predictive of high correct knowledge and practice scores. Specialization in Anaesthesia/ Critical Care Medicine (p<0.05) or Emergency Medicine (p<0.05) was predictive of high knowledge scores and Internal Medicine predictive of high practice scores (p<0.01).

Conclusions: This study revealed that education for healthcare workers on sepsis and the implementation of SSC is needed in Jamaica.

Keywords: attitudes; critical care survey; knowledge; practice; sepsis bundles.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest None to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Frequency of respondents indicating correct and incorrect knowledge responses (Q 10-13). Correct responses (green) are indicated first followed by incorect responses (red) for each question.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Frequency of respondents indicating correct and incorrect practice responses (Q 18-24). Correct responses (green) are indicated first followed by incorect responses (red) for each question.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rudd KE, Johnson SC, Agesa KM. Global, regional, and national sepsis incidence and mortality, 1990-2017: analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet. 2020;395(10219):200–11. et al. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liu V, Escobar GJ, Greene JD. Hospital deaths in patients with sepsis from 2 independent cohorts. JAMA. 2014;312(1):90–2. et al. - PubMed
    1. Torio CM, Moore BJ. National Inpatient Hospital Costs: The Most Expensive Conditions by Payer, 2013: Statistical Brief #204. In: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Briefs [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2006 Feb. 2016. May. - PubMed
    1. Dellinger RP, Levy MM, Carlet JM. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock: 2008. Crit Care Med. 2008;36(1):296-327. et al. - PubMed
    1. Levy MM, Fink MP, Marshall JC. 2001 SCCM/ESICM/ACCP/ ATS/SIS International Sepsis Definitions Conference. Crit Care Med. 2003;31(4):1250–56. et al. - PubMed