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. 2025 Jan 6;13(1):99884.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i1.99884.

Assessing healthcare workers' knowledge and confidence in the diagnosis, management and prevention of Monkeypox

Epipode Ntawuyamara  1   2 , Thierry Ingabire  3 , Innocent Yandemye  4 , Polycarpe Ndayikeza  5   6 , Bina Bhandari  1 , Yan-Hua Liang  7
Affiliations

Assessing healthcare workers' knowledge and confidence in the diagnosis, management and prevention of Monkeypox

Epipode Ntawuyamara et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Background: Monkeypox (Mpox), is a disease of global public health concern, as it does not affect only countries in western and central Africa.

Aim: To assess Burundi healthcare workers (HCWs)s' level of knowledge and confidence in the diagnosis and management of Mpox.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study via an online survey designed mainly from the World Health Organization course distributed among Burundi HCWs from June-July 2023. The questionnaire comprises 8 socioprofessional-related questions, 22 questions about Mpox disease knowledge, and 3 questions to assess confidence in Mpox diagnosis and management. The data were analyzed via SPSS software version 25.0. A P value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.

Results: The study sample comprised 471 HCWs who were mainly medical doctors (63.9%) and nurses (30.1%). None of the 22 questions concerning Mpox knowledge had at least 50% correct responses. A very low number of HCWs (17.4%) knew that Mpox has a vaccine. The confidence level to diagnose (21.20%), treat (18.00%) or prevent (23.30%) Mpox was low among HCWs. The confidence level in the diagnosis of Mpox was associated with the HCWs' age (P value = 0.009), sex (P value < 0.001), work experience (P value = 0.002), and residence (P value < 0.001). The confidence level to treat Mpox was significantly associated with the HCWs' age (P value = 0.050), sex (P value < 0.001), education (P value = 0.033) and occupation (P value = 0.005). The confidence level to prevent Mpox was associated with the HCWs' education (P value < 0.001), work experience (P value = 0.002), residence (P value < 0.001) and type of work institution (P value = 0.003).

Conclusion: This study revealed that HCWs have the lowest level of knowledge regarding Mpox and a lack of confidence in the ability to diagnose, treat or prevent it. There is an urgent need to organize continuing medical education programs on Mpox epidemiology and preparedness for Burundi HCWs. We encourage future researchers to assess potential hesitancy toward Mpox vaccination and its associated factors.

Keywords: Confidence; Epidemic; Healthcare workers; Knowledge; Monkeypox; Preparedness; Public health emergency of international concern.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Knowledge level of Burundi healthcare workers about mpox per item. A: Knowledge on mpox history and transmission; B: Knowledge on mpox diagnosis, treatment and vaccination.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Confidence level to diagnose, treat or prevent mpox among Burundi healthcare workers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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