Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of healthcare professionals at the start of an Ebola virus epidemic.

INTRODUCTION

In August 2018 the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared the 10th epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in a context of armed conflict and high population mobility. We aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare professionals related to this disease.

METHOD: Descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted by self-administered questionnaires among a random sample of 455 healthcare professionals of the city of Butembo, eastern DRC.

RESULTS

Healthcare professionals were mostly informed about this epidemic by the radio (72.2%). They were usually aware of the disease etiology (65.3%), contamination modes (78.2%), epidemiological surveillance objectives (89%), but they were much less familiar with its clinical outcome (37.9%) and with contact tracing (44.8%). Adequate attitudes and practices were observed in 44.3% of cases for hygiene and sanitation measures, 64.8% of cases for healthcare-associated infection prevention, and 39.7% of cases for the management of probable cases of EVD.

CONCLUSION

At the start of an Ebola outbreak, capacity building for epidemiological surveillance, hospital hygiene, and safety of care should be among the first urgent actions to implement.