Knowledge and Practice of Disease Surveillance and Notification among Resident Doctors in a Tertiary Health Institution in Benin City: Implications for Health Systems Strenghthening

Abstract

Introduction: A nation's disease control effort is often as good as the surveillance and notification system put in place, which would help to generate the much needed data required for planning, monitoring and evaluation. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of disease surveillance and notification (DSN) among resident doctors in a tertiary health institution in Benin City, Edo state.

Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among all resident doctors in UBTH. Data was collected through the use of a structured, self administered questionnaire analysis was by computer.

Results: Two hundred and twenty four respondents (224) participated in the study. The mean age of respondents was 31.1 ± 4.6 years, while the mean years of practice was 4.5 ± 3.9 years. Barely above half of the respondents (51.8%) had good knowledge of disease notification. A high proportion (82.0%) of the senior registrars had good knowledge when compared with the other cadre of resident doctors. Knowledge of DSN was significantly associated with years of practice (p<0.001), designation (p<0.001) and department (p=0.009) of respondents. Majority of respondents (89.7%) had a poor practice of DSN .

Conclusion: The study has established that there is a gap between the knowledge and practice of disease notification, and this will impact negatively on health system strengthening. Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) should be included in the orientation programme for doctors coming into the residency programme, as they are usually the first contact with the patients.