Awareness and Use of Pre-Exposure and Post Exposure Prophylaxes as Occupational Health and Safety Measure for Clinical Students at Copperbelt University Medical School in Zambia

Authors

  • Liketso Leteka Copperbelt University, Michael Chilufya Sata School of Medicine, Public Health Unit,P.O Box 71191. Ndola, Zambia
  • David Mulenga Copperbelt University, Michael Chilufya Sata School of Medicine, Public Health Unit,P.O Box 71191. Ndola, Zambia
  • Bright Mukanga Copperbelt University, Michael Chilufya Sata School of Medicine, Public Health Unit,P.O Box 71191. Ndola, Zambia
  • Herbert Tato Nyirenda Copperbelt University, Michael Chilufya Sata School of Medicine, Public Health Unit,P.O Box 71191. Ndola, Zambia
  • Victor Daka Copperbelt University, Michael Chilufya Sata School of Medicine, Public Health Unit,P.O Box 71191. Ndola, Zambia

Keywords:

Copperbelt University, Pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis, Clinical students, preventive strategies, Zambia

Abstract

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP.) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are additional preventative methods incorporated in a comprehensive HIV/AIDS preventative package in the Zambian health system. Despite PrEP and PEP being offered as a choice to people who are at sustained risk of HIV infection, most clinical students in sub-Saharan African medical schools continue to be disproportionately at risk of acquiring HIV during their clinical training. To avert this occupational health risk among clinical students, it is critical that awareness, access and use of these HIV preventive strategies, in Zambia and other sub-Saharan African countries be enhanced. This study therefore, examined awareness and use of PrEP and PEP among Copperbelt University Medical students in Zambia. A cross sectional survey was conducted among 203 medical students in their clinical years of study. The respondents were selected using stratified simple random sampling at two tertiary level public hospitals in the Copperbelt province of Zambia. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Study found that 21.2% of the clinical students were exposed to HIV during their hospital practice and majority of these students were 3rd year students (24.5%), followed by the 2nd year students (23.5%) and the least proportion was 1styears (17.4%). Among those who were exposed, 76.7% reported the exposure while 23.3% did not report the exposure. The second years (20.6%) are shown to have reported most of the exposures compared to all the other classes. The majority of students (83.3%) were knowledgeable about PrEP and PEP. Sex (p value= 0.046) was the only factor that was significantly associated with knowledge of PrEP and PEP. There was no factor significantly association with utilization of PrEP and PEP, even participants’ knowledge of PrEP and PEP did not influence utilization of PrEP and PEP services (p value=0.741). Therefore, reducing barriers to access and use of PrEP and PEP among clinical students is an important intervention in the process of training medical personnel in Zambia and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

References

. S. H. Lim et al., “Willingness to use pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men in Malaysia: Findings from an online survey,” PLoS One, vol. 12, no. 9, Sep. 2017, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182838.

. A. I. Ajayi, K. O. Ismail, O. V. Adeniyi, and W. Akpan, “Awareness and use of pre-exposure and postexposure prophylaxes among Nigerian university students: Findings from a cross-sectional survey,” Med. (United States), vol. 97, no. 36, Sep. 2018, doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000012226.

. R. Singh, M. Kumar, C. Rawat, and V. Rawat, “Awareness and practice of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) of HIV among health-care workers in tertiary care hospital of Haldwani, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India,” Int. J. Med. Sci. Public Heal., vol. 4, no. 7, p. 977, 2015, doi: 10.5455/ijmsph.2015.12022015207.

. S. Mohsin, S. Nayak, and V. Mandaviya, “Medical students’ knowledge and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS,” Natl. J. Community Med., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 24–26, 2010.

. MOH-Malaysia, “The National Strategic Plan for Ending AIDS 2016-2030. HIV/STI Section of Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2015) | HIV AIDS Asia Pacific Research Statistical Data Information Resources - AIDS Data Hub,” 2015. https://aidsdatahub.org/national-strategic-plan-ending-aids-2016-2030-hivsti-section-ministry-health-malaysia-2015 (accessed Jul. 08, 2020).

. NAC, “ZAMBIA NATIONAL HIV PREVENTION COALITION ROADMAP RESULTS OF THE STOCKTAKING EXERCISE,” 2017.

. UNAIDS, “Prevention Gap,” 2016. https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2016-prevention-gap-report_en.pdf (accessed Jul. 08, 2020).

. R. M. Grant et al., “Preexposure chemoprophylaxis for HIV prevention in men who have sex with men,” N. Engl. J. Med., vol. 363, no. 27, pp. 2587–2599, Dec. 2010, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1011205.

. G. R. Kruse et al., “Burnout and use of HIV services among health care workers in Lusaka District, Zambia: A cross-sectional study,” Hum. Resour. Health, vol. 7, Jul. 2009, doi: 10.1186/1478-4491-7-55.

. M. M. Lungu, “KNOWLEDGE AND UTILIZATION OF HIV POST EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS AMONG STUDENT NURSES AT NDOLA SCHOOL OF NURSING, NDOLA ZAMBIA MONICA MAPENZI LUNGU,” Jul. 2013. Accessed: Jul. 08, 2020. [Online]. Available: http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/2538.

. A. R. K. Adesunkanmi, T. A. Badmus, and J. O. D. Ogunlusi, “Accidental injuries and cutaneous contaminations during general surgical operations in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital,” East Afr. Med. J., vol. 80, no. 5, pp. 227–234, May 2003, doi: 10.4314/eamj.v80i5.8691.

. T. L. Katzenstein et al., “Failure to develop HIV infection after receipt of HIV-contaminated blood and postexposure prophylaxis,” Ann. Intern. Med., vol. 133, no. 1, pp. 31–34, Jul. 2000, doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-133-1-200007040-00005.

. S. Mukherjee, A. Bhattacharyya, B. SharmaSarkar, D. N. Goswami, S. Ghosh, and A. Samanta, “Knowledge and practice of standard precautions and awareness regarding post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV among Interns of a medical college in West Bengal, India,” Oman Med. J., vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 141–145, 2013, doi: 10.5001/omj.2013.38.

. C. N. Umeh, J. E. Essien, E. N. Ezedinachi, and M. W. Ross, “Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about HIV/AIDS-related issues, and the sources of knowledge among health care professionals in southern Nigeria,” J. R. Soc. Promot. Health, vol. 128, no. 5, pp. 233–239, Sep. 2008, doi: 10.1177/1466424008092793.

. B. Tebeje and C. Hailu, “Assessment of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis use among health workers of governmental health institutions in Jimma Zone, Oromiya Region, Southwest Ethiopia,” Ethiop. J. Health Sci., vol. 20, no. 1, Sep. 2011, doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v20i1.69429.

. J. K. Anarfi and P. Antwi, “Street youth in Accra city: sexual networking in a high-risk environment and its implications for the spread of HIV/AIDS,” Health Transition Review, vol. 5. National Center for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), The Australian National University, pp. 131–152, 1995, doi: 10.2307/40652158.

. C. Mcconnell and M. Mupuwaliywa, “Knowledge for Development Keeping Girls in School: Situation Analysis for Zambia Why Keep Girls in School?,” 2015.

. I. Maeri et al., “‘How can I tell?’ Consequences of HIV status disclosure among couples in eastern African communities in the context of an ongoing HIV ‘test-and-treat’ trial,” AIDS Care - Psychol. Socio-Medical Asp. AIDS/HIV, vol. 28, no. Suppl 3, pp. 59–66, Jun. 2016, doi: 10.1080/09540121.2016.1168917.

Downloads

Published

2020-08-03

How to Cite

Leteka, L. ., Mulenga, D. ., Mukanga, B. ., Nyirenda, H. T. ., & Daka, V. . (2020). Awareness and Use of Pre-Exposure and Post Exposure Prophylaxes as Occupational Health and Safety Measure for Clinical Students at Copperbelt University Medical School in Zambia. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR), 53(1), 226–236. Retrieved from https://www.gssrr.org/index.php/JournalOfBasicAndApplied/article/view/10915

Issue

Vol. 53 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who submit papers with this journal agree to the following terms.