Knowledge and Attitudes of Healthcare Workers in Umraniye, Turkey Regarding Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever

Objective: The study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers in primary health care centres regarding Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Umraniye. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July-August 2008 in 18 primary healthcare centres in the Umraniye Provincial Health Directorate. The study sample was not selected and we approached 229 healthcare workers working in these primary health care centres; 144 participants (62.8%) completed the study. Study data were collected using a three-part questionnaire including 35 questions. The data were evaluated by descriptive statistics and t-tests. Results: Of the participants (72.2% women), 68.7% thought they had sufficient knowledge about the disease. 99.3% knew the aetiological factor of CCHF is a virus, and 92.4% specified that people who go picnicking and camping without protection are a risk group. The mean CCHF knowledge points was 17.48±3.37; the mean score of doctors (18.31±3.24) was significantly higher that that of nurses (17.01±3.36, p 0.05). 72.2% thought caring for a CCHF patient was a high risk task. Conclusion: The knowledge level of healthcare workers was found to be low compared to other studies performed in Turkey. The knowledge level of doctors was higher than that of nurses. In general, the answers of healthcare workers on the attitude questions were negative.