Assessment of knowledge and practice of oxygen therapy among doctors and nurses: A survey from Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: Oxygen is among the commonly used drugs in acute emergencies. Prescription and administration of oxygen in emergencies by healthcare providers are reported to be inappropriate in most settings. There is a huge gap in the knowledge of health-care providers on various aspects of oxygen therapy. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of oxygen therapy among doctors and nurses working in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria and see how it compares with standard practice with a view to improving the quality care in this regard. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was employed. The data were collected electronically using the Monkey survey application from consenting doctors and nurses through a self-administered validated and structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included the professional characteristics, educational background, awareness and use of oxygen therapy guidelines, knowledge of oxygen, indication for acute oxygen, and oxygen delivery practices. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and association between variables explored with Chi-square test at P < 0.05. Results: One hundred and seventy-six health workers participated in the study with mean age of 37.30 ± 8.88 years. One hundred and twelve (63.60%) of the respondents were doctors while 64 (36.40%) of the respondents were nurses. Sixty-eight (60.70%) of the doctors and 19 (29.70%) of nurses had a high level of knowledge of oxygen therapy (p<0.001). About half of both doctors and nurses had a poor practice level of oxygen therapy. The duration of oxygen administration (how long ago the respondent was involved in oxygen use and previous to formal training on oxygen therapy) were significantly associated with level of knowledge of oxygen therapy (p<0.001, 0.017). Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that the level of knowledge was high in about half of the respondents and about the same percentage had poor oxygen therapy practice in hospitals in Ondo State, South West Nigeria. Therefore, regular training of healthcare workers should be encouraged to update their knowledge and practice of oxygen therapy.