Knowledge about the Kidney, Kidney Disease, Prevention and Therapeutic Options among Non-clinical Healthcare Providers at a Tertiary Facility in Southern Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: In Nigeria, the occurrence of kidney disease is on the rise and prevention is key. Disease awareness is low, yet knowledge of kidney in disease and health is an essential preventive measure. Information on the knowledge of the kidney, disease prevention and therapeutic options among non-clinical healthcare providers (HCPs) in hospital settings is scarce. This study is aimed to address the knowledge gap.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: conducted at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, South-South Nigeria, as part of the 2022 World Kidney Day celebrations held on March 10th 2022.

Methodology: 165 consenting non-clinical HCPs were consecutively recruited. A self-administered questionnaire comprising sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge-based questions was deployed. Total knowledge scores were categorized as poor knowledge, if <50%, fair knowledge, if 50-69% and good knowledge if ≥ 70-100%. Data were analyzed and logistic regression was used to determine predictors of good knowledge using SPSS version 25. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of 165 respondents recruited, 113(68.5%) were females with a mean age of 46.48 ± 14.01 years and 109(66.1%) had tertiary education. Overall, 74(44.8%) had poor, 43(26.1%) had fair and 48 (29.1%) had good knowledge about the kidney, disease prevention and therapeutic options. Tertiary education was the only significant independent predictor (aOR: 4.676; CI: 1.984; 11.023) of higher knowledge scores. No association was found between past medical/social history and knowledge of the kidney in health and disease.

Conclusion: Knowledge of the kidney, disease prevention and therapeutic options among non-clinical HCPs is poor and corroborates findings from existing literature among the general populace. There is a need for a change in educational approaches to include non-clinical HCPs during kidney health promotion activities, particularly those with lower levels of education. This includes targeting such subgroups within the hospitals and creating policies that enable risk reductive measures like permitting frequent routine screening.