Knowledge, attitude and practices on notifiable diseases among environmental health practitioners in the City of Johannesburg: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Notifiable diseases, a public health challenge in low-and middle-income countries, require mandatory reporting and play a significant role in disease prevention and control. Environmental health practitioners are responsible for reporting and investigating notifiable diseases. Aim: The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices on notifiable diseases among environmental health practitioners within a metropolitan municipality. Setting: The study was conducted in the seven regions of the City of Johannesburg in Gauteng province, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study was used. One hundred and thirty-five participants were randomly sampled. The data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using version 27 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. All ethical considerations such as permissions, ethical clearance and informed consent were observed throughout the study. Results: The majority of participants (n = 64; 47.4%) were aged between 30 and 39 years and had a BTech/Honours degree (n = 106; 78.5%). A total of 106 (78.5%) participants had received formal training, while 83.7% (n = 113) of the participants understood notifiable diseases. Years of experience had a significant negative correlation with the ‘need to report notifiable diseases’ (r =-0.193; p = 0.025). Conclusion: The results could facilitate a knowledge improvement programme that includes a structured training programme and standard operating procedures. The study results cannot be generalised to the whole country; hence, the recommendation of a national survey on similar phenomena should be considered. Contribution: The study findings could assist in improving the role of environmental health services in reporting and investigating notifiable diseases.