Abstract
notifiable diseases constantly remain a public health challenge in many countries especially in low-and-middle-income-countries. Notifiable diseases which require mandatory reporting plays a significant role in planning for disease prevention and control within the public health system. Environmental health practitioners (EHPs) are regulatory authorities in the Department of Health responsible for reporting and investigation of notifiable diseases at local community level or primary public health response (District). It is in this regard that a need for this type of research to be done to determine whether EHPs comply with the regulations defining their scope of practice. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) on notifiable diseases amongst registered EHPs. Furthermore, the study sought to describe factors that might impact on KAP and identify gaps and opportunities in the notifiable surveillance system within the City of Johannesburg. Lastly, to highlight the role of EHPs in the notifiable surveillance system. A quantitative approach and descriptive cross-sectional study was used to assess and determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of notifiable diseases amongst the participants. Environmental health practitioners that are responsible for municipal health services (MHS) were randomly selected from the different regions in the City of Johannesburg. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire and it was piloted before commencing with the actual study. The study was granted scientific merit, ethical clearance from relevant authorities and other ethical consideration were observed throughout the study. Data was captured and analysed using the Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) programme. There were 135 HPCSA registered EHPs that took part in the study. Region D and G had the highest respondents with 22 EHPs completing the questionnaire.78.5% indicated that they had received informal training on notifiable diseases and its concepts. 64 EHPs that were able to define notifiable disease correctly, while 83.7% of the participants were able to identify non-notifiable disease. Majority (n=112;83%) of the participants believe environmental health role is critical for adequate notifiable disease surveillance. 89% believe that there is a need for specialized training on notifiable disease surveillance. 90 (66.7%) participants reported to have conducted an outbreak surveillance or investigation related to notifiable diseases. Yet, 97 (71.9%) have never reported a notifiable disease after conducting an inspection or attending a complaint. There was a relationship found between some of the socio-demographic variables such as age and qualification (r = -0.171; p = 0.047). There was a correlation between a few socio-demographic and knowledge. Lastly, attitude was influenced by the age of participants (r = .0.248; p = 0.004)...
M.A.