Knowledge, Perception and Opinion of Health Workers on Bone Marrow Transplantation in Nigeria

Background: Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) or haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a procedure used to cure haematopoietic malignancies, poorly functioning haematopoietic or immune system and genetic diseases (eg. sickle cell anaemia). High cost to the patient, poor infrastructure and poor understanding of the procedure by the patients and health care providers limit its acceptance. This study was carried out to determine the opinion, level of knowledge, preparedness and perception of health care personnel on BMT as a baseline for the establishment of a national or regional bone marrow transplant centres in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a multicentre cross-sectional study amongst health care workers in six tertiary health care centres in Nigeria- Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Zaria, Maiduguri, and Jos. After obtaining each institution's ethics and research committee approval, a pretested structured questionnaire was administered to respondents aged 18 years and above. Results: A total of 466 participants including 142 doctors, 123 nurses, 26 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, 124 laboratory scientists and laboratory technicians and 51 other health care workers such as dieticians, social workers and radiographers participated in the study. About 94.6% (441 of 466) were aware of BMT. The centre with the highest level of awareness was Abuja (97.6%). The mean knowledge score of all participants was 38.4 ± 2.06%. Conclusion: Continuous medical education on new innovations and advances in the health sector particularly in BMT is desirable.