Table 2. Health-care workers’ characteristics, training and skill assessment performance in 24 health facilities, Southern Province, Zambia, 2013.
| Characteristic | Physician, clinical officer (n = 12) | Nurse (n = 26) | EHT (n = 8) | Othera (n = 7) | All health workers (n = 53) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age in years (SE) | 35.8 (2.5) | 32.5 (1.4) | 32.4 (2.4) | 38.0 (3.8) | 33.9 (1.1) |
| Male, no. (%) | 9 (75.0) | 11 (42.3) | 6 (75.0) | 4 (57.1) | 30 (56.6) |
| Mean years of professional experience (SE) | 5.7 (2.2) | 6.1 (1.3) | 8.3 (2.5) | 8.0 (2.2) | 6.6 (0.9) |
| Mean years of working at this facility (SE) | 5.1 (1.7) | 3.7 (0.8) | 5.8 (2.5) | 7.9 (2.4) | 4.9 (0.7) |
| Working at facility at least 3 years, no. (%) | 6 (50.0) | 11 (42.3) | 6 (75.0) | 4 (57.1) | 27 (50.9) |
| Training receivedb | |||||
| Malaria case management,c no. (%) | 4 (33.3) | 3 (11.5) | 3 (37.5) | 1 (14.3) | 11 (20.8) |
| IMCI, no (%) | 7 (58.3) | 7 (26.9) | 1 (12.5) | 1 (14.3) | 16 (30.2) |
| iCCM, no. (%) | 3 (25.0) | 1 (3.8) | 1 (12.5) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (9.4) |
| At least one mCCM, IMCI or iCCM, no. (%) | 10 (83.3) | 11 (42.3) | 5 (62.5) | 1 (14.3) | 27 (50.9) |
| Access to guidelines in facility | |||||
| Integrated management of childhood illness guidelines, no. (%) | 3 (25.0) | 12 (46.2) | 2 (25.0) | 0 (0.0) | 17 (32.1) |
| Integrated community case management guidelines, no. (%) | 4 (33.3) | 8 (30.8) | 1 (12.5) | 0 (0.0) | 13 (24.5) |
| Malaria treatment guidelines, no. (%) | 2 (16.7) | 9 (34.6) | 1 (12.5) | 1 (14.3) | 13 (24.5) |
| Skills assessment performance | |||||
| IMCI danger signs and symptomsd | |||||
| At least three of seven items, no. (%) | 11 (91.7) | 26 (100.0) | 7 (87.5) | 6 (85.7) | 50 (94.3) |
| All seven items, no. (%) | 3 (25.0) | 4 (15.4) | 1 (12.5) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (15.1) |
| Correct disease classificatione | |||||
| At least three of seven items, no. (%) | 12 (100.0) | 23 (88.5) | 7 (87.5) | 4 (57.1) | 46 (86.8) |
| All seven items, no. (%) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.(0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Correct treatmentf | |||||
| At least three of seven items, no. (%) | 2 (16.7) | 7 (26.9) | 1 (12.5) | 0 (0.0) | 10 (18.9) |
| All seven items, no. (%) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0. (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
EHT: environmental health technician; iCCM: integrated community case management; IMCI : integrated management of childhood illness; mCCM : malaria community case management; SE: standard error.
a Includes 4 cleaning and maintenance staff, 1 community health assistant, 1 community health worker and 1 data clerk.
b Proportion received in-service training (previous 3 years).
c Malaria case management according to the guidelines based on the Integrated technical guidelines for frontline health workers.18
d Correctly asked or checked for the 7 IMCI danger signs and symptoms according to the Integrated technical guidelines for frontline health workers.18
e Correct classification was defined according to the Integrated technical guidelines for frontline health workers.18
f Correct “treatment/prescription” was defined according to the integrated technical guidelines.18