Health Professionals’ Identification Levels of Risk Factors: In View of the Management of In-Patients Admitted with Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Swallowing Disorders in a Kenyan National Hospital
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Date
2024-04
Authors
Ndiema, Dalphine C.
Abuom, T.
Karia M., Karia M.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IJRSI
Abstract
Adequate dysphagia awareness among health professionals is vital to facilitate collaborative dysphagia
management. However, there are concerns that in many countries, many health professionals have low or
moderate dysphagia awareness. In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, we assessed the identification
levels on risk factors of oropharyngeal dysphagia among health professionals attending to adult inpatients in
the acute-care facility of a level-six hospital in Kenya. The sample comprised 16 professionals from six
specialties: neurologists, oncologists, nurses, nutritionists, physiotherapists, and speech-language therapists.
We measured their risk factor identification levels using a previously validated nine-item questionnaire.
Frequencies, percentages, and means were used to identify key patterns in participants’ risk factor
identification levels, while the independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to establish
cross-sectional differences in identification levels based on selected demographic and general
characteristics. The mean risk factor identification score was 73.6% (SD = 17.14). There were significant
differences in identification scores due to age (F = 4.67, p = .030), educational attainment (F = 5.94, p =
.015), experience (F = 5.34, p = .020), and specialization (F = 5.06, p = .024). Mean comparisons showed
that identification levels increased with educational attainment and were highest among participants in the
category comprising oncologists, nutritionists, and speech therapists. From the findings, we concluded that
health professionals in the facility have, on average, moderate OPD risk factor awareness and that increased
educational attainment may enhance OPD awareness.
Description
Article
Keywords
awareness, interprofessional collaboration, oropharyngeal dysphagia, risk factor
Citation
Ndiema Dalphine, C., Abuom, T., & Karia, M. (2024). Health Professionals’ Identification Levels of Risk Factors: In View of The Management of In-Patients Admitted with Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Swallowing Disorders in a Kenyan National Hospital. International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, 11(3), 740-751.