Evaluation of the Application of Biosecurity Among Healthcare Workers in Kinshasa, with a View to Preventing Infectious Risks: A Cross-Sectional and Analytical Study

Context: The application of biosafety is not effective in the world, the rare case that exists, is almost undocumented. Biological risks are not limited only to laboratories, it is also great in the daily practice of the health care profession, doctor or nurse; but it is largely ignored by practitioners due to their attitude, reason for nosocomial diseases. The health sector in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) suffers from several ills, not allowing the implementation of biosafety actions. Evaluated the extent of the application of biosafety among health care professionals in order to prevent infectious risks. Methods: The study took place in medical institutions in the health zones of the City of Kinshasa, during the period from 10/06/2023 to 10/06/2024. It was a multicenter, cross-sectional and analytical study carried out among healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses) in the city of Kinshasa, with a convenience sample, exhaustive of the number of doctors and nurses present at the time of our survey, thus giving a sample size of 305 respondents. Being a doctor or nurse and giving consent were the selection criteria. The data were collected electronically with the KoboToolbox application, and analyzed by the SPP (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software version 24. Results: The Congolese healthcare workers (Doctors and Nurses) were born outside Kinshasa (57.4%), and were in the age group of 36 to 41 years (34.1%) with an average age of 37.6 ± 9.05 years. They were married (53.8%) and worked in the City's Hospitals and Reference Centers (28.5%). They were aware of biosecurity (53.1%) and its importance (67.9%) among the staff of medical institutions, while ignoring its importance among the healthcare workers (50.5%). They were not aware of the concepts of biosecurity (58.7%), but were still aware of its primary purpose, which is health risk management (76.1%). The application of biosafety is not effective among medical staff in the country's medical institutions (78.4%), and emergency procedures in different exposures are not known at all (3.3%). Conclusion: Biosafety is not effectively implemented among healthcare workers in the country's medical institutions, and emergency procedures in various exposures are not well known. Biosafety remains a serious problem for doctors and nurses in terms of knowledge and applicability.