Knowledge, attitude, practice of doctors, and health facilities readiness to manage sepsis in the Health Antenna of Butembo in the Eastern region of the D.R. of Congo

The burden of sepsis is very high in low- and middle-income settings compared to developed countries. Appropriate sepsis knowledge based on up-to-date protocols and guidelines together with adequate infrastructure and equipment are essential for better practices and successful management of sepsis. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of sepsis care providers and evaluating the readiness to provide sepsis care in the Health Antenna of Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The study was a cross-sectional KAP survey conducted from January 2025 to February 2025 in the Health Antenna of Butembo. It was based on a convenience sampling approach including doctors who attended their scientific professional meeting and voluntarily accepted to answer the study questionnaire. Of the 200 questionnaires handed out, 152 (76.0%) were included in the study analysis of which 111 (73.0%) were male respondents. The mean age was 37.5 ± 9.5 years (25 to 76 years). General practitioners were 140 (92.1%) and 12 doctors (7.9%) were specialists from various medical fields. The knowledge of sepsis was very low or low for 134 medical doctors (88.2%) and intermediate (satisfactory) for 18 (11.8%). Overall doctors demonstrated positive attitude towards sepsis and its care with 124 (81.6%) scoring 75% or more. Sepsis screening was systematically practiced by 47 (30.9%) medical doctors. In case of suspicion of sepsis, 130 (85.5%) medical doctors prescribed an antibiotic systematically. Culture and antibiotic susceptibility tests were requested by 45 (29.6%) respondents. Overall, 135 (88.8%) doctors expressed the willingness to learn more about sepsis. From the 53 health facilities in the study, only six health facilities (11.3%) were considered “ready” to provide sepsis care. Medical doctors in the Health Antenna of Butembo demonstrated strong awareness of sepsis as an emergency, a positive attitude and a high willingness to learn, but substantial gaps in operational knowledge, practices and health-facility readiness persist. Context-adapted training coupled with pragmatic implementation tools and incremental system strengthening are priorities to improve sepsis care and outcomes in this region.