Knowledge, Awareness and Practices towards Notifiable Diseases in Health Professionals at Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the awareness and compliance of healthcare professionals to report notifiable diseases at the University Hospital of Casablanca. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the university hospital. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect data. It covers socio-demographic characteristics of participants and their knowledge about notifiable diseases, reporting procedures, and their attitudes towards MDR cases. Results: A sample of 123 health professionals was included. There was a clear predominance of women and young doctors undergoing specialist training. Almost everyone said they had heard of NDs, but about a third (32.5%) could name only two or fewer NDs in our country. Meningitis (73.3%), tuberculosis (60%) and cholera (49.5%) were the most common NDs known to our sample. More than half, and sometimes all, of the respondents were unaware of other diseases such as human anthrax, exanthematous typhus, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease and related diseases, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever and West Nile fever. Our findings showed that our participants lacked knowledge about reporting procedures, such as who is responsible for reporting, how and to whom NDs should be reported. In 75.7% of cases, participants expressed a need for training on NDs, while 74.2% reported that the main reason for non-reporting was a lack of knowledge about NDs. Our Participants’ knowledge of the reporting procedures and notifiable diseases remains relatively low. There is an urgent need for reflection and action to implement clear procedures and well-defined pathways to ensure complete reporting, as well as appropriate training for healthcare professionals to ensure their involvement in the surveillance of these diseases.