An E-survey study protocol for the perception of African healthcare professionals on the intrathecal injection of antitetanic serum for the treatment of tetanus

Abstract

Abstract Background Tetanus remains a public health neuroinfectious burden in Africa, accounting for the long stay in hospitals. For the past two decades, intrathecal injection of antitetanic serum has been described by several meta-analyses as the therapy for the treatment of tetanus with the best outcome. Particularly with neonatal tetanus, but in Africa, the reality faced by healthcare professionals is in contradiction to the literature. This study aims to assess the perception of healthcare professionals regarding the intrathecal administration of antitetanic serum for the treatment of tetanus, to decide on which action to undertake to preserve patients’ health. Methodology Data will be collected through a self-administered Qualtrics questionnaire from a Qualtrics account. The minimum and maximum sample sizes calculated were, respectively, 384 and 426. Anonymous links to the three versions of the questionnaire will be disseminated from 15 May 2023 to 15 July 2023, through mobile phones, social media (WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Telegram) and e-mail. Ata shall be analyzed with SPSS version 26 (IBM, WA, USA). The analyzed data will be presented as frequency tables and charts. Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals, Chi-Square test and analysis of variance will be used to test for associations between independent and dependent variables. A P-value <0.05 will be considered statistically significant. Dissemination Our study findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and the abstract will be presented at an international conference.