Knowledge, Awareness and Monitoring Behaviour of Health Numbers among Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Health Facility in Delta State, Nigeria
Background: A key component of self-care among healthcare workers is the monitoring of “health numbers,” which include indicators such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, body mass index, and stress-related parameters. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, awareness, and monitoring behaviour of health numbers among healthcare workers in a tertiary health facility. Methods: It was analytical cross-sectional study carried out among 244 healthcare workers in a tertiary health facility in Delta State using a self-administered structured questionnaire. Collected data were entered and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. Descriptive statistics was used to present continuous and categorical variables, while for inferential statistics, level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The mean (± S.D) age of respondents was 31.52 (± 8.12) years. Overall, 212 (86.9%) had a good knowledge of health numbers. About three-quarter, 190 (77.9%) were aware of their blood pressure reading; 127 (52.0%) of their body mass index reading; 95 (38.9%) of their blood sugar level reading; and 59 (24.2%) of their cholesterol level. Age was significantly associated with awareness of personal numbers (p<0.043); while age (p<0.0.048) and years of working experience (p<0.001) was significantly associated with monitoring of personal health numbers. Conclusion: This study showed that healthcare workers had a good knowledge of health numbers; however awareness and monitoring of their personal health numbers were generally poor. Blood pressure was the most commonly known and monitored health number. Age and years of experience were significantly associated with monitoring behaviour. The findings highlight a gap between knowledge and practice, emphasizing the need for regular workplace health screening and health promotion programmes among healthcare workers.