Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the diagnosis and management of paediatric sepsis among paediatric physicians and nurses: a cross-sectional study of 21 hospitals in Hubei Province, China.

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards diagnosing and managing paediatric sepsis among paediatric physicians and nurses.

Design: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study.

Setting: 21 hospitals in Hubei Province between February 2023 and March 2023.

Participants: Paediatric physicians and nurses.

Interventions: None.

Primary And Secondary Outcome Measures: The questionnaire contained 35 items across four dimensions (demographic information, knowledge, attitude and practice).

Results: The study included 295 participants (173 women). The average knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 10.93±2.61 points (possible range, 0-20 points), 32.22±2.65 points (possible range, 7-35 points) and 36.54±5.24 points (possible range, 9-45 points), respectively. Knowledge had a direct influence on both attitude (β=0.240, 95% CI 0.136 to 0.365, p=0.009) and practice (β=0.278, 95% CI 0.084 to 0.513, p=0.010), which also indirectly influenced practice through attitude (β=0.162, 95% CI 0.078 to 0.290, p=0.007). Attitude directly influenced practice (β=0.677, 95% CI 0.384 to 0.902, p=0.025). A higher attitude score was associated with good practice (OR=1.392; 95% CI 1.231 to 1.576; p<0.001), while not working in a tertiary hospital reduced the odds of good practice (OR=0.443; 95% CI 0.2390.821; p=0.010).

Conclusions: The knowledge regarding paediatric sepsis, especially knowledge about sepsis management, is poor among paediatric physicians and nurses in Hubei Province. The findings of this study may facilitate the development and implementation of training programmes to improve the diagnosis and management of paediatric sepsis.