AWARENESS, PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE AND MEDICAL AUDIT PRACTICES AMONG SELECTED HEALTH WORKERS IN TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

Background: Medical audit is a key tool for improving the quality of care, but weak professional training and gaps in knowledge can limit how well it is carried out. This study assessed awareness, professional training, substantive knowledge and institutional medical audit practices among health workers in tertiary hospitals in Bayelsa State.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out among 300 medical doctors, nurses and Health Information Management professionals at Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, and Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri. Participants were chosen through proportionate stratified sampling. Data were collected with a structured electronic questionnaire and analysed with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and an exploratory modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: Although 82.3% of respondents had heard of medical audit, only 36.3% had received professional training and 47.3% showed adequate substantive knowledge. Medical audits were reported by 51.3% of respondents. Sharing of audit findings was reported by 72.7%, archiving of audit reports by 56.0% and the presence of an audit committee by 60.0%. Previous professional training (aPR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.56 to 2.84; p < 0.001) and knowledge score (aPR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.23; p < 0.001) were linked to higher institutional audit-practice indicators. The exploratory practice index had poor internal consistency (KR-20 = 0.087).
Conclusion: High awareness of medical audit existed alongside clear gaps in training and knowledge, and institutional practices were uneven. Hospitals should give priority to structured competency-based training, the involvement of all professional groups in audit, sound documentation and feedback systems, and a better way of measuring how audit is carried out.