Assessing Biosafety Knowledge Among Research Laboratory Personnel in the Bobo Dioulasso Province of Burkina Faso

Abstract

Biosafety is a crucial aspect of risk prevention and quality management systems in laboratory practice. The study aimed to assess the knowledge of the research institutes' personnel regarding biosafety measures in their respective laboratories. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and June 2022 among research institute laboratory personnel in the Bobo Dioulasso province. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was performed with Stata version 14.1 and presented using frequency tables.
Sixty-three participants completed the study questionnaire. Overall, 93.6% of the participants had a low to medium level of knowledge. 63.5% declared to have attended a biosafety training course. The level of knowledge in biosafety increased significantly with age (2=10.706; p=0.03) and level of education (2=15.303; p=0.004) and did not differ by professional status. Overall knowledge was low for pictograms (61.9%), laboratory safety levels (57.1%), risk groups of biological agents (55.6%) and high for waste segregation (100%) and management of spillage of a biological sample on the floor (73.0%). The study data reveal a lack of knowledge of some aspects of biosafety among laboratory personnel. There is a need for research institutes to implement a biosafety policy and to strengthen biosafety training programs for their laboratory personnel.