Abstract:
Accreditation is a procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition that an
organization is competent to carry out specific tasks. The general objective of this study was to study
the knowledge and attitudes of medical laboratory technologists in both government and private
sector laboratories in the Southern Province towards quality laboratory essentials and the
accreditation process.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered, pre-tested questionnaires
with the participation of 52 medical laboratory technologists in the Southern Province, Sri Lanka. The
results were analyzed using SPSS software version 21.Study participants who obtained scores of less
than 50%. 50-75%, 75-90%, and more than 90% for the knowledge score were categorized as poor,
average, good, and excellent, respectively. Themean (SD) knowledge score among the participants
was 40.33(29.35). The Medical Laboratory Technologists’ attitudes towards laboratory accreditation
were satisfactory. Among the study participants, 82.69% (n=43) are of the view that medical
laboratories should be accredited. However, several misunderstandings regarding the same aspect
were observed.
The study concluded that the overall knowledge of MLTs on medical laboratory accreditation is not
satisfactory. The study was conducted in and around Galle. Therefore we assume that knowledge
scores will be poorer among the MLTs who work in the rural laboratories since they possess less
opportunity for participation in continuous education, compared to those working for urban
employers. However, the overall attitudes of Medical Laboratory Technologists regarding
accreditation is satisfactory. The value of educational and training programs on medical laboratory
accreditation and evaluation of their effectiveness is emphasized.
