A cross-sectional survey to assess the knowledge regarding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among health care professionals

Abstract

Background In late 2019, the world saw a viral outbreak of unprecedented scale that sent a significant fraction of humankind into either quarantine or lockdown. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory tract infection caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first recognized in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Methods We created and administered a 17-item questionnaire for health care professionals (HCPs) to assess their level of knowledge towards this ongoing and evolving pandemic. It was disseminated through Web- and mobile-based social networks. The questions were sourced and created from various standard national and international guidelines available at the time of writing. Results A total of 827 medical personnel participated in the study. Among them, 65.5% scored between 60% and 79%, indicating a moderate level of knowledge. There was no statistically significant difference in the scores of doctors, nursing officers and dental surgeons ( p = 0.200). Participants had good knowledge regarding clinical symptoms, mode of transmission and preventive measures. But the study identified some gaps in knowledge in the implementation of management protocols, handling of dead bodies and biomedical waste management of COVID-19 cases. Conclusion With this understanding, regular training, drills and knowledge dissemination along with skill development through learning correct practices focusing on HCP at all levels are the current needs.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19 and associated factors among health care workers in Silte Zone, Southern Ethiopia

“…In our study, bout 68.9% of the HCWs implemented appropriate practice. This finding was nearly comparable with studies conducted in Pakistan [ 29 ] and Uganda [ 19 ] where 73.4%, and 74% of HCWs had implemented good practice respectively. However, higher good practice 88.7% in Pakistan [ 28 ], and 81.5% in Nepal [ 30 ] were reported.…”

“…However, it is lower than findings reported in China where 89% [20], and in Pakistan 93.2% [24]. On the other hand, the finding is higher than studies conducted in Saudi Arabia and India where 45% [28] and 54.7% of HCWs had good knowledge respectively [29]. This difference might be related to variations in study area.…”

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of nurses toward COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in a referral hospital of Indonesia

“…[ 5 ] In India, the HCWs have a moderate knowledge of COVID-19 and no statistical difference of knowledge level between medical doctors, nurses, and dental surgeons was observed. [ 7 ] The Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) study among the Indonesian frontline nurses working with COVID-19 patients is still limited, hence, this study was undertaken.…”

COVID-19 Biomedical Waste Management: Knowledge Assessment Among Medical Professionals in a COVID-19 Dedicated Hospital, a Cross Sectional Study.

“…It has found that there are gaps in knowledge and practice in the implementation of BMW management protocol. 22 A systematic review of the literature reported that the pooled prevalence of healthcare associated infection was 7.6% in high-income countries and 10.1% in low and middle-income countries where average knowledge score was low. 23 Studies also found that, in Africa including Ethiopia, the prevalence of hospital-acquired infection was significantly high (12-35%).…”