COVID -19 Pandemic Induced Anxiety, Knowledge, and Preventive Measures Practices among Non-medical Healthcare Workers in Quarantine Hospitals

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers are the most vulnerable to COVID-19 because of the nature of their work, which exposes them to COVID-19-infected people on a daily basis. Because anxiety affects everyone, whether they are frontline health workers or hospital administrative and support staff. The aim of this study was to assess COVID-19 pandemic induced anxiety, knowledge, and preventive measures practices among non-medical healthcare workers in quarantine hospitals. Methods:-Cross-sectional descriptive design was used to attain the aim of the study. Setting: This study was carried out at four quarantine hospitals in Shebin El-Kom and Elshohadaa city, Menoufia Governorate, Egypt. Three out of four quarantine hospitals were selected from Shebin El-Kom city, and one out of two quarantine hospitals were selected from Elshohadaa city, using a simple random sample technique. Subjects: A simple random sample of 340 non-medical healthcare workers from quarantine hospitals was chosen from four different profession categories including patient affairs office, security officer, receptionists, and accountants. Tools for data collection: A constructed interview questionnaire involved socio-demographic information; COVID-19 pandemic induced anxiety scale, COVID-19 pandemic knowledge questionnaire and preventive measures practices toward COVID-19 pandemic questionnaire. Results:-The current study's findings found that 51.8% of the studied non-medical healthcare workers had COVID-19 pandemic induced anxiety, 62.4% had better knowledge about COVID-19 pandemic, and more than half (58.8%) had good preventive measures practices about COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between non-medical healthcare workers knowledge and preventive measures practices, while there was no significant correlation between anxiety and COVID-19 pandemic knowledge and preventive measures practices among non-medical healthcare workers. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic induced anxiety was experienced by more than half of the non-medical healthcare workers in the study. Good preventive measures practices were associated with increased knowledge toward COVID-19 pandemic. All non-medical healthcare workers in health facilities should receive educational as well as psychological intervention to raise their awareness of COVID-19 pandemic and assist them in overcoming anxiety.