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Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare workers during the early COVID-19 pandemic in a main, academic tertiary care centre in Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT: As the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) continues to occur in small outbreaks in Saudi Arabia, we aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and intended practices of healthcare workers (HCWs) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare worry levels with previous findings during the MERS-CoV outbreak in 2015. We sent an adapted version of our previously published MERS-CoV questionnaire to the same cohort of HCWs at a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. About 40% of our sample had previous experience with confirmed or suspected MERS-CoV patients, and those had a significantly higher knowledge score (13.16 ± 2.02 vs. 12.58 ± 2.27, P = 0.002) and higher adherence to protective hygienic practices (2.95 ± 0.80 vs. 2.74 ± 0.92, P = 0.003). The knowledge scores on COVID-19 were higher in the current cohort than the previous MERS-CoV outbreak cohort (68% vs. 79.7%, P < 0.001). HCWs from the current cohort who felt greater anxiety from COVID-19 compared to MERS-CoV were less likely to have been exposed to MERS-CoV infected/suspected cases (odds ratio (OR) = 0.646, P = 0.042) and were less likely to have attended the hospital awareness campaign on COVID-19 (OR = 0.654, P = 0.035). We concluded that previous experience with MERS-CoV was associated with increased knowledge and adherence to protective hygienic practices, and reduction of anxiety towards COVID-19.

SUBMITTER: Temsah MH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7492582 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare workers during the early COVID-19 pandemic in a main, academic tertiary care centre in Saudi Arabia.

Temsah M H MH Alhuzaimi A N AN Alamro N N Alrabiaah A A Al-Sohime F F Alhasan K K Kari J A JA Almaghlouth I I Aljamaan F F Al-Eyadhy A A Jamal A A Al Amri M M Barry M M Al-Subaie S S Somily A M AM Al-Zamil F F

Epidemiology and infection 20200828

As the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) continues to occur in small outbreaks in Saudi Arabia, we aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and intended practices of healthcare workers (HCWs) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare worry levels with previous findings during the MERS-CoV outbreak in 2015. We sent an adapted version of our previously published MERS-CoV questionnaire to the same cohort of HCWs at a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. About 4 ...[more]

PMID: 32854806

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Project description:BackgroundHealth care workers are at the front line against COVID-19. The risk of transmission decreases with adequate knowledge of infection prevention methods. However, health care workers reportedly lack a proper attitude and knowledge of different viral outbreaks.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of health care workers in Saudi Arabia toward COVID-19. Assessment of these parameters may help researchers focus on areas that require improvement.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 563 participants recruited from multiple cities in Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was shared via social media applications, which contained questions to health care workers about general information regarding COVID-19 and standard practices.ResultsThe mean age of the study population was 30.7 (SD 8) years. Approximately 8.3% (47/563) of the health care workers were isolated as suspected cases of COVID-19, and 0.9% (n=5) were found positive. The majority agreed that social distancing, face masks, and hand washing are effective methods for preventing disease transmission. However, only 63.7% (n=359) knew the correct duration of hand washing. Almost 70% (n=394) strictly adhered to hand hygiene practices, but less than half complied with the practice of wearing a face mask. Significant differences in health care workers' attitudes were observed on the basis of their city of residence, their adherence to COVID-19 practices, and their compliance with the use of a face mask. Among the health care workers, 27.2% (n=153) declared that they will isolate themselves at home and take influenza medication if they experience COVID-19 symptoms.ConclusionsThe majority of health care workers in Saudi Arabia presented acceptable levels of general knowledge on COVID-19, but they lack awareness in some crucial details that may prevent disease spread. Intense courses and competency assessments are highly recommended. Prevention of disease progression is the only option for the time being.

Project description:BackgroundMobile phones have become part of everyday life with a potential risk for microbial transmission. Makkah is a mass gathering city that may act as hotspots of disease transmission. The contact between public and both visitors and pilgrims to Makkah can't be overlooked, and any small outbreak within the public can be transmitted rapidly to them.AimWe aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of general population towards infection transmission via mobile phones in Makkah and different characteristics relevant to KAP scores.MethodsA cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted on general population in Makkah city using a snowballing sampling method. Participants answered questions about their KAP towards infection transmission via mobile phone. The overall KAP scores were graded as good, fair, and poor and explored against different population characteristics using suitable statistical methods.ResultsThe study included 385 participants aged 15-64 years. About 88.8% owned personal mobile phone, 3.9% encountering a patient with infections transmitted via mobile phones, and 60.5% know nothing about potential role of mobile phones in infection transmission. Only 16.6% had good knowledge, 64.1% with positive attitudes, and 55.3% reported poor practices. The mean knowledge score was significantly higher among young adults (p = 0.002) and those with higher education (p = 0.005). Their mean attitude and practice scores were significantly higher among older adults (p < 0.001 and p = 0.015), female (p = 0.001 and p = 0.022), and those with higher education (p = 0.036 and p = 0.041) respectively.ConclusionThe overall public knowledge and practices towards the role of mobile phones in infection transmission in Makkah was below average though they have positive attitudes. Raising public awareness is important to decrease the possibility of cross-contamination via mobile phones and to develop adequate preventive strategies in a mass gathering setting like Makkah city.

Dataset Information

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare workers during the early COVID-19 pandemic in a main, academic tertiary care centre in Saudi Arabia.

Publications

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare workers during the early COVID-19 pandemic in a main, academic tertiary care centre in Saudi Arabia.

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