Dataset Information

Development and validation of a questionnaire for assessing preventive practices and barriers among health care workers in COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

COVID-19 has affected thousands of health care workers worldwide. Suboptimal infection control practices have been identified as important risk factors. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to holistically assess the preventive practices of health care workers related to COVID-19 and identify the reasons for shortcomings therein.

Methods

The development of the questionnaire involved item generation through literature review, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with health care workers and experts, followed by validation through expert opinion, pilot testing and survey. A cross-sectional survey on 147 healthcare workers was done using an online platform and/or interviews in August 2020 in New Delhi, India. Exploratory factor analysis using principal component extraction with varimax rotation was performed to establish construct validity. Internal consistency of the tool was tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

Results

The developed questionnaire consists of two sections: Section A contains 29 items rated on a five-point Likert scale to assess preventive practices and Section B contains 27 semi-structured items to assess reasons for suboptimal practices. The first section has good validity (CVR = 0.87, S-CVI/Av = 0.978) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.85) CONCLUSIONS: This questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for holistic assessment of preventive practices and barriers to it among health care workers. It will be useful to identify vulnerable practices and sections in health care settings which would assist policymakers in designing appropriate interventions for infection prevention and control. This will also be useful in future pandemics of similar nature.

SUBMITTER: Agarwal A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8063603 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a newly emerging pandemic affecting more than 120 million people globally. Compliance with preventive practices is the single most effective method to overcome the disease. Although several studies have been conducted regarding COVID-19, data on healthcare provider’s adherence to COVID-19 preventive practices during childbirth through direct observation is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to assess healthcare provider’s adherence to COVID-19 preventive practices during childbirth in northwest Ethiopia. Methods A multicenter study was conducted at hospitals in northwest Ethiopia among 406 healthcare providers from November 15 /2020 to March 10 /2021. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select the study subjects. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews and direct observation using a structured questionnaire and standardized checklist respectively. EPI INFO version 7.1.2 and SPSS 25 were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Binary logistic regression analyses were undertaken to identify associated factors. The level of significance was decided based on the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval at a p-value of ≤ 0.05. Results The proportion of healthcare providers having good adherence to COVID-19 preventive practices during intrapartum care was 46.1% (95% CI: 41.2, 50.9). Healthcare providers who had job satisfaction (AOR = 3.18; 95% CI: 1.64, 6.13), had smartphone and/or computer (AOR = 2.75; 95% CI: 1.62, 4.65), ever received training on infection prevention (AOR = 3.58; 95% CI: 2.20, 5.84), earned higher monthly income (AOR = 2.15; 95% CI: 1.30, 3.57), and worked at health facility in the urban area (AOR = 1.72; 95% CI: 1.07, 2.77) had a significant association with adherence to COVID-19 preventive practices. Moreover, the most commonly mentioned barriers for not adhering to the preventive practice of COVID-19 were crowdedness of the delivery room, non-availability of personal protective equipment, and shortage of alcohol or sanitizer. Conclusion The healthcare provider’s adherence to COVID-19 preventive practices was low. Hence, stakeholders need to pay special attention to increase healthcare provides’ job satisfaction. In addition, the provision of continuous training on infection prevention would be helpful. Furthermore, personal protective equipment, alcohol, and sanitizer supply must be provided for healthcare providers.

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:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak spread to over 100 countries with a total of 100,000 cases during the first week of March 2020. Health care workers, as those on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, are more susceptible to infection. Inadequate related knowledge and preventive behaviors among health care workers might lead to delayed treatment and result in the rapid spread of the infection. Therefore, this study evaluated the knowledge of health care workers with regard to COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 10-18, 2020. Participants were general practitioners, specialists, and nurses working at the forefront of the pandemic. Their knowledge, preventive behaviors, and risk perceptions concerning COVID-19 were evaluated using an online questionnaire created by our medical specialists. The questionnaire consisted of 29, 5, and 4 items about COVID-19 knowledge, preventive behaviors, and risk perceptions, respectively. A total of 251 health care workers completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the participants was 33.88±8.72 years old, and the sample consisted of 68 males (27.08%) and 183 females (72.91%). While there was no difference between the percentage of correct answers given by female and male participants to knowledge-based questions (p>0.05), the percentage of correct answers to the questions on preventive behaviors was significantly higher in female participants than in males (p<0.001). The overall average percentages of correct responses were 91.66% for knowledge-based questions and 85.96% for preventive behavior questions. The scores for knowledge-based questions were higher for medical specialists, whereas nurses scored higher on preventive behavior questions. Government hospital staff showed a significant difference in preventive behaviors compared to that of university hospitals (p<0.05). In addition, there was a positive correlation between knowledge scores and preventive behaviors. Although all the participants (100%) knew that contracting COVID-19 can lead to death, only 66.93% of them were willing to get vaccinated themselves. The knowledge level of health care workers concerning COVID-19 was above 90%, but the level of competence in terms of preventive behaviors was found to be low, especially in males.

Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 is an ongoing pandemic, for which appropriate infection prevention and control measures need to be adopted. Healthcare workers' adherence to prevention and control measures is affected by their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19. In this study, we assessed the KAP among healthcare workers towards the COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic.MethodA self-developed piloted KAP questionnaire was administered to the recruited healthcare workers involved in the COVID-19 response at the Universal College of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UCMSTH), in Bhairahawa, Nepal. The knowledge questionnaire consisted of questions regarding the clinical characteristics, prevention, and management of COVID-19. Assessment on attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 included questions on behaviour and change in practices made towards COVID-19 response. Knowledge scores were calculated and compared by demographic characteristics and their attitude and practices towards COVID-19. Data were analysed using bivariate statistics.ResultsA total of 103 healthcare workers participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 28.24±6.11 years (range: 20-56); 60.2% were females; 61.2% were unmarried; 60.2% had a medical degree, and 39.8% were the nursing staff. The mean knowledge score was 10.59±1.12 (range: 7-13), and it did not vary significantly when adjusted for demographic characteristics. The attitude was positive for 53.4% of the participants with a mean knowledge score of 10.35±1.19 and negative for 46.6% participants with a mean knowledge score of 10.88±0.98 (p = 0.02). The practice was good (≥3 score) for 81.5% participants with a mean knowledge score of 10.73±1.12 and poor for 18.5% participants with a mean knowledge score of 10.46±1.13 (p = 0.24). The attitude of the participants improved with increasing age (29.55±7.17, p = 0.02).ConclusionThere is comparably better knowledge regarding COVID-19 among healthcare workers. Appropriate practice correlates with better knowledge and positive attitude towards COVID-19 infection is seen with increasing age. Hence, training on protection and protective measures for having a positive attitude among healthcare workers is necessary against the fight with COVID-19 infection.