Knowledge and Perceptions of COVID-19 Among Health Care Workers: Cross-Sectional Study.

Publisher: JMIR Publications Country of Publication: Canada NLM ID: 101669345 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2369-2960 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 23692960 NLM ISO Abbreviation: JMIR Public Health Surveill Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Toronto : JMIR Publications, [2015]-

Coronavirus* ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice* ; Pandemics*; Coronavirus Infections/*epidemiology ; Health Personnel/*psychology ; Pneumonia, Viral/*epidemiology; Adult ; Betacoronavirus ; COVID-19 ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Disease Outbreaks ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Background: During the first week of March, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak reached more than 100 countries with over 100,000 cases. Health care authorities have already initiated awareness and preparedness activities worldwide. A poor understanding of the disease among health care workers (HCWs) may result in delayed treatment and result in the rapid spread of the infection.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and perceptions of HCWs about COVID-19.
Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based study was conducted among HCWs about COVID-19 during the first week of March 2020. A 23-item survey instrument was developed and distributed randomly to HCWs using social media; it required 5 minutes to complete. A chi-square test was used to investigate the level of association among variables, with significance set to P<.05.
Results: Of 529 participants, a total of 453 HCWs completed the survey (response rate: 85.6%); 51.6% (n=234) were male, 32.1% (n=147) were aged 25-34 years, and most were doctors (n=137, 30.2%) and medical students (n=134, 29.6%). Most participants (n=276, 61.0%) used social media to obtain information on COVID-19. A significant proportion of HCWs had poor knowledge of its transmission (n=276, 61.0%) and symptom onset (n=288, 63.6%) and showed positive perceptions of COVID-19. Factors such as age and profession were associated with inadequate knowledge and a poor perception of COVID-19.
Conclusions: As the global threat of COVID-19 continues to emerge, it is critical to improve the knowledge and perceptions of HCWs. Educational interventions are urgently needed to reach HCWs worldwide, and further studies are warranted.
(©Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula, Wafa Ali Aldhaleei, Jamal Rahmani, Mohammadjavad Ashrafi Mahabadi, Deepak Kumar Bandari. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 30.04.2020.)

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Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; health care; health care worker; knowledge; outbreak; perception; questionnaire

Date Created: 20200423 Date Completed: 20200506 Latest Revision: 20240328

20240329

PMC7193987

10.2196/19160

32320381