Awareness and Preparedness for the Ongoing Community Spread of Coronavirus Infections Among Healthcare Workers in a Nigerian Private Tertiary Facility
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30442/ahr.0703-05-136Keywords:
Coronavirus, COVID-19, Healthcare Worker, N95 Facemask, Personal Protective Equipment, SARS-CoV-2Abstract
Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of contracting and spreading the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease putting themselves, the patients and the community at large at risk. Therefore, there is a need for adequate preparedness in the face of this pandemic.
Objectives: To assess the knowledge of HCW (clinical and non-clinical) on COVID-19, determine the level of HCWs preparedness against COVID-19 and evaluate the level of preparedness of the hospital facility against COVID-19.
Methods: Purposive sampling technique was used in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire adapted from a validated questionnaire was used to collect appropriate data on socio-demographics, knowledge about COVID 19 and preparedness.
Results: A total of 170 HCWs with a mean age of 34.7±6.9 years participated in this study. More than half (56.5%; 96/170) were females. The average knowledge score among clinical staff was 9.04±13.77, with 80 clinical staff having good knowledge of COVID-19. The majority of non-clinical staff had a fair knowledge of COVID-19 with an average knowledge score of 5.11±47.07. About 63.4% were not confident enough in caring for a suspected coronavirus case even though more than half (57.6%) have had formal training in Infection Prevention and Control and above 77% (131/170) confirmed the availability of PPE in their facility. However, about three-quarters (74.7%; 127/170) believed the hospital is well prepared to manage COVID-19 cases.
Conclusion: This study revealed that this cohort of HCWs have good knowledge of COVID-19 and are convinced that they and their facility are well prepared for outbreaks of COVID-19.
References
IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-statement-on-ihr-emergency-committee-on-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov) Accessed 02 August 2020.
Cucinotta D, Vanelli M. WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic. Acta Bio-Medica Atenei Parm 2020; 91: 157–160. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i1.9397
Khan MM, Noor A, Madni A, Shafiq M. Emergence of novel coronavirus and progress toward treatment and vaccine. Rev Med Virol 2020 ;30: e2116. https://doi.org/10.1002/rmv.2116.
CDC. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 11 February 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/training.html.
Zhou P, Yang XL, Wang XG, Hu B, Zhang L, Zhang W, et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature 2020; 579: 270-273. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7.
Lam TTY, Jia N, Zhang YW, Shum MH, Jiang JF, Zhu HC, et al. Identification of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins in southern China. BioRxiv 2020; 02: 9454-9485. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.13.945485.
Lee PI, Hsueh PR. Emerging threats from zoonotic coronaviruses-from SARS and MERS to 2019-nCoV. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 2020; 53: 365–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmii.2020.02.001.
Anderson EL, Turnham P, Griffin JR, Clarke CC. Consideration of the Aerosol Transmission for COVID-19 and Public Health. Risk Anal. 2020; 40: 902–907. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13500.
Zhang M, Xiao J, Deng A, Zhang Y, Zhuang Y, Hu T, et al. Transmission dynamics of outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant B.1.617.2 - Guangdong Province, China, May-June 2021. China CDC Weekly 2021; 3: 584-586. https://doi.org/10.46234/ccdcw2021.148
Cascella M, Rajnik M, Cuomo A, Dulebohn SC, Di Napoli R. Features, Evaluation and Treatment Coronavirus (COVID-19), in StatPearls, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2020.
Hassan SA, Sheikh FN, Jamal S, Ezeh JK, Akhtar A. Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Review of Clinical Features, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Cureus 2020; 12. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.7355.
“Nigeria confirms first coronavirus case.” BBC News 2020 28 February. Cited April 2021.
Hellewell J, Abbott S, Gimma A, Bosse NI, Jarvis CI, Russell TW, et al. Feasibility of controlling COVID-19 outbreaks by isolation of cases and contacts. Lancet Global Health 2020; 8: e488–e496. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30074-7.
Semple S, Cherrie JW. Covid-19: Protecting Worker Health. Ann Work Expo Health 2020; 64: 461–464. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxaa033.
WHO. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) training: Online training. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/training/online-training Accessed 13 October 2022.
Federal Ministry of Health. Stakeholder Engagement Plan [Online]. Available: https://health.gov.ng/doc/Nigeria-COVID-19-Stakeholder-Engagement-Plancleared.pdf Accessed 13 October 2020.
Paintsil E. COVID-19 threatens health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: the eye of the crocodile. J Clin Invest 2020; 130: 2741–2744. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI138493.
“COVID-19 Map,” Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html Accessed 04 August 2020.
Taboe HB, Salako KV, Tison JM, Ngonghala CN, Kakaï RG. Predicting COVID-19 spread in the face of control measures in West Africa. Math Biosci 2020; p. 108431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mbs.2020.108431.
“WHO-COVID-19-Community_Transmission-2020.1-eng.pdf.” Accessed 04 August. 2020. [Online]. Available: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331421/WHO-COVID-19-Community_Transmission-2020.1-eng.pdf.
Chopra V, Toner E, Waldhorn R, Washe L. How Should U.S. Hospitals Prepare for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)? Ann Intern Med 2020; 172: 621–622. https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-0907.
PubMed Central Link. Accessed 24 August 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7138074/.
Fisher EM, Shaffer RE. Considerations for recommending extended use and limited re-use of filtering facepiece respirators in health care settings. J Occup Environ Hyg 2014; 11: D115–D128. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2014.902954
CDC. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2020 11 February. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/respirators-strategy/index.html Accessed 13 October 2020.
A Scientific consortium for data-driven study of N95 filtering facepiece respirator decontamination. https://www.n95decon.org (Accessed 13 October 2020.
University of Tennessee Research Foundation. https://utrf.tennessee.edu/information-faqs-charged-filtration-material-performance-after-various-sterilization-techniques/ Accessed 13 October 2020.
Mossa-Basha M, Meltzer CC, Kim DC, Tuite MJ, Kolli KP, Tan BS. Radiology Department Preparedness for COVID-19: Radiology Scientific Expert Review Panel. Radiology 2020; 296: E106–E112. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2020200988.
NCDC Coronavirus COVID-19 Microsite. https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/#! Accessed 05 August 2020.
Zhang M, Zhou M, Tang F, Wang Y, Nie H, Zhang L, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Henan, China. J Hosp Infect 2020; 105:183–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.04.012.
Saqlain M, Munir MM, Rehman SU, Gulzar A, Naz S, Ahmed Z, et al. Knowledge, attitude, practice and perceived barriers among healthcare workers regarding COVID-19: a cross-sectional survey from Pakistan. J Hosp Infect 2020; 105: 419–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.05.007.
Olum R, Chekwech G, Wekha G, Nassozi D R, Bongomin F. Coronavirus Disease-2019: Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Health Care Workers at Makerere University Teaching Hospitals, Uganda. Front Public Health 2020; 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00181.
Elhadi M, Msherghi A, Alkeelani M, Zorgani A, Zaid A, Alsuyihili A, et al. Assessment of Healthcare Workers’ Levels of Preparedness and Awareness Regarding COVID-19 Infection in Low-Resource Settings. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020; 103: 828–833. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0330.
Nkansah M, SerwaaD, Adarkwah LA, Osei-Boakye F, Mensah K, Tetteh P, Awulu S, Apodola A. Novel coronavirus disease 2019: knowledge, practice and preparedness: a survey of healthcare workers in the Offinso-North District, Ghana. Pan Afr Med J 2020; 35 (Suppl 2): 79. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.23644.
Safe hospital preparedness in the era of COVID-19: The Swiss cheese model | Elsevier Enhanced Reader. https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/PII/S1201971220305294?token=36C8E4B6998045D2CE01DC30D691C66E4C5FF26C91960FFB461FC768148F2B218574F2A22E4DB0E47C9F24DD5F5D2C4F. Accessed 10 April 2021.
Lee IK, Wang CC, Lin MC, Kung CT, Lan KC, Lee CT. Effective strategies to prevent coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in hospital. J Hosp Infect 2020; 105: 102–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.02.022.
Dalky HF, Ghader N, Al Kuwari M, Alnajar M, Ismaile S, Almalik M, et al. Assessment of the Awareness, Perception, Attitudes, and Preparedness of Health-care Professionals Potentially Exposed to COVID-19 in the United Arab Emirates. J Multidisc Healthcare 2021; 14: 91–102. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S278479
Wahed WYA, Hefzy EM, Ahmed MI, Hamed NS. Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perception of Health Care Workers Regarding COVID-19, A Cross-Sectional Study from Egypt. J Community Health 2020; 45: 1242–1251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-020-00882-0.
Gebreselassie AF, Bekele A, TatereI HY, Wong R. Assessing the knowledge, attitude and perception on workplace readiness regarding COVID-19 among health care providers in Ethiopia—An internet-based survey. PLoS ONE 2021; 16. https://doi.org/10. 34740/kaggle/dsv/1820578
Ogboghodo EO, Nwaogwugwu JC, Obarisiagbon OE, Omo-Ikirodah OT, Uwugiaren EI, Akoria OA, et al. Health Facility Preparedness and Response to COVID-19: An Assessment of Employee Satisfaction in a Teaching Hospital in Southern Nigeria. Cent Afr J Public Health 2020; 6: https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200605.12.
Madziatera D, Msofi KS, Phiri TV, Mkandawire SD, Comber A. Availability, Accessibility and Proper Use of Personal Protective Equipment in Wards at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) Blantyre, Malawi: An Observational Study. Malawi Med J. 2020; 32: 124-131. https://doi.org/10.4314/mmj.v32i3.4
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
The articles and other materials published in the Annals of Health Research are protected by the Nigerian Copyright laws. The journal owns the copyright over every article, scientific and intellectual materials published in it. However, the journal grants all authors, users and researchers access to the materials published in the journal with the permission to copy, use and distribute the materials contained therein only for academic, scientific and non-commercial purposes.
