Knowledge of COVID-19 infection control among healthcare workers in radiology departments in Saudi Arabia

Author(s):  
Rowa Aljondi ◽  
Salem Saeed Alghamdi ◽  
Ikhlas Abdelaziz ◽  
Lubna Bushara ◽  
Somayah Alghamdi ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar A. Almohammed ◽  
Leen A. Aldwihi ◽  
Adel M. Alragas ◽  
Ali I. Almoteer ◽  
Shivkumar Gopalakrishnan ◽  
...  

Lack of knowledge among healthcare workers (HCWs) about infectious diseases leads to delayed diagnosis of new cases, spread of infection, and poor infection control practices. Therefore, HCWs based in hospitals must be equipped with good knowledge about the pathogen and disease to put up a robust fight against the virus. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of HCWs about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at multiple public and private hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional, online questionnaire-based study was conducted between July and August of 2020. Logistic regression was used to investigate differences in the level of KAP among different participants. A total of 510 HCWs in hospitals completed the questionnaire. Only two-thirds of the participants (67.8%) had adequate knowledge about COVID-19, 72.2% of the participants had a positive attitude toward COVID-19, and 80.2% of the participants were practicing appropriately most of the time. Poor KAP was associated with a low education level. The females had better knowledge and attitude, whereas the males were more likely to practice appropriately most of the time. Notably, the participants from the nursing profession demonstrated a less favorable attitude compared with medical staff from other professions, but that did not prevent them from being the best when it comes to applying appropriate practices. The inadequate level of KAP among HCWs with the continuation of the pandemic and the possibility of a second wave demonstrates the need for continuous COVID-19-specific infection control training and emotional well-being supporting programs, especially for HCWs with a low education level.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanein Saad ALjohani ◽  
Amel Abdalrahim Sulaiman

Background: This study aimed to assess knowledge of standard precautions (SPs) and infection control by healthcare workers (HCWs) at the primary healthcare level in Buraidah City, Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross sectional study enrolled HCWs (doctors, nurses, lab workers) from 20 primary healthcare (PHC) centers in Buraidah. Two-hundred participants were selected randomly to participate in this study. Data was collected by a pretested, self-administered questionnaire, containing 29 items about basic knowledge of components of SPs and infection control including hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, sharps disposal, environmental sanitation and care of healthcare providers. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS. Results: The mean age of HCWs was 35.7 (SD±6.6) years. Females represented (51.5%) of the study participants. History of receiving formal training in standard infection control precaution in the last three years was mentioned by almost two-thirds (68.5%) of them. About 102 (51.0%) of the HCWs had adequate level of knowledge (>5 correct answers) regarding standard precautions(SPs) of infection control. The younger (p=0.020), non-Saudi healthcare workers (p<0.001), physicians (p<0.001); particularly consultants (p=0.018), were more knowledgeable than their counterparts. The barriers of improper use of PPEs reported by HCWs were uncomfortable (61.5%), some patients feel stigmatized when PPEs are used (60.5%), shortage in items at PHCC (54%) and workload due to patients’ over-crowding (49%). Conclusion: Generally the study finding revealed adequate knowledge of SPs among the study participants. However, inadequate knowledge particularly concerning the disposal of sharp instruments and hand hygiene were also detected. These findings highlighted the necessity of the provision of a comprehensive training program to ensure compliance with infection control measures by HCWs. Key words: knowledge, practice, infection standard precautions, primary health care


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-105
Author(s):  
Alshahrani et al. ◽  

The aim of this study was to assess the perception of healthcare workers regarding self-protection during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. The novel COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the dynamic of governments, social lives, global economy, and health care systems priorities. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are one of the most group of people at risk of acquiring the infection, especially those who are taking care of COVID-19 patients. This cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among HCWs during the period between May to July 2020 in Saudi Arabia. More than 70% of participating HCWs were able to access the personal safety policies and procedures in the workplace and COVID-19 treatment algorithm. In addition, the presence of an infection control team was also present in most of the institutes. The most common accessible personal protective equipment was hand gel sanitizer (89.9%), followed by disposable gloves (82.5%) and disposable masks (78.9%). More than 75% of participants reported that their institute has a special infection control team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the respondents (~75%) believe that their institute would take all necessary measurements to protect their personal integrity at work. Several precautionary measures were undertaken appropriately by the Saudi Government to overcome the COVID-19 immediate and futuristic consequences. Personal protective equipment and protective measures would be crucial for public health if implemented appropriately during highly spreading infections (e.g., COVID-19) to minimize the transmission and preserve health


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1147-1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan H. Balkhy ◽  
Thamer H. Alenazi ◽  
Majid M. Alshamrani ◽  
Henry Baffoe-Bonnie ◽  
Yaseen Arabi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUNDSince the first isolation of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia in 2012, sporadic cases, clusters, and sometimes large outbreaks have been reported.OBJECTIVETo describe the recent (2015) MERS-CoV outbreak at a large tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.METHODSWe conducted an epidemiologic outbreak investigation, including case finding and contact tracing and screening. MERS-CoV cases were categorized as suspected, probable, and confirmed. A confirmed case was defined as positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test for MERS-CoV.RESULTSOf the 130 suspected cases, 81 (62%) were confirmed and 49 (38%) were probable. These included 87 patients (67%) and 43 healthcare workers (33%). Older age (mean [SD], 64.4 [18.3] vs 40.1 [11.3] years, P<.001), symptoms (97% vs 58%, P<.001), and comorbidity (99% vs 42%, P<.001) were more common in patients than healthcare workers. Almost all patients (97%) were hospitalized whereas most healthcare workers (72%) were home isolated. Among 96 hospitalized cases, 63 (66%) required intensive care unit management and 60 (63%) required mechanical ventilation. Among all 130 cases, 51 (39%) died; all were patients (51 [59%]) with no deaths among healthcare workers. More than half (54%) of infections were believed to be caught at the emergency department. Strict infection control measures, including isolation and closure of the emergency department, were implemented to interrupt the chain of transmission and end the outbreak.CONCLUSIONMERS-CoV remains a major healthcare threat. Early recognition of cases and rapid implementation of infection control measures are necessary.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1–9


Author(s):  
Fadilah Sfouq Aleanizy ◽  
Fulwah Yahya Alqahtani

Abstract Objective Healthcare workers (HWs) perform a critical role not only in the clinical management and organization of patients but also in providing adequate infection control and prevention measures and waste management to be implemented in health care facilities. It is important therefore for HWs to have adequate and correct knowledge and awareness towards any pandemic. The aim of this study is to evaluate HWs awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 infection control precautions and waste management in Saudi Arabia hospitals. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Information on knowledge, awareness and practice of HWs of infection control and waste management were obtained with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Our findings of assessing the Saudi HWs awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 infection control precautions and waste management during COVID-19 pandemic indicate that most study participants were knowledgeable and achieved a mean of 78.3%. About (92.5%) were aware of the infection control precautions, and 90.3% knew waste management during COVID-19 and 91.7% knew of all the infection control supplies availability. The knowledge of HW regarding waste procedure in their facility correlate significantly with gender (p = 0.0001), education (p = 0.024), and working experience (p = 0.029). The knowledge of infection control precaution correlate with gender (p = 0.0003), education (p = 0.043) and working experience (p = 0.009). Conclusion Most participants appreciated the importance of their role in infection control, surveillance and monitoring the ongoing safety of their patients themselves and their facility and community. Saudi Ministry of health initiatives to improve education and provide training to HW during COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated to expand HW knowledge.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ali Sweedan ◽  
Mashhour hussein Al Qannas ◽  
Fahad Hamad Balharith ◽  
Sayed Abdelsabour Kinawy ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic extended to reach most countries in the globe during a few months. The preparedness of healthcare institutions and healthcare workers is crucial for applying effective prevention and control measures. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess HCWs and institutional preparedness in facing the new emerging coronavirus (COVID-19) infection at the early phase of the pandemic, and to explore HCWs' risk perception, concerns, and risk acceptance. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs in the main hospitals, in Najran city, southwestern Saudi Arabia, at the early phase of the pandemic, during March-April, 2020. RESULTS Overall, 563 completed questionnaires were received (382; 67.9% from KKH and 181; 32.1% from NNH). The majority were females (78.6%), nurses constituted (74.7%). The age range of the participants was 20-63 years, with the mean age of physicians 36.5±9.15 years and 31.8±7.48 years for nurses. Among participants, 65.8% attended training program/s for COVID-19 infection, of whom 69.9% were satisfied with this training. Almost all (97.4%) of the participants reported reading the official circulars assigned for guidelines, case definition and, infection control measures regarding COVID-19 infection, 97.1% received basic infection control training, 98.9% checked for the best-fitted size of N95 mask, and 89.4% were influenza vaccinated. Of the participants, 82.6% reported that they have sufficient knowledge about t COVID-19 pandemic, 82.0% being confident that they can protect themselves and their patients when dealing with COVID-19 cases, 92.9% reported that they understand the risk of COVID-19 infection for patients and healthcare staff and 83.2% reported agreement of accepting the risk of getting the infection being a part of their job. The study participants attained a 20.26±2.60 knowledge score on a scale of 26 maximum points (77.9%), of them 74.5% attained 20 points or more (>75%) indicating good working knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring the participants’ perception about the preparedness of their institutions towards the COVID-19 pandemic, 70.8% agreed that institutional precautionary measures to COVID-19 in the workplace are sufficient, 71.6% agreed that all personal protective equipment (PPE) are provided and always available in the workplace, and 90.6% mentioned that the staff in their institutions have had adequate training. Exploring risk perception and the affective aspect of the pandemic on HCWs, 79.0%, 35.2%, 64.2% of the participants felt that they, their families, and the Najran community are at high risk of getting an infection with the COVID-19 virus respectively, and 54.7% and 55.1% were concerned about their personal and family health respectively. CONCLUSIONS Findings revealed good knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic among HCWs in Najran hospitals, Saudi Arabia. Concerns and worries were expressed regard working with the highly infectious COVID-19 patients. Participants appreciated important aspects of institutional preparedness. Experience gained from the previous MERS-CoV outbreak may explain good knowledge, risk acceptance, self-efficacy, and good and rapid institutional preparedness at the early stage of the pandemic.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 835
Author(s):  
Mohammed Noushad ◽  
Mohammad Zakaria Nassani ◽  
Anas B. Alsalhani ◽  
Pradeep Koppolu ◽  
Fayez Hussain Niazi ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused largescale morbidity and mortality and a tremendous burden on the healthcare system. Healthcare workers (HCWs) require adequate protection to avoid onward transmission and minimize burden on the healthcare system. Moreover, HCWs can also influence the general public into accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, determining COVID-19 vaccine intention among HCWs is of paramount importance to plan tailor-made public health strategies to maximize vaccine coverage. A structured questionnaire was administered in February and March 2021 among HCWs in Saudi Arabia using convenience sampling, proceeding the launch of the vaccination campaign. HCWs from all administrative regions of Saudi Arabia were included in the study. In total, 674 out of 1124 HCWs responded and completed the survey (response rate 59.9%). About 65 percent of the HCWs intended to get vaccinated. The intention to vaccinate was significantly higher among HCWs 50 years of age or older, Saudi nationals and those who followed the updates about COVID-19 vaccines (p < 0.05). The high percentage (26 percent) of those who were undecided in getting vaccinated is a positive sign. As the vaccination campaign gathers pace, the attitude is expected to change over time. Emphasis should be on planning healthcare strategies to convince the undecided HCWs into accepting the vaccine in order to achieve the coverage required to achieve herd immunity.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 465
Author(s):  
Leena R. Baghdadi ◽  
Shatha G. Alghaihb ◽  
Alanoud A. Abuhaimed ◽  
Dania M. Alkelabi ◽  
Rawan S. Alqahtani

In 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)) caused a global pandemic. There was an urgent need to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 to reduce its spread and economic burden. The main objective of this study was to understand the attitudes and concerns of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, whether their decision was influenced by their history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine, and factors that influence the acceptance of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We selected and surveyed 356 HCWs via an electronic self-administered questionnaire. A total of 61.16% of HCWs were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and 55.9% of them had received the seasonal influenza vaccine in the preceding year (2019–2020). The strongest predictors for taking the COVID-19 vaccine were the HCWs’ belief that the COVID-19 vaccine would be safe, needed even for healthy people, that all HCWs should be vaccinated against COVID-19, and that HCWs will have time to take the vaccine. Being female, being middle aged, having <5 years of work experience, having no fear of injections, and being a non-smoker were predictive factors for taking the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. No associations were found between the intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine and a history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document