scholarly journals Knowledge of disinfection and personal protective equipment usage amongst health care workers in the COVID-19 scenario

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 3003
Author(s):  
Ravi D. ◽  
Vivek Anand ◽  
Arun Kumar Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Unknown Etiology ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Critical Components

Background: Sudden amplification of COVID-19 from pneumonia of unknown etiology to a pandemic has led to overwhelming demand for healthcare resources. Among the critical components of infection and prevention control (IPC) in hospital settings is the mandatory use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by health care workers (HCWs). This study aimed to assess the knowledge of the HCW’s in the usage of appropriate disinfection procedures and PPE usage in each scenario as per MoHFW guidelines.Methods: The study was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted in a COVID-19 hospital for one month from May 2020 to June 2020. The questionnaire was based on the MoHFW guidelines on disinfection and PPE usage and was pre-validated.Results: Of the 146 HCWs who had responded, 50.7% were directly involved in patient care as frontline health care workers (FHCW), and the rest of 49.3% were non-frontline health care workers (NFHCW). 76.7% underwent training on PPE usage, 98 (67%) had training in disinfection procedures and PPE use. The knowledge of the HCWs, irrespective of them being frontline or non-frontline healthcare workers was lacking in certain areas.Conclusions: As we understand more about the disease, more and more treatment protocols are developed, but the prevention of infection in HCWs depends on appropriate PPE usage and disinfection procedures.

scholarly journals IMPACT OF A SINGLE TUTORIAL SESSION ON THE TECHNIQUE OF USING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT BY HEALTH CARE WORKERS

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 1765-70
Author(s):  
Jamal Azfar Khan ◽  
Asif Ali ◽  
Farzana Muneer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tutorial Session ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Surgical Masks ◽  
The Impact

Objective: To determine the impact of a single tutorial session on the technique of donning and doffing the personal protective equipment by health care workers. Study Design: Cross-sectional comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: CMH Landi Kotal Cantt, from 1st March 2020 to 10th June 2020. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted on 62 health workers, working in CMH Landi Kotal Cantt. They were asked to demonstrate donning and doffing surgical masks, gowns and gloves and the steps were evaluated as per a standardized checklist. Then, the participants were given a single tutorial of the donning and doffing technique of personal protective equipment. They were asked to demonstrate their technique of personal protective equipment use one week, one month and three months after the tutorial. Any improvement was recorded in the checklist used earlier. Results: The correct donning and doffing technique of personal protective equipment were demonstrated by 22 and 14 participants respectively before the tutorial. When evaluated one week after the tutorial, this number increased to 48 and 38 respectively, showing significant improvement (p<0.05). The technique of personal protective equipment use deteriorated significantly one month of the tutorial and deteriorated further after three months (p<0.05). The most common fault while donning and doffing the equipment was the incorrect donning sequence, and self-contamination while taking off the gloves, respectively. Conclusion: A single tutorial session results in significant improvement in the technique of using personal protective equipment by health care workers but the effect is lost over time.

scholarly journals Anxiety and Sleep Disturbances Among Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in India: Cross-Sectional Online Survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhawna Gupta ◽  
Vyom Sharma ◽  
Narinder Kumar ◽  
Akanksha Mahajan
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Anxiety Levels

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become a serious concern among the global medical community and has resulted in an unprecedented psychological impact on health care workers, who were already working under stressful conditions. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed to evaluate and measure the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anxiety levels and sleep quality among health care workers in India, as well as to determine how the unavailability of personal protective equipment affects their willingness to provide patient-related care. METHODS We conducted an online cross-sectional study using piloted, structured questionnaires with self-reported responses from 368 volunteer male and female health care workers in India. Study participants were identified through social networking platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. The survey evaluated the participants’ degree of signs and symptoms of anxiety and sleep quality based on the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and single-item Sleep Quality Scale, respectively. Information on the availability of personal protective equipment was collected based on responses to relevant survey questions. RESULTS The majority of health care workers (126/368, 34.2%) were in the age group 45-60 years, and 52.2% (192/368) were doctors. Severe anxiety (ie, GAD-7 score &gt;10) was observed among 7.3% (27/368) health care workers, whereas moderate, mild, and minimal anxiety was observed among 12.5% (46/368), 29.3% (108/368), and 50.8% (187/368) health care workers, respectively. Moreover, 31.5% (116/368) of the health care workers had poor-to-fair sleep quality (ie, scores &lt;6). Univariate analysis showed female gender and inadequate availability of personal protective equipment was significantly associated with higher anxiety levels (<i>P</i>=.01 for both). Sleep disturbance was significantly associated with age &lt;30 years (<i>P</i>=.04) and inadequate personal protective equipment (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). Multivariable analysis showed that poorer quality of sleep was associated with higher anxiety levels (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic has potentially caused significant levels of anxiety and sleep disturbances among health care workers, particularly associated with the female gender, younger age group, and inadequate availability of personal protective equipment. These factors put health care workers at constant risk of contracting the infection themselves or transmitting it to their families. Early identification of at-risk health care workers and implementation of situation-tailored mitigation measures could help alleviate the risk of long-term, serious psychological sequelae as well as reduce current anxiety levels among health care workers.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers: Cross-sectional Analysis of an Otolaryngology Unit

2020 ◽  
Vol 163 (4) ◽  
pp. 671-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Paderno ◽  
Milena Fior ◽  
Giulia Berretti ◽  
Alberto Schreiber ◽  
Alberto Grammatica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
The Impact

The restart of routine in- and outpatient activity in the COVID-19 postepidemic peak needs to be carefully planned in light of specific patterns of viral diffusion. We evaluated SARS-CoV-2 serology in the entire personnel of a COVID-19-free otolaryngology department in a highly affected area. The aim was to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 positivity among staff to clarify the impact of different risk factors for infection. The entire staff of the otolaryngology unit was tested for SARS-CoV-2 serology. Symptomatic staff members were tested with nasal/pharyngeal swabs. All answered a survey focused on the number of in- and extrahospital positive contacts and type of activities in the unit. Five (9%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The only variable associated with a higher risk of infection was the number of extrahospital contacts without personal protective equipment ( P = .008). Our study shows that in non-COVID-19 departments, the use of adequate personal protective equipment leads to low rates of infection among health care workers. The prevalent risk of infection was related to extrahospital contact.

scholarly journals Occupational Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids among Health Care Workers in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia: A Result from Cross-Sectional Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Giziew Abere ◽  
Dawit Getachew Yenealem ◽  
Sintayehu Daba Wami
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Body Fluids ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Khat Chewing ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Associated Risk Factors

Background. Health care workers are at the greatest risk of developing blood-borne diseases through occupational exposure to blood and other contaminated body fluids. Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids (BBFs) continues to be the major public health problems and serious concern for the health care force in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of exposure to blood and other body fluids and its associated risk factors among health care workers. Methods. The institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed from January 20 to February 30, 2018. A stratified random sampling followed by a simple random sampling technique was used to select 286 study participants. Data were collected using a pretested and structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with occupational exposure to BBFs. The significance level was obtained at a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value ≤ 0.05. Results. The prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among health care workers in the last 12 months was 65.3% (95% CI: 59.4, 70.9). Lack of readily available personal protective equipment (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)) = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.56, 5.84), lack of training (AOR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.1, 11.2), Khat chewing (AOR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.3, 5.8), and being a medical doctor (AOR = 5.1, 95% CI: 1.68, 15.21) were significantly associated risk factors with occupational exposure to blood and other body fluids. Conclusions. In this study, occupational exposure to blood and other body fluids among health care workers remains a major health problem. Hence, ensuring the availability of personal protective equipment, developing strategies on banning, and strict monitoring of Khat chewing and training on infection prevention should be emphasized to minimize the problem.

scholarly journals Anxiety and Sleep Disturbances Among Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in India: Cross-Sectional Online Survey

10.2196/24206 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. e24206
Author(s):  
Bhawna Gupta ◽  
Vyom Sharma ◽  
Narinder Kumar ◽  
Akanksha Mahajan
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Anxiety Levels

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become a serious concern among the global medical community and has resulted in an unprecedented psychological impact on health care workers, who were already working under stressful conditions. Objective In this study, we aimed to evaluate and measure the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anxiety levels and sleep quality among health care workers in India, as well as to determine how the unavailability of personal protective equipment affects their willingness to provide patient-related care. Methods We conducted an online cross-sectional study using piloted, structured questionnaires with self-reported responses from 368 volunteer male and female health care workers in India. Study participants were identified through social networking platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. The survey evaluated the participants’ degree of signs and symptoms of anxiety and sleep quality based on the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and single-item Sleep Quality Scale, respectively. Information on the availability of personal protective equipment was collected based on responses to relevant survey questions. Results The majority of health care workers (126/368, 34.2%) were in the age group 45-60 years, and 52.2% (192/368) were doctors. Severe anxiety (ie, GAD-7 score >10) was observed among 7.3% (27/368) health care workers, whereas moderate, mild, and minimal anxiety was observed among 12.5% (46/368), 29.3% (108/368), and 50.8% (187/368) health care workers, respectively. Moreover, 31.5% (116/368) of the health care workers had poor-to-fair sleep quality (ie, scores <6). Univariate analysis showed female gender and inadequate availability of personal protective equipment was significantly associated with higher anxiety levels (P=.01 for both). Sleep disturbance was significantly associated with age <30 years (P=.04) and inadequate personal protective equipment (P<.001). Multivariable analysis showed that poorer quality of sleep was associated with higher anxiety levels (P<.001). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has potentially caused significant levels of anxiety and sleep disturbances among health care workers, particularly associated with the female gender, younger age group, and inadequate availability of personal protective equipment. These factors put health care workers at constant risk of contracting the infection themselves or transmitting it to their families. Early identification of at-risk health care workers and implementation of situation-tailored mitigation measures could help alleviate the risk of long-term, serious psychological sequelae as well as reduce current anxiety levels among health care workers.

Epidemiology of needlestick injuries among health-care workers in Awassa City, Southern Ethiopia

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moges Tadesse ◽  
Takele Tadesse
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Needlestick Injury ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Southern Ethiopia ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Needlestick Injuries ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Workers

Accidental needlestick injuries sustained by health-care workers are a common occupational hazard and a public health issue in health-care settings. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted and 30.9% of health-care workers had experienced at least one needlestick injury in the previous year.

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