Assessing knowledge, attitude, practice and training related to COVID-19: a cross-sectional survey of frontline healthcare workers in Nigeria

Abstract

ObjectivesHealthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline of efforts to treat those affected by COVID-19 and prevent its continued spread. This study seeks to assess knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) as well as training needs and preferences related to COVID-19 among frontline HCWs in Nigeria.SettingA cross-sectional survey was carried out among 1852 HCWs in primary, secondary and tertiary care settings across Nigeria using a 33-item questionnaire.ParticipantsRespondents included doctors, nurses, pharmacy and clinical laboratory professionals who have direct clinical contact with patients at the various healthcare settings.AnalysisExploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to establish independent factors related to COVID-19 KAP. Analysis of variance was used to identify any differences in the factors among different categories of HCWs.ResultsEFA identified four factors: safety and prevention (factor 1), practice and knowledge (factor 2), control and mitigation (factor 3) and national perceptions (factor 4). Significant group differences were found on three factors: Factor 1 (F(1,1655)=5.79, p=0.0006), factor 3 (F(1,1633)=12.9, p<0.0.0001) and factor 4 (F(1,1655)=7.31, p<0.0001) with doctors scoring higher on these three factors when compared with nurses, pharmaceutical workers and medical laboratory scientist. The most endorsed training need was how to reorganise the workplace to prevent spread of COVID-19. This was chosen by 61.8% of medical laboratory professionals, 55.6% of doctors, 51.7% of nurses and 51.6% of pharmaceutical health workers. The most preferred modes of training were webinars and conferences.ConclusionThere were substantial differences in KAP regarding the COVID-19 pandemic among various categories of frontline HCWs surveyed. There were also group differences on COVID-19 training needs and preferences. Tailored health education and training aimed at enhancing and updating COVID-19 KAP are needed, particularly among non-physician HCWs.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Shabwah Governorate, Yemen: A cross-sectional study

“…The overall knowledge score in this study was 19 out of a total score of 21, which means that most of the respondents have good knowledge of COVID-19. This is similar to reports of knowledge of COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Nigeria, China, Pakistan, and Guinea [6,[12][13][14][15][16][17]. However, this study has highlighted two main observations: First, most of the respondents were unable to recognize some of the extra-respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 such as diarrhea and confusion, which are consistent with a study from Nigeria [17].…”

“…This is similar to reports of knowledge of COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Nigeria, China, Pakistan, and Guinea [6,[12][13][14][15][16][17]. However, this study has highlighted two main observations: First, most of the respondents were unable to recognize some of the extra-respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 such as diarrhea and confusion, which are consistent with a study from Nigeria [17]. COVID-19 is not only a respiratory disease but also a multisystem disease.…”

“…Similar to other studies [5][6][7][8], this study revealed that most of the study participants agreed that face mask and hand washing are important to prevent the disease spread, however, in contrast with other studies [5][6][7]14,17], only 51.4% agreed that Yemen is in a good position to contain COVID-19. This view reflects participants' awareness of the already overburdened healthcare system in Yemen due to the civil war, and the difficulties in recruiting well-trained and motivated healthcare professionals, as most Yemeni healthcare professionals emigrate from the country in search of better wages and more secure conditions elsewhere.…”

Measuring COVID-19 Related Health Literacy in Healthcare Professionals—Psychometric Evaluation of the HL-COV-HP Instrument

“…The results indicate a lack of adequate knowledge about COVID-19 in many cases (6-42%) [24,25,27,32]. Healthcare professionals having a higher education were found to have better knowledge about COVID-19 [28,33,35]. Strong significant correlations were found between knowledge, attitude, and behavior [26,34].…”

“…However, data on the COVID-19 related health literacy that allow the analysis of healthcare professionals' knowledge, motivation, and ability to find, understand, evaluate, and use the information on COVID-19 is still missing. Such data are needed to identify subdimensions associated with lower literacy levels to develop tailored interventions that enable healthcare professionals to protect themselves and their patients [35]. A German study indicates that less vaccination knowledge and more vaccination hesitancy of healthcare professionals is associated with information-seeking behavior in messenger services or online video platforms rather than using scientific sources [36].…”