Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Safety Laboratory Measures During COVID-19 Pandemic – A Cross-Sectional Study Among Oral Pathologists in Kerala

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 has high affinity for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors in the oral mucosa. Oral pathologists are at the risk of laboratory.acquired infections as they deal with these oral biopsy specimens. Aims: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of safe laboratory measures by oral pathologists working in histopathologic laboratories in different regions of Kerala. Settings and Design: The study was cross-sectonal online questionnaire based. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional online questionnaire based. The study group consisted of practicing oral pathologists and those who are pursuing postgraduation in oral pathology. The questionnaire consisted of 30 questions to analyze the KAP related to the basic information about the disease and the laboratory precautions to be taken during the pandemic. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS version 25. Chi-squared test and independent sample t.test were applied to compare the differences in KAP by demographic characteristics. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Pearson's rank correlation test was used to assess the correlation between KAP (P < 0.05). Results: The survey revealed that 95% of the participants had sufficient knowledge (7.259 ± 1.282), and all the participants had positive attitude regarding coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. 70.5% of the participants followed good practice (7.914 ± 2.330) of safety laboratory measures. Conclusions: Our survey has found gaps in some aspects of knowledge and practice that should be emphasized in future training programs.