Association of PPE Availability, Training, and Practices with COVID-19 Sero-Prevalence in Nurses and Paramedics in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

Background Nurses and paramedics by being the frontline workers of the healthcare profession need to be equipped with the relevant knowledge, skills and protective gears against different forms of infection, including COVID-19. Though the governments and concerned stakeholders have provided P.P.E.s, training and information to protect the healthcare professionals, however until now the scientific literature has virtually not reported the impact of P.P.Es availability, training and practices on the COVID-19 sero-prevalence among the nurses and paramedics. Objective This study aimed to assess the Impact of P.P.Es availability, training and practices on COVID-19 sero-prevalence among nurses and paramedics in teaching hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a total of 133 nurses and paramedics as subjects of the study. Results A univariate analysis was done for four variables. The findings indicate that the healthcare professionals (nurses & paramedics) who have received P.P.Es on time at the start of COVID-19 emergence has fewer chances of contracting the COVID-19 infection (O.R = 0.96); while the odds for P.P.Es supplies was 0.73, and the odds of hand hygiene training was 0.95. Conclusion The study concluded that the availability of the P.P.E.s, COVID-19 related training and compliance with W.H.O recommended practices against COVID-19 were instrumental in protection against the infection and its spread.

WhatsApp-Delivered Intervention for Continued Learning for Nurses in Pakistan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Randomized-Controlled Trial

“…At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Pakistan initiated briefing sessions for infection control and awareness among healthcare practitioners. But not all the sessions have been comprehensive, ongoing or supportive for reinforcement, or with provision for questions and answers ( 36 ). Some local research has identified that only half of nurses received any formal training of infection prevention and control or how to manage COVID-19 cases ( 37 ).…”

Knowledge & Usage of Personal Protective Equipment for Prevention of Infection Among Frontline Health Care Workers During Covid – 19 Pandemic

“…19 Ahmad et al reported low risk of contracting COVID-19 infection in those HCWs who had adequate access to PPE and had received proper training on hand hygiene and utilization of PPE. 20 Extreme care must be exercised in wearing PPEto avoid unnecessary wastage resulting in its shortage. Around 80% participants in our study believed that PPE gets wasted due to incorrect techniques of donning.…”

Contributing Risk Factors to Self-Contamination During the Process of Donning and Doffing Personal Protective Equipment

“…Intensive training and practice may help them form muscle memory and doff PPE with more flexibility. 28 Moreover, a PPE design should further consider shoulder convenience. A trained doffing assistant should be added during the management of patients with confirmed cases in some situations as recommended, 8 who can provide “hands on” assistance in the doffing rooms.…”

“…Even though all participants chose loose coveralls in order to avoid contamination caused by the tighter size, we observed that participants with bigger body shapes and wider shoulders may don and doff PPE with lesser flexibility. They usually experienced difficulty in following the doffing protocol: rolling inside out and avoiding self-contamination 28 Moreover, a PPE design should further consider shoulder convenience. A trained doffing assistant should be added during the management of patients with confirmed cases in some situations as recommended, 8 who can provide "hands on" assistance in the doffing rooms.…”