Attitude of the health team to the infant home care plan during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Maintaining and improving infant health and continuing care at home are very important for the health system. According to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on the health system capacity and medical staff’s physical-mental health, this study investigated the health staff’s attitude on the implementation of an infant home care plan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 130 nurses, midwives, and doctors working in the newborn care department in Isfahan health-therapeutic centers, with at least 6 months of work experience. The samples were selected by random multistage method and completed the researcher-made 5-point Likert questionnaire with 25 items and two areas of education support and security safety. The total score of this questionnaire varied from 25 to 125, and obtaining a score equal to or greater than 91 meant that people had a favorable opinion about home care for babies. The reliability of the questionnaire was reported by Cronbach’s α of 0.79, and content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) scores of 0.88–0.99 and 0.79–0.1, respectively. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 18.0 (SPSS) (Chicago, USA) and analysis of descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and Pearson correlation tests at a 0.05 significance level. RESULTS: The mean score of medical staff's attitude was obtained at 77.59 ± 11.71 and the security-safety and education-support domains scores were 41.3 ± 6.34 and 36.29 ± 6.11, respectively. In addition, a significant inverted relationship was observed between the mean score of medical staffs’’attitude with age and the number of shifts. CONCLUSION: According to the results, the medical staff's attitude about the infant home care program is neutral, and designing a professional educational period, considering economic preparations and responsibility assurance is essential for creating confidence and acceptance of the infant home care program by the medical staff.