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ShortCommunication

KnowledgeandPerceptionofHealthCareWorkersRegardingCOVID-19in

DifferentPartsofGujaratState1 1 2 3

DishaPatel ,BelaPatel ,NareshMakwana ,DipeshParmar1 2 3JuniorResident, Professor, Professor&Head,DepartmentofCommunityMedicine,ShreeM.P.ShahGovt.

MedicalCollege,Jamnagar,Gujarat,India

Correspondence:Dr.DishaPatel,Email:pateldisha79@gmail.com

Accessthisarticleonline

Website:

www.healthlinejournal.org

DOI:

10.51957/Healthline_185.1_2020

QuickResponseCode Howtocitethisarticle:

PatelD,PatelB, MakwanaN,ParmarD.Knowledge

and Perception of Health Care Workers Regarding

COVID-19 in Different Parts of Gujarat State.

Healthline.2021;12(2):54-57.

Abstract:

Introduction:TheWorldHealthOrganizationdeclaredthe2019–20coronavirusoutbreakaPublic

HealthEmergencyofInternationalConcern(PHEIC)on30January2020andapandemicon11March2020.

Apoorunderstandingofthediseaseamonghealthcareworkersmayimplicateindelayedtreatmentandthe

rapidspreadofinfection.Objective:Toknowtheperceptionandknowledgeofthehealthcareworkersin

differentdistrictsofGujaratstateabouttheCOVID19.Method:Acrosssectionalwebbasedsurveywas

conductedamongthe104healthcareworkersworkingindifferentdistrictsofGujaratduringthemonthof

April2020.WhatsAppandTelegrambasedquestionnairewassenttoeachparticipantandtheirresponse

wasrecorded.DatawasenteredinMicrosoftExcel2016andwasanalysedbyapplyingvariousstatistical

testusingSPSSversion25.Results:Outof104participants,46.15%and53.85%weremaleandfemale

respectively. Mean age of participants was 26.40 years. Majority participants were from Saurashtra-

Kutch(36.54%) followed by central Gujarat(28.85%) and north Gujarat(23.08%). Out of 63 who had

receivedtrainingofbasiccourseinCOVID-19,only27wereabletogivecorrectansweraboutcriteriafor

dischargeofpatient.Conclusion:HCWsinourstudyarehavinggoodknowledgeregardingCOVID19.They

are aware of themeasures needed to be taken to reduce the spreadof the disease.HCWswereusing

authenticsourcesforinformation;thisultimatelyaffectsknowledgeandisreflectedinattitudeandpractice.

Keywords:Perception,Knowledge,Healthcareworker,COVID19

Introduction:

Coronavirus (CoV) infections are emerging

respiratoryviruses thatareknown to cause illness

ranging from the common cold to severe acute[1]respiratorysyndrome (SARS). Multipleepidemic

outbreaks occurred in 2002 (SARS), with

approximately800deaths, and in 2012 (Middle

East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, MERS-[2,3]

CoV),with 860 deaths. About 8 years after the

MERS-CoV epidemic, the current outbreak of

coronavirusdisease2019(COVID-19)inWuhanCity,

HubeiProvince, China, has emerged as a global

[4]outbreak and significant public health issue. On

January 30, 2020, theWorld Health Organization

(WHO)declaredCOVID-19apublichealthemergency[5]

ofinternationalconcern. Astonishingly,duringthe

first week ofMarch, a devastating number of new

cases were reported globally, and COVID-19

emerged asapandemic.AsofJune15,2020,more

than3,00,000confirmedcases in Indiahad been[6]

reported. Therouteoftransmissionarerespiratory

droplets, close contact with an infected person

throughoral,nasal, andmucousmembranesof the[7]

eye, including through fomites. The first case of

HealthlineJournalVolume12Issue2(April-June2021)

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COVID-19inIndia,whichoriginatedfromChina,was

reportedon30January2020.Asof5June2020,the

MOH&FW has confirmed a total of 226,770 cases,[8]109,462recoveriesand6,348deathsinthecountry.

India'scasefatalityrateisrelativelylowerat2.80%,[9]

againsttheglobal6.13%,asof3June2020. Ongoing

pandemicnatureofthediseasemadeitnecessaryfor

doctorstoadoptincreasedprecautionsinaccordance

with the critical situation, and to put effort into

implementing appropriate hygienic conditions and[3]follow recommendations. In addition, healthcare

workers (HCWs) are at a high risk of getting the

infection and the source of transmission in the

community. A poor understanding of the disease

amonghealthcareworkersmayimplicateindelayed

treatmentandtherapidspreadofinfection.Withthis

background present study is aimed to know the

perception of the health care workers in different

districtsofGujaratstateabouttheCOVID-19.

Method:

Acrosssectionalsurveyusinggoogleformswas

conducted among the 104 doctors working in

differentdistrictsofGujaratstateduringthemonthof

April2020.Apretestedstructured 25-itemsurvey

instrument was developed using WHO course

materialsonemergingrespiratoryviruses,including

COVID-19. The survey instrument comprised 19

closed-endedand6open-endedquestionsandtook

approximatelyfiveminutestocomplete.Thesurvey

covered HCWs' characteristics, awareness,

informationsources,andknowledgeandperceptions

related to COVID-19. The developed draft survey

instrumentwasmadeaccessiblethroughalink.The

pilot web survey was then conducted among 10

randomly selected doctors to assess clarity,

relevance, and acceptability. Feasibility and time

required to answer the survey were evaluated on

another five participants. These participants were

notincludedintheresearch.Refinementsweremade

asrequiredtofacilitatebettercomprehensionandto

organize the questions before the final surveywas

distributed to the study population through a URL

link.Briefly,weusedWhatsappandtelegramacloud-

based instant messaging app. In the groups and

individually the survey link was advertised to the

targetpopulationandwasopenedinApril2020for

20days.Theobtaineddatawerecoded,validated,and

analysed using SPSS version 25 (IBM). Descriptive

analysis was applied to calculate frequencies and

proportions. The chi-square test was used to

investigatethelevelofassociationamongvariables.A

pvalueoflessthan0.05wasconsideredstatistically

significant. Confidentiality of personal information

was maintained throughout the study by making

participants' information anonymous and asking

participants to provide honest answers. Eligible

HCWs'participationinthissurveywasvoluntaryand

wasnot compensated.Electronic informedconsent

wasshownontheinitialpageofthesurvey.

Results:

Outof104participants,46.15%weremaleand

53.85%were female.Meanageofparticipantswas

26.40 years. Majority participants were from

Saurashtra-Kutch(36.54%) followed by central

Gujarat(28.85%)andnorthGujarat(23.08%).Among

theseparticipantsmajority(54.81%)werepursuing

their Post graduation or completed it, 25% were

Medical officers, 14.42% were Intern doctors and

5.77%were fromparamedical staff.Outof63who

had received training of basic course in COVID-19,

only 27 were able to give correct answer about

criteriafordischargeofpatient.

Modeoftransmission

Sampletobetaken

Testtobedone(RT-PCR)

Dischargecriteria

AttitudeaboutCOVID-19

PeoplearetestedadequatelyinIndia

StressfultoworkinCOVIDhospital

Gettingadequatesleep

Affectfamilylife

KnowledgeaboutCOVID19

54(51.92)

39(37.50)

56(53.84)

41(39.42)

Yes(n=104)(%)

14(13.46)

60(57.69)

70(67.31)

52(50.00)

Correctanswer

(n=104)(%)

Table1:KnowledgeandAttitudeaboutCOVID-19

Pateletal KnowledgeandPerceptionregardingCOVID19...

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Table1showsthat55(52.88%)participantswere

having knowledge about which sample has to be

taken for diagnosis of COVID 19 and 41(39.42%)

participants were knowing when to discharge the

patientasperguideline.Majority70(67.31%)were

getting adequate sleep during their duty and for

60(57.69%)participantsitwasstressfultoworkin

COVIDhospital.Half(49.43%)oftheparticipantsin

govt. hospital were provided with sufficient PPE

whileinprivatehospitalonly13.33%weregettingit.

Familylifewasmore(52.81%)affectedinthosewho

wereworkingingovthospital.

Table 2 shows the association between the

participants posted in COVID duty and taking any

prophylaxis in which there is no any statistical2

significance(a =0.075;p-value=0.78) between those

whoare taking and thosewhoarenot taking any

prophylaxis.

Majority31.25%oftheparticipantsweregetting

the information for guidelines from websites like

WHO/MoHFW, followed by socialmedia (23.26%),

television (17.70%), and rest were getting it from

newspaper(14.23%)andfriends(13.54%).

0a =0.075;p-value=0.78*Allopathicand/orAyurvedicand/orHomeopathic

Table2:AssociationbetweenCOVID19postingdutyandtakingprophylaxis

Participantsdoing/postedatCOVID19

duty

Takinganyprophylaxis*forCOVID19

Yes No

Yes 20 47

No 12 25

Figure2:FavourablefactorsforIndiatofightagainstCOVID-19

Figure 2 shows that majority participants

believed that preventive measures (66.34%),

followed by immunity (59.61%) and health

managementsystem(54.81%)werethefavourable

factorsforIndiatofightagainstCOVID19.

Discussion:

ThefindingsinourstudyshowedthatHCWshada

high level of knowledge and a positive attitude

towards the COVID-19 outbreak. Findings of this

study suggest out of 104, Majority (31.25%)

participants were getting the information for

guidelines about COVID-19 from websites like

WHO/MOH&FW, which is contrary to a cross

sectional study conducted by Huynh Giao et al at

District 2 Hospital, Ho ChiMinh City done on 327

participantsshowsthatHCWsaremoreinterestedin

socialmediatogatherknowledgeonCOVID-19than[9]the official website of the Ministry of Health.

Obtaining information from authentic sources is

pivotalfordisseminatingunbiasedandreliabledata

about the emerging COVID-19 infection and is

essential for HCWs' preparedness and response.

Studyconductedbyusshowsthatmajority(66.34%)

of HCWs agreed that maintaining preventive

measures is recommended which is similar to

findingof a study conductedbyBhagavathulaet al

whichshowsthatthemajorityoftheHCWs(n=338,

85.6%) agreed that maintaining hand hygiene,

covering the nose andmouth while coughing, and

avoidingsickpatientscouldhelptopreventCOVID-[3]

19 transmission. Present study shows only

32(30.76%) participants were taking any

prophylaxisagainstCOVID19whichisincontrastto

thestudyconductedbyDebajyotiBhattacharyyaetal.

atNewDelhi,Indiawhichshowsthataround76%of

theHCWs had accepted the prophylaxis and taken[10]

HCQatleastonceasapartofprophylaxis. Present

study shows that 52% participants were having

correct knowledge about mode of transmission

aboutCOVID19whileanotherstudyconductedon

nonmedicalstudentsshowsmorethan84%students

had wrong concept that COVID-19 could transmit

through touching personswith flu and 52.5% and

10.8%studentsbelievedthatCOVID-19couldspread*Handhygiene,Wearingmask,Socialdistancing

HealthlineJournalVolume12Issue2(April-June2021)

70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%Hotclimate Immunity Health

ManagementSystem

Preventive

Measures*

Genetic

37.50%

59.61%54.81%

66.34%

10.57%

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InfectedPneumonia.NEnglJMed2020Mar26;382(13):1199-

1207

3. BhagavathulaAS,ShehabA.TheStoryofMysteriousPneumonia

andtheResponsetoDeadlyNovelCoronavirus(2019-nCoV):So

Far!.NEMJ2020Feb21;1(1):7-10.

4. LaiC,ShihT,KoW,TangH,HsuehP.Severeacuterespiratory

syndromecoronavirus2(SARS-CoV-2)andcoronavirusdisease-

2019 (COVID-19): The epidemic and the challenges. Int J

AntimicrobAgents2020Mar;55(3):105924

5. EurosurveillanceEditorialTeam.Notefromtheeditors:World

Health Organization declares novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

sixth public health emergency of international concern. Euro

Surveillance2020Feb;25(5):200131e

6. COVID19CasesinIndia.mygov.in/covid-19[lastaccessedon17-

6-2020]

7. HuangC,WangY,LiX,RenL,ZhaoJ,HuY,etal.Clinicalfeaturesof

patientsinfectedwith2019novelcoronavirusinWuhan,China.

Lancet2020;395:497-506.

8. COVID19India."Home|MinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare|

GOI".https://www.mohfw.gov.in/index1.php[lastaccessedon

17-6-2020]

9. HuynhG,NguyenTN,TranVK,VoKN,VoVT,PhamLA.Knowledge

and attitude toward COVID-19 among healthcare workers at

District 2 Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City. Asian Pac J Trop Med

2020;13:260-5

10. BhattacharyyaD.,RaizadaN.etal.ChemoprophylaxisofCOVID-

19with hydroxychloroquine - a study of health careworkers

attitude, adherence to regime and side effects med Rxiv

2020.06.11.20126359

11. WadoodA.,MamunA., et alKnowledge, attitude, practice and

perceptionregardingCOVID-19amongstudentsinBangladesh:

SurveyinRajshahiUniversitymedRxiv2020.04.21.20074757

12. SaqlainM.,MuddasirM.etalKnowledge,attitude,practiceand

perceived barriers among healthcare professionals regarding

COVID-19: A Cross-sectional survey from Pakistan med Rxiv

2020.04.13.20063198

13. AbdulahDM,MusaDH.Insomniaandstressofphysiciansduring

COVID-19outbreak.SleepMedicine:X.2020;2:100017.

through water and food, and mosquito bite[11]

respectively. Whenquestionaskedaboutwhichtest

has to be done for COVID-19, 46.16% participants

were unable give correct answer,While one study

donebySaqlainMetalshowed23.91%respondents

wereunabletoidentifycorrectresponsesregarding[12]

the same. One-third(32.69%) of the participants

were sleepless during the COVID-19 outbreak and

more than half had stress (57.69%) in this study,

whileinastudydoneby AbdulahDMetalshowed

More than two-thirds of the physicians were

sleeplessduringtheCOVID-19outbreak(68.3%)and[13]

majorityhadstress(93.7%).

Conclusion:

As the global threat of COVID-19 continues to

emerge, greater efforts through educational

campaignsthattargetHCWsareurgentlyneeded.We

identified thatHCWs in our study are having good

knowledgeandperceptionregardingCOVID19.They

are aware of the measures needed to be taken to

reduce the spreadof thedisease.The findingsalso

demonstrated that HCWs were using authentic

sources for information; this ultimately affects

knowledgeandisreflectedinattitudeandpractice.

Recommendations:

The study recommends that health ministry

should provide a comprehensive training

programme, targeting all HCWs, to promote all

precautionaryandpreventivemeasuresofCOVID-19,

toachieveequilibriumintermsofclinicalknowledge

aboutCOVID-19.

Declaration:

Funding:Nil

ConflictofInterest:Nil

Acknowledgement:

We thank all studyparticipants for their voluntary

participationandforprovidingessentialinformation.

References:

1. YinY,WunderinkRG.MERS,SARSandothercoronavirusesas

causesofpneumonia.Respirology2018Feb20;23(2):130-137

2. Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, Wang X, Zhou L, Tong Y, et al. Early

TransmissionDynamicsinWuhan,China,ofNovelCoronavirus-

Pateletal KnowledgeandPerceptionregardingCOVID19...