Awareness, Practices and Barriers related to infection prevention and control among physicians during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| The Egyptian Journal of Community Medicine | ||
| Article 4, Volume 40, Issue 3, July 2022, Pages 181-187 PDF (1.06 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejcm.2021.102360.1190 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Rasha Saad Hussein1; Shimaa Ahmed Abdel-Salam2; Asmaa Fathy Gebrel3; Wafaa Mohamed Hussein* 4 | ||
| 1Department of community, environmental and occupational medicine, faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt | ||
| 2Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt | ||
| 3Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Misr University for Science & Technology | ||
| 4Department of community, environmental and occupational medicine, Faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission. Despite the development of several vaccines, inequitable distribution and vaccine hesitancy impact their role in protecting HCWs. Adherence to Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice remains a cornerstone in preventing disease spread in health facilities and in communities. Objectives: The study aims to measure knowledge and practices of physicians in relation to COVID-19 infection prevention and control. It also aimed to identify perceived barriers to IPC practice. Methods: In this cross sectional study, we used an online survey to collect data from physicians working in a University hospital in Cairo throughout June-July, 2020. The survey included 12 items for knowledge, 8 items for practice and 6 items for perceived barriers. Scores for knowledge and practice of IPC were calculated and transformed into percent scores. Results: Three hundred and eighteen physicians responded to the survey. The mean knowledge percent score was 57.1±15.9. Participants least knew about facemasks and gloves protectiveness. The mean percent score for IPC practice was 78.8±12.2. Less than a quarter of physicians “always” used N95 mask during all patient care procedures or did a seal test when donning one. Overcrowded emergency departments, improper work place design, shortage in IPC supplies and insufficient training were the main barriers to IPC practice cited by almost 90% of the study participants. Conclusion: Physicians in our study had average IPC Knowledge score compared to other studies. Continuous IPC training can largely improve IPC knowledge and practice among physicians. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| COVID-19 awareness; infection prevention and control practices; barriers | ||
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