DOI: 10.36347/sjmcr.2022.v10i12.033

Pages: 1269-1275

Infection control and prevention is an integral component of the healthcare system in any setting to reduce risks for morbidity and mortality in patients and healthcare professionals at all levels. Healthcare professionals have a great responsibility for infection risk reduction in patients across the entire continuum of care and through a variety of direct care activities especially during the highly contagious COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: This cross-sectional study was designed to assess awareness of COVID-19 disease and its related infection control practices among healthcare professionals. Design: An online self-reported cross-sectional survey was designed to assess awareness and recent training of HCW about common IPAC (Infection Control And Prevention) measures necessary in dealing with droplet infection. All HCW involved are working in facilities dealing with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. A total number of 449 HCW, working in facilities dealing with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients responded to the survey in various countries. Descriptive and analytic statistics were performed for all groups and subgroups based on their responses. Results: We found that 344 of participants work in health care facilities dealing with COVID-19 patients. Around 60% of them performed N95 respirator fit testing while around three quarters received recent PPE and hand hygiene training. We also found that 310 HCW reports providing direct service to COVID-19 patients and 35.5 % of them performed N95 respirator fit testing while around 82% of them received PPE and hand hygiene training. We set a total score of 70% as a passing score of our survey. We found that 53% of HCW (n= 242) were able to achieve similar or higher scores, while 47% of HCW (n=207) did not achieve it. Conclusion: There is a need for continuous educational and training programs on infection control.