Abstract

Objective: Healthcare professionals taking care of COVID-19 patients are considered to be at high risk for acquiring infection, and the protection of healthcare professionals is one of the top priorities. Inadequate knowledge of the disease by healthcare professionals and their inability to access or use personal protective equipment (PPE) required for protection may cause rapidly spreading of infection. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the knowledge levels of healthcare professionals regarding COVID-19 and PPE use.

Methods: The prepared questionnaire was filled in face-face or electronically, ensuring that 502 healthcare professionals who volunteered to participate in the study remained anonymous. χ2 test was used for data analysis, and p <0.005 was considered significant.

Results: Five hundred two healthcare professionals participated in the study. The average age of the participants was 30.23 ± 6.02 years. Two hundred six of the participants were men, and 296 were women. Of the participants, 265 (52.8%) were physician, 168 (35.5%) nurse, 30 (6.0%) caregivers / cleaning staff, 24 (4.8%) emergency medical technician, and 5 (1.0%) were dialysis technician. Three hundred eighty of the participants (75.7%) had received training on COVID-19 and the use of personal protective equipment in the institution where they worked. 79.5% of the participants knew the causative agent of the disease, 91.0% the incubation period, and 97.6% the symptoms correctly. Hand washing rates were lower in physicians than in nurses and cleaning staff in indicated places. The rate of those who put on PPE in the correct order was 48.7%, and the rate of those who put off in the correct order was 38.9%.

Conclusions: As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the world, increasing the knowledge level of healthcare professionals is critical. Protection of healthcare professionals from infection can be provided by the availability of adequate information and protective equipment.