Abstract
BackgroundThe coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) represents a difficult challenge and could have devastating consequences for the healthcare system and healthcare workers in war-torn countries with poor healthcare facilities such as Yemen. Our study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, preparedness, counselling practices of healthcare workers regarding COVID-19, and the perceived barriers to adequately prevent and control COVID-19 in Yemen.MethodsHealthcare workers (HCWs) from major healthcare facilities participated in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire comprising of five main domains (demographics, knowledge, self-preparedness, counselling practice, perceived barriers) was distributed among HCWs after obtaining informed consent. A convenient sampling technique was used. Descriptive and inferential analyses were applied using SPSS software.ResultsA total of 1000 participants were initially targeted to participate in the study with 514 (51.4%) responding, of which 55.3% were female. Physicians and nurses constituted the largest proportion of participants, with 39.5% and 33.3%, respectively. The median scores for knowledge, self-preparedness, and counselling practice were 8 (out of 9), 9 (out of 15), and 25 (out of 30), respectively. The physician group showed a statistically significant association with better knowledge compared to the nurse group only, P<0.001. Males had higher preparedness scores than females, p<0.001. Also, the intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency departments presented a statistically significant difference by which the participants from these departments were more prepared compared to the others (e.g. outpatients, paediatrics and surgery) with P < 0.0001. The lack of awareness among the general population about COVID-19 preventive measures was perceived as the most common barrier for the adequate prevention and control of COVID-19 in Yemen (89.1%).ConclusionThe major highlight of this study is that HCWs have, overall, good knowledge, suboptimal preparedness, and adequate counselling practices prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Yemen, despite the high number of perceived barriers. However, urgent action and interventions are needed to improve the preparedness of HCWs to manage COVID-19. The perceived barriers also need to be fully addressed by the local healthcare authorities and international organisations working in Yemen for adequate prevention and control measures to be in place in managing COVID-19.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a newly emerging infectious disease and a rapidly expanding pandemic caused by a novel human coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019 [1]
The major highlight of this study is that Healthcare workers (HCWs) have, overall, good knowledge, suboptimal preparedness, and adequate counselling practices prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Yemen, despite the high number of perceived barriers
Urgent action and interventions are needed to improve the preparedness of HCWs to manage COVID-19
Summary
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a newly emerging infectious disease and a rapidly expanding pandemic caused by a novel human coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019 [1]. As of July 13, 2020, approximately 1469 cases of COVID-19 have been officially confirmed with 418 deaths, and the ratio of the total reported deaths to the total reported confirmed cases was the highest among all countries [3]. This could be due to the severe shortage of testing laboratories and lack of essential resources for the management of severe cases of COVID-19 in the majority of the healthcare facilities [5, 6]. Our study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, preparedness, counselling practices of healthcare workers regarding COVID-19, and the perceived barriers to adequately prevent and control COVID-19 in Yemen
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
