Knowledge, attitude, implementation and satisfaction levels regarding availability of resources for airborne infection control among the nursing staff of a medical college in central India during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Implementing airborne infection control measures as per guidelines are very important in preventing the spread of airborne infections. Therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate the gaps in knowledge, attitude, implementation and satisfaction levels regarding the availability of resources for airborne infection control among the nursing staff of a medical college in central India during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was done in which 109 nurses participated. This self-administrable questionnaire contained five parts (General information, knowledge, attitude, implementation and satisfaction regarding available resources) and was distributed to the participants. The correct responses as per the National airborne infection control guideline, Ministry of Health and family Welfare, Government of India, 2010 (NAIC) were scored and assessed. The mean age of the participants was 28.9 + 3.02 years. The mean scores out of total score of 10 were 5.48 + 1.2 for knowledge, 6.78 +1.0 for attitude, 5.21 + 1.1 for implementation, and 4.28 + 0.9 for satisfaction of available resources. The knowledge was adequate in 46.8%, the attitude was positive in 89.9 %, the guideline implementation was adequate in 45.9% and the resource satisfaction was only in 9.2% of study participants. Although the nurses had a positive attitude to airborne infection control practices, the overall knowledge and implementation of NAIC were barely adequate and the majority of subjects felt gaps in the availability of resources in implementations of these guidelines. Therefore, it is recommended to enforce their training, ensuring better availability of resources and strict monitoring from hospital administrations for better implementation of NAIC.