Preparedness to Tackle Coronavirus and Its Risk Perceptions among Health Care Professionals in Chennai City, India - A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infectious disease which begins to spread rapidly in various parts of the world including India. The health care professionals play a pivotal role in preventing or managing this disease so it is very essential for them to have an adequate knowledge, attitude and practice in tackling the disease. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the preparedness to tackle coronavirus and its risk perceptions among health care professionals in Chennai city, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 133 health care professionals in Chennai city. A sample of 67 medical and 66 dental professionals were selected from various hospitals in Chennai city based on the simple random sampling method. The questionnaire consists of 33 items regarding knowledge, attitude and practice towards coronavirus (COVID-19) and its risk perceptions among medical and dental health care professionals were obtained. The data was analyzed by using chi square test. P value <0.05 was considered to be a statistically significant. Results: The statistically significant difference was found regarding knowledge of symptoms, diagnosis of coronavirus among medical and dental professionals (p=0.0005). There was a highly significant difference was found among medical professionals regarding about the coronavirus WHO guidelines and proper facilities in treating coronavirus between medical and dental professionals (p=0.0005). The risk perceptions of medical professionals towards coronavirus was found to be statistically significant when compared to dental professionals (p>0.0005). Conclusion: The medical professionals have an adequate knowledge, attitude, practice and risk perceptions towards coronavirus when compared to dental professionals. Keywords: Coronavirus, Health care professionals, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Risk perceptions.