Abstract
In history, pandemic outbreaks have wiped out populations as well as paved way for innovations and advances in Medicine and Public health. This study aims to ascertain the inherent knowledge gap and practice regarding the use of medical mask by healthcare workers during Covid-19 pandemic. Methods. This cross sectional survey was conducted at six tertiary hospitals within the south east Nigeria in April-June 2020 using convenient sampling method, a total of 273 respondents was enrolled in the study. A three components questionnaire comprising demographic inquiries, questions was designed to assess knowledge and practice of healthcare professionals regarding the use of medical mask. Collated data was analysed using SPSS software version 21. Result, 73.3% of the participant thought they knew the procedural steps in the use of medical mask however only 18.3% healthcare workers had good practice on the use of medical mask. Significant difference. (p<0.05) in total mean knowledge among different cadres of healthcare workers was observed and total percentage of participant with good knowledge and practice of the use of medical mask were 37% and 17.1% respectively. A weak positive correlation was also observed between knowledge and practice regarding the use of medical mask among health care professionals in south east Nigeria university teaching hospital. Conclusion: Findings from this study has reaffirmed the importance of continuous medical education thus knowledge and practice of the use of medical mask should be emphasized according to international standards to ensure they offer optimal product performance when used by healthcare professionals.
Highlights
Epidemics of re-emerging infectious diseases are on the rise, with catastrophic health, social and economic implications especially in the developing countries
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a potentially severe acute respiratory infection caused by severe acute respiratory corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
The clinical presentation is that of respiratory infection with a symptom ranging from a mild flu like illness, to a severe viral pneumonia leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ dysfunction that could lead to death in about 2- 3% of infected case
Summary
Epidemics of re-emerging infectious diseases are on the rise, with catastrophic health, social and economic implications especially in the developing countries.Infectious disease surveillance has long presented a major public health challenge in Nigeria, given its size and complexity [1].MacIntyre, [2] has reported the effectiveness of medical mask in reducing the risk of infection among healthcare workers and in the community.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a potentially severe acute respiratory infection caused by severe acute respiratory corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Epidemics of re-emerging infectious diseases are on the rise, with catastrophic health, social and economic implications especially in the developing countries. Infectious disease surveillance has long presented a major public health challenge in Nigeria, given its size and complexity [1]. MacIntyre, [2] has reported the effectiveness of medical mask in reducing the risk of infection among healthcare workers and in the community. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a potentially severe acute respiratory infection caused by severe acute respiratory corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Covid 19 Pandemic in South East Nigeria University Teaching Hospitals a number of patients with pneumonia of unknown aetiology emerged in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, Central China. Genome sequencing has demonstrated that this pneumonia, was caused by this novel virus previously known as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) [3,4,5]. The clinical presentation is that of respiratory infection with a symptom ranging from a mild flu like illness, to a severe viral pneumonia leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ dysfunction that could lead to death in about 2- 3% of infected case
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