Training Of Healthcare Workers Research Articles

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Breastfeeding Migrant Mothers: A Scoping Review

Introduction:Breastfeeding is highly recommended to promote the physical and mental health of mothers and infants. Unfortunately, migrant mothers face many barriers to their breastfeeding practice and often suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to traumatic events during migration and their settlement in the host country. There is a lack of research on the interrelationship of breastfeeding, PTSD, and the migrant status of mothers. This review presents existing research in the field and provides recommendations to improve the breastfeeding practices of migrant women with PTSD.Methods:This scoping review was undertaken in consultation with the patient partners. After searching various databases, 116 articles were found. We reviewed and analyzed five articles that were relevant to migrant mothers, breastfeeding, and PTSD.Findings:Migrant mothers with PTSD face additional breastfeeding barriers in the host countries due to lack of support, pressure to assimilate, racial stigma, inequalities surrounding breastfeeding, lack of culturally sensitive care, language barrier, misinformation, the norm of formula feeding, and stress. Some recommendations include psychosocial interventions, creating private areas to breastfeed in public, reducing pressure for new mothers to return to work, training healthcare workers to be culturally competent, addressing societal stigma, educating migrant mothers on breastfeeding, and offering social support. Also, healthcare workers should take a warm approach, conduct safety assessments, educate themselves on PTSD, notice nonverbal cues, and employ multidisciplinary professionals and interpreters.Conclusions:While research shows that culturally competent healthcare workers, support, and education can aid with PTSD and breastfeeding, future research is needed surrounding the interconnectedness of PTSD, breastfeeding, and migrant mothers. Research on this unique population will allow for better support. Future research should employ patient partners in the development of novel interventions for breastfeeding migrant mothers with PTSD.

Profile of health care workers in a context of instability: a cross-sectional study of four rural health zones in eastern DR Congo (lessons learned)

BackgroundThe crisis in human resources for health is observed worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Many studies have demonstrated the importance of human resources for health as a major pillar for the proper functioning of the health system, especially in fragile and conflict-affected contexts such as DR Congo. However, the aspects relating to human resources profile in relation to the level of performance of the health districts in a particular context of conflicts and multiform crises have not yet been described.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the profile of staff working in rural health districts in a context of crisis and conflicts.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out from May 15, 2017 to May 30, 2019 on 1090 health care workers (HCW) exhaustively chosen from four health districts in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Idjwi, Katana, Mulungu and Walungu). Data were collected using a survey questionnaire. The Chi2 test was used for comparison of proportions and the Kruskal–Wallis test for medians. As measures of association, we calculated the odds ratios (OR) along with their 95% confidence interval. The α-error cut-off was set at 5%.ResultsIn all the health districts the number of medical doctors was very insufficient with an average of 0.35 medical doctors per 10,000 inhabitants. However, the number of nurses was sufficient, with an average of 3 nurses per 5000 inhabitants; the nursing / medical staff (47%) were less represented than the administrative staff (53%). The median (Min–Max) age of all HCW was 46 (20–84) years and 32% of them were female. This was the same for the registration of staff in the civil service (obtaining a registration number). The mechanism of remuneration and payment of benefits, although a national responsibility, also suffered more in unstable districts. Twenty-one percent of the HCW had a monthly income of 151USD and above in the stable district; 9.2% in the intermediate and 0.9% in the unstable districts. Ninety-six percent of HCW do not receive Government’ salary and 64% of them do not receive the Government bonus.ConclusionThe context of instability compromises the performance of the health system by depriving it of competent personnel. This is the consequence of the weakening of the mechanisms for implementing the practices and policies related to its management. DR Congo authorities should develop incentive mechanisms to motivate young and trained HCW to work in unstable and intermediate health districts by improving their living and working conditions.

Simulated patient training to improve youth engagement in HIV care in Kenya: A stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial.

Youth living with HIV (YLHIV) report that negative interactions with health care workers (HCWs) affects willingness to return to care. This stepped wedge randomized trial evaluated effectiveness of a standardized patient actor (SP) HCW training intervention on adolescent engagement in care in Kenya. HCWs caring for YLHIV at 24 clinics received training on adolescent care, values clarification, communication, and motivational interviewing, with 7 SP encounters followed by facilitated feedback of videotaped interactions. Facilities were randomized to timing of the intervention. The primary outcome was defined as return within 3 months after first visit (engagement) among YLHIV who were either newly enrolled or who returned to care after >3 months out of care. Visit data was abstracted from electronic medical records. Generalized linear mixed models adjusted for time, being newly enrolled, and clustering by facility. YLHIV were surveyed regarding satisfaction with care. Overall, 139 HCWs were trained, and medical records were abstracted for 4,595 YLHIV. Median YLHIV age was 21 (IQR 19-23); 82% were female, 77% were newly enrolled in care, and 75% returned within 3 months. Half (54%) of trained HCWs remained at their clinics 9 months post-training. YLHIV engagement improved over time (global Wald test, p = 0.10). In adjusted models, the intervention showed no significant effect on engagement [adjusted Prevalence Ratio (aPR) = 0.95, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.88-1.02]. Newly enrolled YLHIV had significantly higher engagement than those with prior lapses in care (aPR = 1.18, 95%CI: 1.05-1.33). Continuous satisfaction with care scores were significantly higher by wave 3 compared to baseline (coefficient = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.19-0.58). Despite provider skill improvement, there was no effect of SP training on YLHIV engagement in care. This may be due to temporal improvements or turnover of trained HCWs. Strategies to retain SP-training benefits need to address HCW turnover. YLHIV with prior gaps in care may need more intensive support. Registration CT #: NCT02928900. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02928900.

Preparedness of South Asian countries regarding Langya virus emergence: A view on the current situation

Preparedness of South Asian countries regarding Langya virus emergence: A view on the current situation

Tuberculosis infection prevention and control in rural Papua New Guinea: an evaluation using the infection prevention and control assessment framework

BackgroundPapua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the 14 countries categorised as having a triple burden of tuberculosis (TB), multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB), and TB-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infections. TB infection prevention and control (TB-IPC) guidelines were introduced in 2011 by the National Health Department of PNG. This study assesses the implementation of this policy in a sample of district hospitals in two regions of PNG.MethodsThe implementation of TB-IPC policy was assessed using a survey method based on the World Health Organization (WHO) IPC assessment framework (IPCAF) to implement the WHO’s IPC core components. The study included facility assessment at ten district hospitals and validation observations of TB-IPC practices.ResultsOverall, implementation of IPC and TB-IPC guidelines was inadequate in participating facilities. Though 80% of facilities had an IPC program, many needed more clearly defined IPC objectives, budget allocation, and yearly work plans. In addition, they did not include senior facility managers in the IPC committee. 80% (n = 8 of 10) of hospitals had no IPC training and education; 90% had no IPC committee to support the IPC team; 70% had no surveillance protocols to monitor infections, and only 20% used multimodal strategies for IPC activities. Similarly, 70% of facilities had a TB-IPC program without a proper budget and did not include facility managers in the TB-IPC team; 80% indicated that patient flow poses a risk of TB transmission; 70% had poor ventilation systems; 90% had inadequate isolation rooms; and though 80% have personal protective equipment available, frequent shortages were reported.ConclusionsThe WHO-recommended TB-IPC policy is not effectively implemented in most of the participating district hospitals. Improvements in implementing and disseminating TB-IPC guidelines, monitoring TB-IPC practices, and systematic healthcare worker training are essential to improve TB-IPC guidelines’ operationalisation in health settings to reduce TB prevalence in PNG.

Training healthcare workers effectively reduces HIV-related stigma and discrimination

Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville, Gainesville, GA The corresponding author is Kerese Downer, MD; [email protected] The author declares no conflicts of interest.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Oxygen Therapy among Health Care Professionals

Oxygen is one of the most critical component of life. Objective: To access the knowledge attitude and practice regarding oxygen therapy among health care professionals. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted using purposive sampling technique. A structured questionnaire from literature was used to collect the data. Responses of the participants as good/bad knowledge, positive/negative attitude, and good/bad practice were recorded. The data was collected from Services Hospital Lahore of 140 healthcare professionals. The doctors, RTs, and nurses available at the workplace were included in the study. Results: The mean age and standard deviation is 27.09 ± 4.184. There were 61 males representing 43.6% of total population and there were 79 female participants which representing 56.4% of total population. There are 76 doctors which were 54.3% of population, 40 nurses which were 28.6% and 24 respiratory therapists of 17.1% of total population. Our study shows that 77.9% population had good knowledge and remaining 22.1% population had no knowledge, 82.9% population had positive attitude and remaining 17.1% population had negative attitude. And out of 140 participants, 92.9% population had good practice and remaining 7.1% population had bad practice regarding oxygen therapy. Conclusions: The study concluded that majority of the studied participant had good level of knowledge about oxygen therapy and adequate level of practice of oxygen therapy but a significant number of participants had average level of knowledge about oxygen therapy and practice of oxygen therapy. Therefore, regular training of healthcare workers should be encouraged to update their knowledge and practice of oxygen therapy.

Resilience of hospital staff facing COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons from Israel.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional burden on already strained healthcare systems worldwide, intensifying the responsibility and burden of healthcare workers. Although most hospital staff continued working during this stressful and challenging unprecedented pandemic, differences in the characteristics and attributes were noted between sectors and hospital departments. Israeli healthcare workers are trained and experienced in coping with national emergencies, but the pandemic has exposed variations in staff reactions. Understanding the intrinsic differences between sectors and departments is a key factor in staff and hospital preparedness for unexpected events, better resource utilization for timely interventions to mitigate risk and improve staff wellbeing. To identify and compare the level of resilience, secondary traumatization and burnout among hospital workers, between different sectors and hospital departments, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional research to assess the resiliency, secondary traumatization and burnout of healthcare workers at a large general public hospital in central Israel. The sample consisted of 655 participants across various hospital units exposed to COVID-19 patients. Emergency department physicians had higher rates of resilience and lower rates of burnout and secondary traumatization than staff in other hospital departments. In contrast, staff from internal medicine departments demonstrated the highest levels of burnout (4.29). Overall, physicians demonstrated higher levels of resilience (7.26) and lower levels of burnout compared to other workers. Identifying resilience characteristics across hospital staff, sectors and departments can guide hospital management in education, preparation and training of healthcare workers for future large-scale health emergencies such as pandemics, natural disasters, and war.

A qualitative exploration into the presence of TB stigmatization across three districts in South Africa

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) stigma is a barrier to active case finding and delivery of care in fighting the TB epidemic. As part of a project exploring different models for delivery of TB contact tracing, we conducted a qualitative analysis to explore the presence of TB stigma within communities across South Africa.MethodsWe conducted 43 in-depth interviews with 31 people with TB and 12 household contacts as well as five focus group discussions with 40 ward-based team members and 11 community stakeholders across three South African districts.ResultsTB stigma is driven and facilitated by fear of disease coupled with an understanding of TB/HIV duality and manifests as anticipated and internalized stigma. Individuals are marked with TB stigma verbally through gossip and visually through symptomatic identification or when accessing care in either TB-specific areas in health clinics or though ward-based outreach teams. Individuals’ unique understanding of stigma influences how they seek care.ConclusionTB stigma contributes to suboptimal case finding and care at the community level in South Africa. Interventions to combat stigma, such as community and individual education campaigns on TB treatment and transmission as well as the training of health care workers on stigma and stigmatization are needed to prevent discrimination and protect patient confidentiality.

Assaults against health care workers in Sudan: An on-going issue

Background The increasing threat of workplace violence in the health sector in Sudan is a multifactorial problem which displayed lack of trust in doctors and health care workers (HCWs). Objective To study assaults against HCWs employed in Haj Elsafie Teaching Hospital, Khartoum North Sudan. Method An analytical cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried between September 2018 and October 2019. The data was collected through semi-structured questionnaire. Results The prevalence of assaults was 59.6% among 240 participants. Over history females get assaulted most with significant statistical association (p=0.024). Mostly doctors, lab doctors and nurses gone through assault and most of the incidence were happened at medicine department, with a significant statistical association (p=0.038). Verbal assaults were the most frequent among all jobs types, but sexual assault remains high in female. It was found that only 25.8% assault victim filed an official report to the hospital administration. Majority of assault victim explain that they found it unnecessary to report (54.0%), they believed hospital will not take action (30.0%) and assailant will not face any consequences (17.0%). Only, 5.0% disclosed feared from assailant. Conclusion High prevalence of assault incidents among HCWs were found yet official report filing to hospital administration remains low. While poor quality of care was believed to be the main reason for the assault. Training HCWs to deal with patients and teaching them proper communication skills is essential.

Evaluation of the Factors Influencing Self-leadership in the Saudi’s Healthcare Sector: A Systematic Review

Background: Self-leadership in the Saudi Arabian healthcare sector is vital due to the ongoing transformation of this industry. However, research on self-leadership training for Saudi healthcare workers is presently limited. Objective: A systematic literature review is performed, focusing on articles about self-leadership and the impact of factors influencing self-leadership in the Saudi Arabian health sector. Methods: PRISMA reporting was used for this systematic review. Data was sourced from various electronic databases based on predefined selection criteria. Results: Nine studies met the study inclusion criteria and were reviewed further. Results showed a lack of evidence on leadership training for healthcare workers in the Saudi Arabian healthcare sector. In some studies, self-leadership was associated with emotional intelligence, education, job satisfaction, job engagement, and internalized moral skills. High levels of self-leadership positively correlated with increased performance of healthcare workers in the Saudi Arabian health sector. Conclusion: Healthcare workers should have the necessary skills and strategies to develop self-leadership, thus enhancing communication competence and collaboration to achieve high performance in the health sector. Further research is needed in the Saudi Arabian healthcare sector to close the literature gap regarding self-leadership.

Snakebite envenoming at MSF: A decade of clinical challenges and antivenom access issues.

The medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical care in more than 70 countries and admits more than 7000 cases of snakebite in its facilities each year. We describe our activities against snakebite in three African countries: Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ethiopia, in which different models of care have been developed. A standard protocol using two different antivenoms depending on the patient's syndrome has been introduced, and a simple blood coagulation test is performed to detect venom-induced coagulopathy. Other services, including surgery for necrotizing wounds, are offered in the facilities where MSF admits a large number of snakebite patients. All services, including provision of antivenom, are offered free-of-charge in MSF-supported facilities. Community-based activities focusing on preventive measures and prompt transport to hospital have been developed in a few MSF projects. The provision of quality care and treatment, including effective antivenoms, without out-of-pocket payments by the patients, probably explains why MSF has admitted an increasing number of snakebite victims over the last years. This model requires significant resources and monitoring, including regular training of healthcare workers on treatment protocols and a considerable budget for antivenom procurement.

Abstract P557: A Landscape Analysis of Team-Based Care for Hypertension Control in Low-and Middle-Income Countries

Introduction: A team-based care approach to hypertension care in low-resource settings is an effective strategy for improving hypertension control. Objective: In this multi-country survey, we assessed the extent to which team-based care is operationalized for hypertension care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the perception of hypertension program experts and health care workers (HCWs). Methods: Two surveys were administered; the first survey (Country Profile Survey), administered in 25 countries, sought to identify the current tasks of HCWs from perspectives of national representatives involved in public health programming. The second survey (HCW Survey), administered among HCWs in four LMICs; Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, aimed to understand current practices of HCWs, perspectives on team-based management of hypertension, and barriers and facilitators. Results: In the Country Profile Survey, all countries surveyed allowed team-based care for basic clinical hypertension management tasks, but less for advanced tasks (9/25, 36%). In the HCW survey, 854 HCWs from four countries participated: 47% (401/854) work in rural settings. Although there were slight variations by country, overall, barriers to team-based hypertension care were similar, including: inadequate training of HCWs (83%), regulatory issues (76%), resistance by patients (56%), and opposition by physicians (42%) and nurses (40%). Perceived facilitators of team-based hypertension care were use of treatment algorithms (94%), telehealth/m-health technology (92%), and adequate compensation for HCWs (80%) ( Figure A-B ). Conclusions: These surveys revealed key targets for health systems and governments to facilitate team-based care implementation. Specifically, policies to provide additional training, optimize HCWs roles within the care team, and establish hypertension treatment protocols and telehealth/m-health are essential.

Evaluation the Factors Influencing Self-leadership in the Saudi’s Healthcare Sector: Systematic Review

Background Self-leadership in the Saudi Arabian healthcare sector is vital due to the ongoing transformation of this industry. However, research on the self-leadership training for the Saudi healthcare workers is presently limited. Objective A systematic review of literature is performed, focusing on articles pertaining to self-leadership and the impact of factors influencing self-leadership in the Saudi Arabian health sector. Methods PRISMA reporting was used for this systematic review. Data was sourced from various electronic databases, based on predefined selection criteria. Results Nine studies met the study inclusion criteria and were reviewed further. Results showed lack of evidence on the leadership training for healthcare workers in the Saudi Arabian healthcare sector. In some studies, self-leadership was associated with emotional intelligence, education, job satisfaction, job engagement, and the internalized moral skills. High levels of self-leadership positively correlated with increased performance of healthcare workers in the Saudi Arabian health sector. Conclusion Healthcare workers should have the necessary skills and strategies to develop self-leadership, thus enhancing communication competence and collaboration to achieve high performance in the health sector. Further research is needed in the Saudi Arabian healthcare sector to close the literature gap regarding self-leadership.

Continuous assessment of trunk posture in healthcare workers assigned to wards with different MAPO index

Healthcare professionals generally experience an above-average incidence of low back disorders (LBDs) compared with workers of other professions, and its level of risk is commonly assessed using observational methods such as the MAPO method (Movement and Assistance of Hospital Patients). In this study, we continuously monitored the trunk posture of 30 healthcare workers using a single inertial sensor to: (1) understand whether the MAPO classification is effective in adequately discriminating the risk associated with the time spent in non-neutral trunk postures and (2) characterise the variability of biomechanical exposure among workers employed in wards with the same MAPO index. The results substantially confirm the validity of the MAPO approach in discriminating among wards characterised by different levels of biomechanical exposure associated with the risk of developing LBDs. However, they also highlight the need to assess workers’ exposure on an individual basis due to the high intra-group variability. Practitioner summary: Employing a quantitative measurement setup to monitor trunk posture along with an observational method (ie MAPO) can identify the existence of criticalities or the poor application of ergonomic recommendations given during the training of healthcare workers even in hospital wards characterised by little or no risk of developing low back disorders.

Knowledge Attitude and Practices of Health Care Workers towards Colorectal Cancer Screening in Primary Care Settings in Durban, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND: South Africa has the highest number of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in sub-Saharan Africa, with the CRC projected new cases at 8 000 per 100 000 population by 2030. Screening assists with the early detection and control of cancer. This study determined knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) related to CRC among Health Care Workers (HCWs).
 
 METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between April and November 2021 using a self-administered close-ended questionnaire. Data was collected from 109 HCWs in public primary health care facilities in Durban, South Africa. Summary descriptive and association analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS vs. 28.
 
 RESULTS: Overall CRC screening knowledge score was 12% (mean 13) with 39% that were familiar with the National Department of Health Cancer Control framework. Only 15% of participants perceived the Perceived the National Cancer Control Guidelines to be influential for the implementation of colorectal cancer screening. 70% of participants would recommend CRC screening to patients. Over one-fifth, (22%) of participants felt that fecal occult blood, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy were effective for CRC screening. Over a third (44%) preferred a structured CRC screening programme. Most participants (81%) were willing to recommend CRC screening to their patients. Only 10% of participants had ever conducted colorectal screening before. The vast majority were unfamiliar with the types of CRC screening tests. Lack of CRC screening guidelines, training, equipment and CRC low burden were identified as barriers to screening.
 
 CONCLUSION: The vast majority of HCWs lacked knowledge of the CRC screening programme and its procedures. However, the vast majority of HCWs were willing to conduct screening once trained. This study also highlighted perceived health systems barriers affecting CRC screening. Currently, South Africa does not have national guidelines for CRC screening in South Africa, hence, a national risk differentiation CRC screening guideline is needed to guide implementation at the PHC level. Health systems strengthening interventions, including training of HCWs, availability of screening tests and materials to facilitate the integration of CRC screening noting that PH already implements screening programmes for other cancer types. 

Competencias de prevención y control de infecciones y bioseguridad en los programas de instrumentación quirúrgica en Colombia

IntroductionThe Global Health Security Agenda have indicated the need to ensure the training of health care workers in infection control and prevention. Materials and methodsAn ecological study was proposed. An aggregate comparison of surgical instrumentation programmes in Colombia was made and contrasted with the cross-cutting and specific competencies of the surgical technician and the infection prevention and control, and biosafety competencies proposed by international organisations. ResultsIt was observed that infection prevention and control and biosafety competences are included in the specific competencies of the curricula of the country’s 13 surgical instrumentation programmes. More hours are addressed to these competencies in theoretical-practical subjects in the first semesters, whereas cross-cutting competencies were found in practical subjects across the curriculum with greater intensity in the last semesters. ConclusionFor the health professions, the surgical instrumentation programme develops specific and cross-cutting competencies related to infection prevention and control, and biosafety. This means surgical instrumentation curricula can be considered a baseline for cementing the academic offer for health sciences professions at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Implementation process and challenges of index testing in Côte d'Ivoire from healthcare workers' perspectives.

A major limiting factor in combatting the HIV epidemic has been the identification of people living with HIV. Index testing programs were developed to face that challenge. Index testing is a focused HIV testing service approach in which family members and partners of people living with HIV are offered testing. Despite the implementation of index testing, there is still a gap between the estimated number of people living with HIV and those who know their status in Côte d'Ivoire. This study aimed to understand the implementation process of index testing in Côte d'Ivoire and to identify implementation challenges from healthcare workers perspectives. In January and February 2020, we conducted a qualitative study through 105 individual semi-structured interviews regarding index testing with clinical providers (physicians, nurses, and midwives) and non-clinical providers (community counselors and their supervisors) at 16 rural health facilities across four regions of Côte d'Ivoire. We asked questions regarding the index testing process, index client intake, contact tracing and testing, the challenges of implementation, and solicited recommendations on improving index testing in Côte d'Ivoire. The interviews revealed that index testing is implemented by non-clinical providers. Passive referral, by which the index client brought their contact to be tested, and providers referral, by which a healthcare worker reached out to the index client's contact, were the preferred contact tracing and testing strategies. There was not statistically significant difference between immediate and delayed notification. Reported challenges of index testing implementation included index cases refusing to give their partner's information or a partner refusing to be tested, fear of divorce, societal stigma, long distances, lack of appropriate training in index testing strategies, and lack of a private room for counseling. The recommendations given by providers to combat these was to reinforce HIV education among the population, to train healthcare workers on index testing strategies, and to improve infrastructure, transportation, and communication resources. The study showed that the elements that influenced the process of index testing in Côte d'Ivoire were multifactorial, including individual, interpersonal, health systems, and societal factors. Thus, a multi-faceted approach to overcoming challenges of index testing in Côte d'Ivoire is needed to improve the yield of index testing.

Awareness between Doctors and Nurses to Protect Themselves during COVID-19 Pandemic

To date, there are more than 207 million confirmed cases and more than 4.3 million deaths reported worldwide. Given the high transmissibility and modes of transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2, healthcare workers (HCWs) are required to continue using maximum barrier precautions with personal protective equipment (PPE). Infection control and prevention is an integral component of the healthcare system in any setting to reduce risks for morbidity and mortality in patients and healthcare professionals at all levels. Healthcare professionals have a great responsibility for infection risk reduction in patients across the entire continuum of care and through a variety of direct care activities, especially during the highly contagious COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: This cross-sectional study was designed to assess awareness of COVID-19 disease and its related infection control practices among healthcare workers. Design: An online self-reported cross-sectional survey was designed to assess awareness and recent training of HCWs about common IPAC (Infection Control and Prevention) measures necessary in dealing with droplet infection. All HCWs involved are working in facilities dealing with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. A total number of 1347 HCWs, working in facilities dealing with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients responded to the survey in various countries. Descriptive and analytic statistics were performed for all groups and subgroups based on their responses. Results: We found that 949 of the participants work in healthcare facilities dealing with COVID-19 patients. Around 52.5% of them performed N95 respirator fit testing while around two third of them received recent PPE and hand hygiene training. We also found that 837 HCWs reported providing direct service to COVID-19 patients and 52.5 % of them performed N95 respirator fit testing while around 62.5% of them received PPE training and 59.9% of them received hand hygiene training. We set a total score of 70% as . .......

SG-APSIC1011: Factors associated with improved knowledge of COVID-19 prevention and control following a training of healthcare workers in Vietnam

Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 is a novel and highly infectious virus. An effective response requires rapid training of healthcare workers (HCWs). We measured the change in knowledge related to COVID-19 and associated factors before and after training of HCWs in Vietnam. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate HCW knowledge related to prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 before and after attending a 2-day training-of-trainers course. Between June and September 2020, 963 HCWs from 194 hospitals in 21 provinces received the training. HCW knowledge was assessed using a 20-item questionnaire consisting of multiple-choice questions at the beginning and closing of the training course. A participant received 1 point for each correct answer. He or she was considered to have improved knowledge the posttest score was higher than the pretest score with a score ≥15 on the posttest. We applied the McNemar test and logistic regression model to test the level of association between demographic factors and change in knowledge of COVID-19. Results: Overall, 100% of HCWs completed both the pretest and posttest. At baseline, only 14.7% scored ≥15. Following the training, 78.4% scored ≥15 and 64.3% had improved knowledge according to the predetermined definition. Questions related to the order of PPE donning and doffing and respiratory specimen collection procedures were identified as having the greatest improvement (44.6% and 60.7%, respectively). Being female (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1–2.0), having a postgraduate degree (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4–4.4), working in a nonmanager position (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1–2.1), previous contact with a COVID-19 patient (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1–2.0), and working in northern Vietnam (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4–2.6), were associated with greater knowledge improvement. Conclusions: Most HCWs demonstrated improved knowledge of COVID-19 prevention and control after attending the training. Particular groups may benefit from additional training: those who are male, leaders and managers, those who hold an undergraduate degree, and those who work in the southern provinces.