Knowledge Of Health Care Personnel Research Articles

Healthcare personnel acceptance and recommendations for influenza vaccine in twelve low- and middle-income countries: A pooled analysis from 2018 to 2020

BackgroundAlthough healthcare personnel (HCP) are targeted for influenza vaccination they typically underutilize vaccines especially in low- and middle-income countries. We explored knowledge, attitudes, and practices of HCP about seasonal influenza vaccines (SIV) to identify factors associated with and modifiable barriers to SIV uptake. MethodsWe pooled individual-level data from cross-sectional surveys about SIV conducted among health workers in 12 low- and middle- income countries during 2018–2020 (i.e., Albania, Armenia, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Morocco, North Macedonia, Tunisia, Tajikistan, and Uganda). Eleven countries used a standard protocol and questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model to measure perceptions of susceptibility and severity of influenza disease, benefits of, barriers to, and motivators for vaccination. We analyzed attitudes and perceptions among HCP, including acceptance of vaccine for themselves and willingness to recommend vaccines to patients, grouped by the presence/absence of a national influenza vaccination program. Models were adjusted for geographic region. ResultsOur analysis included 10,281 HCP from 12 countries representing four of the six World Health Organization regions: African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, and Western Pacific. The sample was distributed across low income (LIC) (3,183, 31 %), lower-middle (LMIC) (4,744, 46 %), and upper-middle income (UMIC) (2,354, 23 %) countries. Half (50 %) of the countries included in the analysis reported SIV use among HCP in both the year of and the year preceding data collection while the remainder had no influenza vaccination program for HCP. Seventy-four percent (6,341) of HCP reported that they would be willing to be vaccinated if the vaccine was provided free of charge. HCP in LICs were willing to pay prices for SIV representing a higher percentage of their country’s annual health expenditure per capita (6.26 % [interquartile range, IQR: 3.13–12.52]) compared to HCP in LMICs and UMICs. HCP in countries with no SIV program were also willing to pay a higher percentage for SIV (5.01 % [IQR: 2.24–8.34]) compared to HCP in countries with SIV programs.. Most (85 %) HCP in our analysis would recommend vaccines to their patients, and those who would accept vaccines for themselves were 3 times more likely to recommend vaccines to their patients (OR 3.1 [95 % CI 1·8, 5·2]). ConclusionIncreasing uptake of SIV among HCP can amplify positive impacts of vaccination by increasing the likelihood that HCP recommend vaccines to their patients. Successful strategies to achieve increased uptake of vaccines include clear guidance from health authorities, interventions based on behavior change models, and access to vaccine free-of-charge.

Awareness of Opioid Use for Pain Control among Healthcare Practitioners: A Systematic Review

Objectives: To compile the recent literature's findings and shed light on knowledge of healthcare personnel about the use of opioids in pain management. Methods: A thorough search of pertinent databases was done in order to find studies that satisfied the requirements for inclusion. A thorough search of PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Science Direct was conducted to find pertinent literature. Results: Ten studies, including a total of 58,234 participants and 21,769 (37.4%) of them were females, were included in our data. There were notable differences found between the clinical skills of physicians in managing pain and prescribing opioids and their self-perceived knowledge in these areas. Many studies reported that nearly half of the participants had poor knowledge about using opioids for pain management. Physicians with higher clinical knowledge ratings prescribed fewer opioids. Only two studies reported that professionals with advanced degrees were found to have a sufficient level of understanding regarding pain and opiate use. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a lack of and insufficient knowledge about opioids on pain management among healthcare personnel. Prospective investigations ought to concentrate on crafting customized instructional curricula and decision-assistance instruments for primary care practitioners, as well as analyzing the influence of interdisciplinary pain treatment groups on patient results.

Exploring the Role of Healthcare Personnel in Designing Tuberculosis Infection Prevention and Control Measures in Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review.

Background: Healthcare personnel (HCP) in high TB-burdened countries continue to be at high risk of occupational TB due to inadequate implementation of Tuberculosis Infection Prevention and Control (TB-IPC) measures and a lack of understanding of the context and relevance to local settings. Such transmission in the healthcare workplace has prompted the development and dissemination of numerous guidelines for strengthening TB-IPC for use in settings globally. However, a lack of involvement of healthcare personnel in the conceptualisation and development of guidelines and programmes seeking to improve TB-IPC in high-burden countries generally has been observed. Objectives: The aim of this review was to explore the inclusion of HCP in decision-making when designing the TB-IPC guidelines, in healthcare settings. Methods: A scoping review methodology was selected for this study to gain insight into the relevant research evidence, identifying and mapping key elements in the TB-IPC measures in relation to HCP as implementors. Results: Studies in this review refer to factors related to HCP's knowledge of TB-IPC, perception regarding occupational risks and behaviours, their role against a background of structural resource constraints, and guidelines' adherence. They report several challenges in TB-IPC implementation and adherence, particularly eliciting recommendations from HCP for improved TB-IPC practices. Conclusions: This review highlights a lack of participation in decision-making by the implementers of the policies and guidelines, yet adherence to TB-IPC measures is anticipated. Future research needs to focus more on consultations with users to understand the preferences from both within individual healthcare facilities and the communities. There is an urgent need for research on the participation of the implementers in the decision-making when developing TB-IPC policies and guidelines.

Detecting child sexual abuse in child and adolescent psychiatry: a survey study of healthcare professionals' assessment practice.

Research shows that only around half of all survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) disclose the abuse during childhood and adolescence. This is worrying, as CSA is related to substantial suffering later in life. The proportion of children and adolescents who have been exposed to CSA is significantly higher in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) than in the general population. Healthcare professionals report that uncovering CSA is a complex and challenging task. However, we know little about how they proceed when uncovering CSA. More knowledge of healthcare personnel's experience is therefore necessary to facilitate and increase CSA disclosure. The study aims to explore how CAP healthcare professionals in Norway proceed when assessing and detecting CSA, how they experience this work, and what hinders or facilitates their efforts. The study employed a mixed method approach. Data was collected through an anonymous online survey, generating both quantitative and qualitative data. The sample consisted of 111 healthcare professionals in CAP, of whom 84% were women, with a mean age of 40.7 years (range 24-72; sd = 10.8). Mean years of CAP clinical experience were 8.3 years (range 0-41; sd = 7.5). The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlations, and independent sample t-tests, while the qualitative data was analysed using a team-based qualitative content analysis. The results showed that detection of CSA was viewed as an important, but complex task in CAP, and the existing procedures were deemed to be insufficient. The therapists mostly felt confident about how to proceed when they suspected or detected CSA, yet they seldom detected CSA. In their initial assessment they applied standardised procedures, but if their suspicion of possible CSA persisted, they seemed to rely more on clinical judgement. Specific challenges and facilitators for CSA detection were identified, both in the individual and in the organisation. The study highlights the challenges and complexities healthcare professionals and the CAP system face when assessing CSA, which may account for the low detection rate. The results show that healthcare professionals believe room for clinical autonomy and targeted competence development may improve CSA detection. Additionally, the findings suggest a need for CAP to define roles and responsibilities within and between agencies.

100 Years After the Discovery of Insulin and in the Era of New Generations of Insulins, What Do Our Patients and Care Staff Know About Insulin Therapy?

According to "Never Events", insulin administration errors are serious preventable adverse events that should not have occurred if adequate preventive measures had been implemented. The event "insulin administration error" is on the ANSM list published in 2012. The National Health Service's (NHS) "Never Events insulin" has developed a module on insulin therapy management entitled "Preventing insulin-related medication errors". Proper use and knowledge of insulin management can prevent these events. Our study presents the results of a survey designed to assess both the knowledge of healthcare personnel and a group of diabetic patients in the Souss Massa region of Morocco. Our survey was an opportunity to re-educate our patients and review the knowledge of a group of staff interviewed, underlines the important deficit in knowledge and practice of nursing staff and insulin-treated patients, suggests that urgent intervention should be considered, particularly with young nursing staff, and also to review the therapeutic education of insulin-treated diabetics in order to improve their knowledge and better prepare them for the advent of new generations of insulin.

FMEA-based risk management improves the ability of oral healthcare personnel to prevent needlestick injuries.

To explore the application value of the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) method in the risk management of needlestick injuries among oral healthcare personnel. A total of 37 healthcare workers from the dental department of Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, were selected as study subjects. Routine risk management procedures were followed from January 2021 to December 2021, serving as the control group, while FMEA-based risk management was implemented from January 2022 to December 2022, representing the research group. The Risk Priority Number (RPN) was calculated, and interventions were implemented for the top five identified failure modes. The RPN score, incidence of needlestick injuries, healthcare personnel's knowledge and awareness levels, prevention behavior, and rate of satisfaction with management were compared between the two groups. FMEA-based risk management identified weak knowledge of protection, disorganized placement of sharp instruments, failure to adhere to operational standards, improper operational procedures, and insufficient regulations for preventing needlestick injuries as the top five failure modes. The RPN scores for these modes were significantly lower in the research group (P<0.05). The research group also experienced a lower frequency and incidence of needlestick injury (P<0.05), along with higher levels of healthcare knowledge, awareness of prevention, and prevention behavior (P<0.05). Additionally, satisfaction with management was higher in the research group compared to the control group (P<0.05). FMEA-based risk management can improve the ability of oral healthcare personnel to prevent needlestick injury, reduce the occurrence of such incidents, and enhance satisfaction with management. This approach holds promise for wider adoption.

Hepatitis B in Healthcare Personnel: An Update on the Global Landscape.

Despite the outstanding progress that has been made in the prevention, detection, and management of hepatitis B during the past decades, hepatitis B remains a problem among healthcare personnel (HCP) in many countries. We reviewed studies on all aspects of hepatitis B in HCP published from 2017 through April 2023. They revealed wide variations on the prevalence of infection among HCP, ranging from 0.6% in Europe to >8.7% in Africa, almost always in association with very low vaccination rates. Many studies found a significant association between HCP's knowledge about hepatitis B and hepatitis B vaccines, their vaccination status, and practices. This research also discloses global inequities regarding vaccination policies against hepatitis B, free-of-charge vaccinations, and access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Strategies to prevent and manage accidental exposures are needed in order to reduce the burden of hepatitis B on HCP, while written policies for all aspects of infection prevention, protective equipment, and PEP should be available. Lastly, HCP should be accordingly educated. These are all imperative given the decline of routine vaccinations in the COVID-19 era, particularly in countries with fragile vaccination programs, and the disruptions of interventions for hepatitis B that are expected to provide a pool of virus transmission to future generations.

Neonatal resuscitation: A cross-sectional study measuring the readiness of healthcare personnel.

Background: Optimal neonatal resuscitation requires knowledge and experience on the part of healthcare personnel. This study aims to assess the readiness of hospital healthcare personnel to perform neonatal resuscitation. Methods: This was an observational study conducted in May 2021 by distributing questionnaires to nurses, midwives, doctors, and residents to determine the level of knowledge and experience of performing neonatal resuscitation. Questionnaires were adapted from prior validated questionnaires by Jukkala AM and Henly SJ. We conducted the research in four types of hospitals A, B, C, and D, which are defined by the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. Type A hospitals have the most complete medical services, while type D hospitals have the least medical services. The comparative analysis between participants' characteristics and the knowledge or experience score was conducted. Results: A total of 123 and 70 participants were included in the knowledge and experience questionnaire analysis, respectively. There was a significant difference (p = 0.013) in knowledge of healthcare personnel between the type A hospital (median 15.00; Interquartile Range [IQR] 15.00-16.00) and type C hospital (median 14.50; IQR 12.25-15.75). In terms of experience, the healthcare personnel of type A (median 85.00; IQR 70.00-101.00) and type B (median 92.00; IQR 81.00-98.00) hospitals had significantly (p =0,026) higher experience scores than the type D (median 42.00; IQR 29.00-75.00) hospital, but we did not find a significant difference between other type of hospitals. Conclusions: In this study, we found that the healthcare personnel from type A and type B hospitals are more experienced than those from type D hospitals in performing neonatal resuscitation. We suggest that a type D hospital should refer the neonate to a type A or type B hospital if there is sufficient time in cases of risk at need for resuscitation.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with frequent influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel in Peru, 2016─2018

IntroductionDespite a government-subsidized vaccination program, healthcare personnel (HCP) influenza vaccination uptake remains low in Peru. Using three years of cross-sectional surveys and an additional five years of prior vaccination history of HCP in Peru, we explored HCP knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of influenza illness and its impact on vaccination frequency. MethodsIn 2016, the Estudio Vacuna de Influenza Peru (VIP) cohort was initiated in Lima, Peru, which collected information about HCP KAP and influenza vaccination history from 2011─2018. HCP were classified by their 8-year influenza vaccination history as never (0 years), infrequently (1─4 years), or frequently (5─8 years) vaccinated. Logistic regression models were used to describe KAP associated with frequent compared to infrequent influenza vaccination, adjusted for each HCP’s healthcare workplace, age, sex, preexisting medical conditions, occupation, and length of time providing direct patient care. ResultsFrom 2016─2018, 5131 HCP were recruited and 3120 fully enrolled in VIP; 2782 consistently reported influenza vaccination status and became our analytic sample. From 2011─2018, 14.3% of HCP never, 61.4% infrequently, and 24.4% frequently received influenza vaccines. Compared to HCP who were infrequently vaccinated, frequently vaccinated HCP were more likely to believe they were susceptible to influenza (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]:1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.22─1.82), perceived vaccination to be effective (aOR:1.92, 95%CI:1.59─2.32), were knowledgeable about influenza and vaccination (aOR:1.37, 95%CI:1.06─1.77), and believed vaccination had emotional benefits like reduced regret or anger if they became ill with influenza (aOR:1.96, 95%CI:1.60─2.42). HCP who reported vaccination barriers like not having time or a convenient place to receive vaccines had reduced odds of frequent vaccination (aOR:0.74, 95%CI:0.61─0.89) compared to those without reported barriers. ConclusionFew HCP frequently received influenza vaccines during an eight-year period. To increase HCP influenza vaccination in middle-income settings like Peru, campaigns could strengthen influenza risk perception, vaccine knowledge, and accessibility.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice towards occupational health hazards and safety measures among health care personnel working in public health facilities of Bhubaneswar Block, India

Background: Healthcare personnel (HCP) are working in an environment that is known to be one of the most hazardous settings to work in. Occupational diseases are often under-reported; there are many reasons for the gross under notification, one of the main reasons being they are usually less obvious than other occupational accidents and injuries. Aims: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of HCP regarding different aspects of occupational health hazard and to find out various correlates for their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding occupational hazards and safety measures. Methods and Material: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study which was undertaken in public health facilities of Bhubaneswar Block, Odisha. The study was conducted for a period of one year. One hundred seventy two health care providers (both medical and paramedical with a minimum experience of six months) were included. Statistical analysis used: Descriptive statistics were used and Pearson chi-square test as the test of significance; taking a p value of&lt; 0.05 as statistically significant. Results: Mean age of the respondents is 38.44 years with a standard deviation of 12.8.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice towards occupational health hazards and safety measures among health care personnel working in public health facilities of Bhubaneswar Block, India

Background: Healthcare personnel (HCP) are working in an environment that is known to be one of the most hazardous settings to work in. Occupational diseases are often under-reported; there are many reasons for the gross under notification, one of the main reasons being they are usually less obvious than other occupational accidents and injuries. Aims: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of HCP regarding different aspects of occupational health hazard and to find out various correlates for their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding occupational hazards and safety measures. Methods and Material: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study which was undertaken in public health facilities of Bhubaneswar Block, Odisha. The study was conducted for a period of one year. One hundred seventy two health care providers (both medical and paramedical with a minimum experience of six months) were included. Statistical analysis used: Descriptive statistics were used and Pearson chi-square test as the test of significance; taking a p value of&lt; 0.05 as statistically significant. Results: Mean age of the respondents is 38.44 years with a standard deviation of 12.8.

Acute Venom Toxicity Determinations for Five Iranian Vipers and a Scorpion

Background: Poisoning due to the bites and stings of venomous snakes and scorpions is a neglected public health problem, particularly in rural areas. Poor health facilities and inadequate knowledge of health care personnel are the major factors that result in envenomated human victims not receiving adequate care and medical attention. There is a great need for up-to-date and effective healthcare knowledge and awareness of the potency and lethality of venomous creatures in Iran. Assessment of the potency, acute toxicity, and lethal effects of venomous creatures come from a variety of specific tests, such as the 50% median lethal dose (LD50) and ample animal experimentations. Methods: In the present study, using modified Reed-Muench method, the LD0, LD50, and LD100 values of the venoms from five Iranian vipers and one scorpion were determined. The studied venomous creatures were: Macrovipera lebetina, Vipera albicornuta, Vipera raddei, Caucasicus intemedius agkistrodon, Montivipera latifii, and one scorpion Hemiscorpius lepturus. The venoms were injected in Albino mice (n=204) intraperitoneally, and their toxicities determined. Results: The results revealed that the LD50 values of the above-mentioned creatures were 3.87, 2.05, 1.63, 1.45, 0.84, and 6.33 mg/kg, respectively. Among the vipers, M. latifii had the most potent venom while M. lebetina’s venom had the lowest toxicity. Conclusion: Theoretically, the determined LD50 values provide for objective comparisons of the toxicity among of the venoms. However, comparison becomes complicated due to variations in the venoms’ LD50. Further, based on the venoms’ toxicity levels, H. lepturus’ venom caused the lowest toxicity in the Albino mice.

Knowledge evaluation of clinical case management in IMNCI among trained and untrained accredited social health activists in two districts of Uttar Pradesh, India

IMNCI was launched in Uttar Pradesh, India in 2005 for integrated management of under 5 children. Success of IMNCI depends to a large scale on the performance of ASHAs. The performance of ASHAs will in turn depend on their knowledge and skills. There is a paucity of research describing and comparing the knowledge of ASHAs who are trained in IMNCI to those who are not trained. The present study was done to compare and describe the knowledge of non-trainees and the follow up knowledge of the trainees regarding clinical case management of IMNCI in two districts of Uttar Pradesh of India. This study indirectly assessed the effects of IMNCI training in the improvement of knowledge of health care personnel. It was a Cross-sectional comparative study conducted in two districts Kanpur &amp; Kannauj of Uttar Pradesh and specifically Shivrajpur and Jalalabad blocks of Kanpur and Kannauj respectively over a duration of one year from March 2019 to February 2020. hivrajpur block of Kanpur had 122 ASHAs and none of them had received 10 days IMNCI/CCSP training. Jalalabad block of Kannauj had 153 ASHAs and all of them had received 10 days IMNCI/CCSP training(as per NRHM UP data). 108 ASHAs from Kanpur and 94 ASHAs from Kannauj participated in the study. CHI-Square test was done to test whether the finding that knowledge difference between the ASHAs of Kanpur Nagar and Kannauj was real or merely a chance finding. The results were pooled form the two districts against each of the 26 variables. The proportion of trained in IMNCI module and untrained was calculated. Results show that clinical case management of IMNCI training status had an association with knowledge score. This study testified much higher knowledge score among trained personnel than their counterparts.

Attitudes of Healthcare Personnel towards Vaccinations before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Vaccines constitute highly effective tools for controlling and eliminating vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and are assessed to avert between two to three million deaths per year globally. Healthcare personnel (HCP) constitute a priority group for several vaccinations. However, studies indicate significant rates of vaccine hesitancy among them and, therefore, of acceptance of vaccination recommendations. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a university hospital in Southern Italy to assess the knowledge and attitudes of HCP about VPDs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, estimate their intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and search for determinants that may influence their choice. A self-administered questionnaire was used. HCP improved their knowledge about VPDs and were more favorable to vaccinations in September–December 2020 compared to January–December 2019. Overall, 75% of respondents would get a COVID-19 vaccine. Our findings indicate a potential role of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on Italian HCP’s knowledge and attitudes towards vaccines.

A study to assess the effectiveness of the structured teaching programme on the knowledge of health care personnel regarding bio medical waste management in various department of selected government hospital in Delhi

Background: Bio medical waste (BMW) collection and proper disposal has become a significant concern for both the medical and general community. Effective management of biomedical waste is not only a legal necessity but also a social responsibility.Material and Method: The evaluative research approach was considered to be most appropriate to measure the effectiveness of the structured teaching programme on the knowledge regarding Bio Medical Waste Management Setting of the study was selected Government Hospital in Delhi. In the present study, the sample comprised of 30 health care personnel in various department which include 10 participants from each department i.e. doctors, nursing officer, nursing aids. Random sampling technique was adopted to select the samples.Result: The mean post-test knowledge score of health care professional is higher than the pre-test score. Hence the teaching programme was found to be effective in improving the knowledge of health care personnel on Bio Medical Waste Management.Conclusion: On the basis of the findings of study the following conclusion were drawn that Health care personnel was having less knowledge regarding bio medical waste management. The PowerPoint Presentation was found to be effective in increasing the knowledge of the health care personnel regarding bio medical waste management.

Hospital staff practical skills and theoretical knowledge in inhaled aerosol therapy: a single centre cross-sectional observational study.

Inhaled therapy is widely used for treatment of many respiratory disorders. Drug delivery in lungs is dependent on the correct use of aerosol devices and patients' training is vital for a correct therapy administration. Therefore, is very important to assess the skills of professionals involved in training patients to the correct use of inhaler devices. The aim of this study was to check the practical skills and the theoretical knowledge of health care personnel in our University Hospital in using aerosol therapy and to determine differences among professional figures in the management of inhaler devices. Three hundred and fifteen (315) volunteers including physicians, residents, nurses and respiratory physiotherapists were enrolled; an independent professional, not working in our University Hospital, assessed their theoretical knowledge related to aerosol throughout a questionnaire. Practical skills were assessed through placebo simulation with the devices that participants declared to use frequently with patients. None of the respondents correctly answered all questions evaluating theoretical knowledge on the proper use of aerosol therapy. Respiratory physiotherapists obtained significantly better results with 17.2 (1.3) average points compared to 10.3 (3.7) obtained by doctors, 9.0 (3.0) by nurses and 9.1 (4.5) by residents. Analysing in detail physicians' results, pneumologists showed better theoretical knowledge than other specialists. Concerning the practical skills, about 80% of those stating they knew how to use metered dose inhalers, made mistakes in the basic steps for proper inhalation technique and over 50% of respondents were unable to properly simulate placebo administration of dry powder inhalers. Also here, respiratory physiotherapists and pneumologists had significant better performances, when compared to other health professionals. Our data are in line with those published in the literature in other international clinical settings, noting inadequate practical and theoretical knowledge of the available devices for aerosol therapy.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAPs) of Healthcare Workers towards MERS-CoV Infection at PHCs in Madinah, KSA during Hajj 1440, 2019

This research study aims at investigating knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of healthcare workers towards the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), also known as camel flu, caused by the MERS-CoV coronavirus. The present study focuses on the Hajj season in 2019 in the city of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah in Saudi Arabia as it is one of the most beloved cities for Muslim pilgrims who keep visiting its famous and lovely prophetic Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi). For that, almost 500.000 visitors come to Al-Madinah everyday. Most of the year, the prophetic Masjid is crowded from inside and the crowdedness expands to include the mosque’s piazzas and even the streets outside the masjid. Unfortunately, overcrowdedness is a risk factor for transmitting many serious respiratory diseases as MERS-CoV. Also, this study is an effort to obtain significant insights and to evaluate the health practices among healthcare workers particularly in the primary healthcare domain. Data collection involves a survey questionnaire distributed to all healthcare workers participating in care delivery during the Hajj season 1440 hijri calendar (2019 Gregorian calendar). Participants were medical students, physicians and nurses at Taibah University, King Fahd hospital and primary healthcare centers (PHCs) taking into account the work experience duration and the study level. MERS-CoV viruses are enveloped RNA viruses that fall into six strains. MERS-CoV viruses cause zoonotic diseases belonging to the gamma genus of corona viruses. MERS CoV infection may be caused by droplet, close patients contact and exposure to camels. March–May period is the season of greatest disease transmission. Incubation period is 3-4 days with respiratory and renal symptoms and subclinical infection. The questionnaire investigated all this basic medical knowledge about MERS-CoV. Responses collected from the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS where percent reliability was calculated. Results revealed that the current knowledge of health care personnel needs to be augmented and updated for improving the common goal of declining the transmission rates of MERS-CoV.

1205. Healthcare Personnel Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Towards Infection Prevention and Control Measures for Protection from Respiratory Infections

BackgroundHealthcare personnel (HCP) knowledge and attitudes toward Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures are important determinants of practices that can protect them from acquisition of infectious diseases from patients. We aimed to describe HCP knowledge and attitudes concerning IPC measures over time in the context of a clinical trial.MethodsResPECT was a multi-center, multi-season cluster randomized clinical trial designed to compare the effectiveness of medical masks (MM) and N95 respirators (N95) for preventing acute respiratory illnesses in HCP employed in outpatient clinical settings. At the beginning of each respiratory virus season, participants completed a survey instrument to measure IPC knowledge. At the beginning and end of each season participants completed a survey to assess attitudes and beliefs about IPC measures, especially MM and N95.ResultsA pre-study and post-study survey pair was available for 88.1% of participant seasons. There were no significant differences in demographic variables or job assignment between survey respondents and nonrespondents for each participant season. Participants correctly identified 59.8% to 63.4% of IPC measures that should be used by HCP when exposed to patients with symptoms of acute respiratory illness, or at high risk of infection. There was modest improvement in the knowledge score over time among providers who participated for multiple years in the study. In the first pre-study survey of IPC attitudes and beliefs, 88.5% and 87.9% of participants identified at least one reason to avoid using either MM and N95, respectively (Figure 1). At the post-season survey, the proportion of participants reporting a reason to avoid MM fell to 39.6% (IRR for pre- vs. post-season 0.15, 95% CI 0.13–0.17) and 53.6% reported a reason to avoid N95 (IRR 0.57, 95% CI 0.51–0.66).ConclusionHCPknowledge of IPC precautions was poor, suggesting a need for better IPC education and accountability in the outpatient setting. When given incentives to comply with processes toward which they had negative attitudes at baseline, HCP realized that medical masks and N95 respirators were comfortable enough to wear for patient encounters and interfered with their work processes less than expected. DisclosuresTrish M. Perl, MD; MSc, 7–11: Advisory Board; medimmune: Research Grant.

Video Assisted Teaching Program on Knowledge and Preventive Practices of Catheter Related Blood Stream Infections among Health Care Professionals: A Hospital-based Prospective Study

Objective : The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of video assisted teaching programme,in terms of improvement in knowledge and practices to prevent catheter related blood stream infections.Method: The study adopted pre-experimental study design in the intensive care units of a selected tertiaryreferral hospital of Karnataka, India. The study included mainly the infection control practices followedby the health care personnel for the selected events related to catheter related blood stream infectionprevention and knowledge of health care personnel regarding preventive practices of catheter related bloodstream infection. The pre-test observations of practices related to prevention of catheter related bloodstream infections was done using observational checklists and the knowledge assessment was done usingstructured knowledge questionnaire among health care personnel in the intensive care units and a videoassisted teaching intervention was given, after seven days of intervention the post-test data was taken for thepractices and knowledge.Results: The results show that there was a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test knowledgescores, practices of nurses while administration of medications through central line and central line dressingprocedure (p<0.05).Conclusion: The present study showed that video assisted teaching on hospital infection control measuresregarding catheter related blood stream infections was effective in supporting participants to increase theirknowledge levels and preventive practices of catheter related blood stream infections and thereby reduceinfection in the hospital.

Assessing Personal Protective Equipment Competence in an Online, Interactive Format

BACKGROUND: The 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak brought to light gaps in healthcare personnel's knowledge and competence in safe donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE). To maintain employee PPE skills and competence, a large health system in the Midwest required multidisciplinary Ebola core team members to complete routine in-person training throughout 2015. With limited resources at all health system sites, and only 46% compliance with training frequency, an online module was created to supplement in-person training in 2016.