Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;11(1):60-68.
doi: 10.2991/jegh.k.200819.002. Epub 2020 Aug 28.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Health Care Workers about Corona Virus Disease 2019 in Saudi Arabia

Unaib Rabbani  1 , Abdullah Mohammed Al Saigul  1
Affiliations

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Health Care Workers about Corona Virus Disease 2019 in Saudi Arabia

Unaib Rabbani et al. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health emergency. Health Care Workers (HCWs) with sound knowledge and practices can help curb the pandemic. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of HCWs about COVID-19 and compare physicians and non-physicians in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: An online survey was conducted among HCWs in Saudi Arabia in March and April 2020. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire having four sections including; socio-demographic and professional profile, knowledge, attitude and practices regarding COVID-19. Questionnaire link was sent through social media. Descriptive analysis was used for assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice and Chi-square test was used for comparing physicians and non-physicians. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0.

Results: A total of 398 HCWs completed the questionnaire. Only 45% of the participants had correct knowledge about the agent while about 97% knew that close contact with infected person is the most important risk factor. Only 63% had correct knowledge about the role of antibiotics in COVID-19 treatment. Majority of the HCWs were worried and most frequently reported worry was risk to family. Carrying infection to home was most commonly reported fear, 92%. Cleaning hands often or always was 11.5% and 87% respectively. About 71% wore mask during work. Knowledge was better among physicians compared to non-physicians while attitude and practices were comparable between the two groups.

Conclusion: We found that there was poor knowledge about causative agent and role of antibiotics for COVID-19 but for mode of transmission and prevention there was good knowledge. There were widely prevalent worries and fears among the participants. Overall, there were good infection control practices among the HCWs. Interventions are needed to improve knowledge and address worries and fears of HCW.

Keywords: Attitude; COVID-19; health care worker; knowledge; practice.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organization Novel coronavirus – China. 2020 Available from: https://www.who.int/csr/don/12-january-2020-novel-coronavirus-china/en/ [cited March 16, 2020].
    1. World Health Organization . Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) situation report-51. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2020.
    1. Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control COVID-19: daily updates Riyadh, KSA. 2020 Available from: https://covid19.cdc.gov.sa/daily-updates/ [cited April 30, 2020].
    1. World Health Organization . Scientific brief. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2020. Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19: implications for IPC precaution recommendations. Available from: https://www.docdroid.net/Xc5kEn7/who-2019-ncov-sci-brief-transmission-mo... [cited April 29, 2020].
    1. Vital surveillances. The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) — China, 2020. China CDC Weekly. 2020;2:113–22. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms