Knowledge, attitude and practices of healthcare professionals of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia towards covid-19: A cross-sectional study

Background & objectives: COVID-19 is an emerging pandemic that necessitates the implementation of effective infection prevention and control steps. The knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of health-care professionals toward COVID-19 affect their compliance to prevention and control initiatives. During the evolving pandemic, we examined the KAP among healthcare professionals against COVID-19 in this research. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among Riyadh region health care pro-fessionals from the beginning of December 2020 to the end of February 2021 using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The knowledge questionnaire contained questions about COVID-19 clinical characteristics, prevention, and management. The evaluation of attitudes and practices included ques-tions regarding actions and adjustments in COVID-19 response activities. Knowledge scores were mea-sured and compared using demographic characteristics, as well as attitudes and practices toward COVID-19. Using SPSS-IBM 25, bivariate statistics were done to analyze the data. Results: 146 healthcare professionals completed the survey. Physicians were the most prominent party in the survey, accounting for 74 (51 percent), followed by nurses 44 (30 percent) and pharmacists 28 (19 percent). The participants' average age was 39.69 +/- 8.48 years. The participant's mean knowledge, atti-tude, and practice scores were 11.43 +/- 1.34, 3.89 +/- 0.93, and 3.85 +/- 0.81, respectively. With a positive atti-tude, the mean knowledge score was 11.52, and with proper practice, it was 11.32. With an improvement in knowledge, the attitude score increased significantly (r = 0.172, P = 0.001). Besides, there was a greater association between attitudes and practices (r = 0.170, P = 0.029). A significant enhancement in the prac-tice score of the professionals was noted with an increase in knowledge score (r = 0.095, P = 0.010), an indicator for a positive correlation between practice and knowledge scores. Interpretation & conclusion: Healthcare practitioners have a good understanding of COVID-19. Improved knowledge and a positive attitude toward COVID-19 infection are linked to appropriate practice. There is a need for more manpower, better COVID-19 management training, and strategies to reduce anxiety among healthcare professionals. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Healthcare professionals' understanding of COVID-19, improved knowledge, and positive attitude are associated with appropriate practice. There is a need for more training and strategies to reduce anxiety among healthcare professionals.