Preparedness, perceived impact and concerns of health care workers in a teaching hospital during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Objective: Coronavirus Disease 2019 is a new threat to human lives worldwide. Preparedness of institutions during epidemic outbreak has a pivotal role in saving lives and preventing further spread. At the same time, these pandemics impact badly on professional and personal life of Health care workers. The objective of this study is to find the opinion of Health care workers regarding their level of preparedness, concerns and perceived impact related to this pandemic outbreak. Materials and Methods: In this study, random samples of doctors and nurses was provided with a self-administered questionnaire regarding their preparedness, work and non-work related concerns and impact on their lives during Covid-19 outbreak. Results: Most of the Health Care Workers believed that their institute preparation to fight Covid-19 pandemic is better than prior to onset of this crisis (P < 0.001). Work related stress was seen more commonly in nurses whereas higher frequency of non-work related stress was observed among doctors. Nurses (75.55%) faith in their employer was more than doctors faith (46.66%) regarding their medical needs. There was more acceptance of hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic drug for Covid-19 in doctors compared to nurses (P <0.01). Conclusions: Though this institute was more prepared at the time of pandemic spread, substantial opportunity of improvement remains. The consistency of work and non work related anxiety and stress in health care workers is very high in present study group. Concerns and risks of Health Care Workers should be addressed ethically and adequately by strengthening safety measures and building trust in the system they work.