COVID-19: Preventive Strategies among Workers in a Tertiary Health Institution in South-east Nigeria

Background and Aim: Healthcare workers have the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection due to the nature of their occupation which daily exposes them to infectious agents/people with COVID-19. The study aimed to determine the knowledge of healthcare workers towards COVID-19 infection prevention strategies and factors that affect infection prevention against COVID-19.

Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study conducted in a tertiary health institution. One hundred and ninety-five participants were recruited consecutively into the study. Data was collected using a 13-question semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. The knowledge, perceptions and factors contributing to COVID-19 infection, prevention and control (IPC) were measured. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. The test of significance was set at p-value <0.05.

Results: The knowledge of COVID-19 Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) was 31.8%, 63.6% of the participants were aware of IPC program at the hospital but majority (74.9%) had not received any training. There was no significant association between knowledge of COVID-19 IPC and sociodemographic characteristics. Less than half of the participants (37.4%) had a good perception of the hospital’s readiness for COVID-19 pandemic, 52.8% reported that breeching IPC rules can cause an outbreak of COVID-19 in the hospital. Lack of resources to fulfil Infection, Prevention and Control need is the single most important contributory factor to the spread of COVID-19 infection.

Conclusion: The knowledge of COVID-19 infection, prevention and control was poor in the study and the majority of the healthcare workers had not received any training regarding Infection, Prevention and Control. Therefore, there is need for the hospital management with the financial backup from the government to train healthcare workers on Infection prevention and control strategies.