Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses of pediatric clinics regarding infection control in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of the study. To improve the work of nurses in pediatric departments in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, analyze the results of an anonymous survey of medical workers regarding the knowledge, attitude and practice of infection control in relation to COVID-19. Material and methods. To achieve the purpose, we conducted an anonymous survey of 135 nurses of pediatric departments of medical institutions of different levels in Chernivtsi. We considered it expedient to evaluate the results of an anonymous survey of nurses of pediatric departments of infectious and non-infectious profile. 2 observation groups were formed. The first group consisted of 83 nurses working in pediatric departments of non-infectious profile (average age – 38.02±0.9 years, work experience 18.01±0.9 years), the second group included 52 nurses working in pediatric departments of an infectious profile (average age – 43.81±1.6 (p>0.05) years, work experience 22.09±1.4 (p>0.05) years). According to the main clinical characteristics, the comparison groups were comparable. Research results. The analysis of the anonymous questionnaire made it possible to establish that the nurses of the infectious disease departments demonstrated better knowledge and practice regarding infection control when working with patients in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, in particular, medical workers in infectious disease departments have higher chances of being informed about the epidemiology of coronavirus infection (odds ratio – 2.5, relative risk – 1.6), the need for quarantine measures (odds ratio – 2.8, relative risk – 1.8), which is related to the specifics of the work of nurses and their involvement in various educational and informational trainings. The work of nurses in infectious pediatric units increases the chances of learning to improve/update their knowledge and skills regarding infection control and COVID-19 (odds ratio – 3.8, relative risk – 2.0). Not only were they more likely to be motivated to study, but they also demonstrated a high level of adherence to infection control measures. Conclusions. The odds of nurses registering higher knowledge and practice regarding the implementation of infection control measures for COVID-19 were 2.5–2.8 times higher among medical workers of infectious disease departments.