Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries

• Published in: PLoS ONE 2021, Vol.16 (12), p.e0258348
• Main Authors: Huy, Nguyen Tien, Chico, R. Matthew, Huan, Vuong Thanh, Shaikhkhalil, Hosam Waleed, Uyen, Vuong Ngoc Thao, Qarawi, Ahmad Taysir Atieh, Alhady, Shamael Thabit Mohammed, Vuong, Nguyen Lam, Truong, Le Van, Luu, Mai Ngoc, Dumre, Shyam Prakash, Imoto, Atsuko, Lee, Peter N, Tam, Dao Ngoc Hien, Ng, Sze Jia, Hashan, Mohammad Rashidul, Matsui, Mitsuaki, Duc, Nguyen Tran Minh, Karimzadeh, Sedighe, Koonrungsesomboon, Nut, Smith, Chris, Cox, Sharon, Moji, Kazuhiko, Hirayama, Kenji, Linh, Le Khac, Abbas, Kirellos Said, Dung, Tran Nu Thuy, Mohammed Ali AL-Ahdal, Tareq, Balogun, Emmanuel Oluwadare, Duy, Nguyen The, Mohamed Eltaras, Mennatullah, Huynh, Trang, Hue, Nguyen Thi Linh, Khue, Bui Diem, Gad, Abdelrahman, Tawfik, Gehad Mohamed, Kubota, Kazumi, Nguyen, Hoang-Minh, Pavlenko, Dmytro, Trang, Vu Thi Thu, Vu, Le Thuong, Hai Yen, Tran, Yen-Xuan, Nguyen Thi, Trang, Luong Thi, Dong, Vinh, Sharma, Akash, Dat, Vu Quoc, Soliman, Mohammed, Abdul Aziz, Jeza, Shah, Jaffer, Hung, Pham Dinh Long, Jee, Yap Siang, Phuong, Dang Thuy Ha, Quynh, Tran Thuy Huong, Giang, Hoang Thi Nam, Huynh, Vy Thi Nhat, Thi, Nguyen Anh, Dhouibi, Nacir, Phan, Truc, Duru, Vincent, Nam, Nguyen Hai, Ghozy, Sherief
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Health aspects; Medical personnel; Services
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258348

Background Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. Methods This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. Results We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p