Paul Gunchan, Sharma Shruti, Singh Guneet, Singh Gurparvesh, Sharma Sarit, Paul Birinder Singh, Gautam Parshotam Lal
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
Senior Consultant Intensivist, Department of Intensive Care, Columbia Asia Hospital, Patiala, Punjab, India.
J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2020 Jul-Sep;36(3):337-344. doi: 10.4103/joacp.JOACP_326_20. Epub 2020 Jul 31.
COVID-19 has impacted everyone's life and livelihood in one way or the other. Individual response to measures taken to control the rapid spread of this disease depend on their knowledge and perceptions. Hence, we proposed to evaluate responses about COVID-19 among the health care workers (HCWs) as well as general public participants (GPPs).
This was a cross-sectional, observational survey conducted during the peak of the pandemic. The 35-items questionnaire was prepared using Google forms and distributed through e-mails and social media.
The 1,026 responses comprised of 558 HCWs (54.4%) and 468 GPPs (45.6%). The most reliable source of information was TV news for 43% GPPs, whereas it was HCWs/Local health authorities for 36.8% HCWs. HCWs had sufficient knowledge regarding COVID-19, while it was relatively low among GPPs (average correct response 65% and 53%, respectively). Intra-group analysis with respect to age, sex, qualification, and socioeconomic status showed that knowledge about mode of transmission by airborne aerosols was significantly low with respect to qualification among GPPs while younger age group (<40 years) HCWs had significantly more knowledge about mode of transmission and asymptomatic carriers. Paranoia of contracting the infection was significantly higher in GPPs with upper and middle socioeconomic status and younger HCWs.
HCWs had moderate level of knowledge, whereas GPPs had low to moderate knowledge, with large scope of improvement in both groups. Continued education, both at professional and community level will not only be helpful but also necessary to improve knowledge, avert negative attitudes and control the devastating pandemic.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）以某种方式影响了每个人的生活和生计。个体对为控制该疾病快速传播而采取的措施的反应取决于他们的知识和认知。因此，我们建议评估医护人员（HCWs）以及普通公众参与者（GPPs）对COVID-19的反应。
这是一项在疫情高峰期进行的横断面观察性调查。使用谷歌表单编制了包含35个条目的问卷，并通过电子邮件和社交媒体进行分发。
1026份回复中，有558名医护人员（54.4%）和468名普通公众参与者（45.6%）。对43%的普通公众参与者来说，最可靠的信息来源是电视新闻，而对36.8%的医护人员来说，是医护人员/当地卫生当局。医护人员对COVID-19有足够的了解，而普通公众参与者的了解程度相对较低（平均正确回答率分别为65%和53%）。按年龄、性别、学历和社会经济地位进行的组内分析表明，普通公众参与者中，按学历划分，关于空气传播气溶胶传播方式的知识显著较低，而年龄较小的医护人员组（<40岁）对传播方式和无症状携带者的了解明显更多。社会经济地位中上的普通公众参与者和年轻医护人员感染该疾病的偏执情绪明显更高。
医护人员的知识水平中等，而普通公众参与者的知识水平低至中等，两组都有很大的改进空间。在专业和社区层面持续开展教育不仅会有帮助，而且对于提高知识、避免消极态度和控制这场毁灭性的疫情也是必要的。
