Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.
Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Nov 23;16(11):e0259981. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259981. eCollection 2021.
Somalia is considered severely underprepared to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, with critical shortages in healthcare personnel and treatment resources. In limited-resource settings such as Somalia, providing healthcare workers with adequate information on COVID-19 is crucial to improve patient outcomes and mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study assessed the knowledge of, preparedness for, and perceptions toward COVID-19 prevention and treatment among Somali healthcare workers.
A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was completed by 364 Somali healthcare workers in summer of 2020 utilizing a convenience sampling method.
Participants' most accessed sources of COVID-19 information were from social media (64.8%), official government and international health organization websites (51.1%,), and traditional media sources such as radio, TV, and newspapers (48.1%). A majority of participants demonstrated strong knowledge of treatment of COVID-19, the severity of COVID-19, and the possible outcomes of COVID-19, but only 5 out of 10 symptoms listed were correctly identified by more than 75% of participants. Although participants indicated seeing a median number of 10 patients per week with COVID-19 related symptoms, access to essential medical resources, such as N95 masks (30.2%), facial protective shields (24.5%), and disposable gowns (21.4%), were limited. Moreover, 31.3% agreed that Somalia was in a good position to contain an emerging outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, 40.4% of participants agreed that the Somali government's response to the pandemic was sufficient to protect Somali healthcare professionals.
This study provides evidence for the need to equip Somali healthcare providers with more information, personal protective equipment, and treatment resources such that they can safely and adequately care for COVID-19 patients and contain the spread of the virus. Social media and traditional news outlets may be effective outlets to communicate information regarding COVID-19 and the Somali government's response to frontline healthcare workers.
索马里被认为严重缺乏应对 COVID-19 爆发的能力，医疗人员和治疗资源严重短缺。在资源有限的环境中，如索马里，为医护人员提供有关 COVID-19 的充足信息对于改善患者预后和减轻 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的传播至关重要。本研究评估了索马里医护人员对 COVID-19 预防和治疗的知识、准备情况和看法。
2020 年夏季，采用便利抽样法对 364 名索马里医护人员进行了描述性横断面调查。
参与者获取 COVID-19 信息的最主要来源是社交媒体（64.8%）、官方政府和国际卫生组织网站（51.1%）以及传统媒体来源，如广播、电视和报纸（48.1%）。大多数参与者对 COVID-19 的治疗、COVID-19 的严重程度以及 COVID-19 的可能结果表现出强烈的认识，但只有 5 个症状中的 10 个症状被超过 75%的参与者正确识别。尽管参与者表示每周平均看到 10 名有 COVID-19 相关症状的患者，但获得基本医疗资源的机会有限，例如 N95 口罩（30.2%）、面部防护屏（24.5%）和一次性手术服（21.4%）。此外，31.3%的人认为索马里有能力控制 COVID-19 的爆发。此外，40.4%的参与者认为索马里政府对大流行的反应足以保护索马里医疗保健专业人员。
本研究证明有必要为索马里医护人员提供更多信息、个人防护设备和治疗资源，以便他们能够安全、充分地照顾 COVID-19 患者并控制病毒的传播。社交媒体和传统新闻媒体可能是向一线医护人员传达有关 COVID-19 和索马里政府应对措施的有效渠道。
