Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding COVID-19 among Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Healthcare workers are the frontline battling the COVID-19 pandemic and are at a high risk of infection. This paper assesses knowledge, attitude, and practice towards COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). This cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare workers in UMMC, Kuala Lumpur. Data collection period was from 1st March to 30th April 2021. A validated 19-item was used to measure knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) scores. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with KAP scores, with significance set at p<0.05. A total of 162 respondents participated, including nurses (37.7%), allied health professional (24.7%), clinical specialist (6.8%), medical assistant (6.2%), medical doctors (4.9%), pharmacist (1.2%) and others (18.5%). Majority of HCWs (98.8%, n=160) had good knowledge, poor attitude (93.2%, n=151) and good COVID-19 preventive measure practices (97.5%, n=158). Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that gender (adjusted Odds Ratio, OR 4.41; 95% Confidence Intervals, 95%CI: 1.25, 15.62) and profession (aOR 2.49; 95%CI: 0.68, 9.12) were found to be the significant factors associated with good attitude towards COVID-19 prevention measures. While healthcare workers demonstrated good overall knowledge and practice, their attitude towards COVID-19 prevention was poor. Behavioural interventions are recommended to improve attitude and strengthen safety culture in healthcare settings.