Assessing healthcare workers’ knowledge, emotions and perceived institutional preparedness about COVID-19 pandemic at Saudi hospitals in the early phase of the pandemic

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic extended to reach most countries in the globe during few months. Preparedness of healthcare institutions and healthcare workers (HCWs) are crucial for applying effective prevention and control measures. This study aimed to assess HCWs knowledge, emotions and perception of preparedness of their institutions towards COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted among hospital HCWs in Saudi Arabia during April 27, 2020 to May 03, 2020. Results: Overall, 1004 completed responses were received. The majority were females (78.8), nurses (84.9%) at middle age 25-39 years (71.8%). Among participants, 95.5% reported receiving training on safely use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and 94.9% did fit the test for N95 respirator. The participants possessed a fair knowledge about COVID-19 disease with a mean knowledge score 6. 61±1.35 points on a scale of 10 points. Most participants (88.7%) were committed to continue work as a professional and ethical duty, however, 27.1% of them scored high on a negative emotional impact scale. Participants appreciated most aspects of institutional preparedness for COVID-19 pandemic; however, they were concerned with the continuous PPE supply. Factors that independently associated with good knowledge and negative emotional response were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusions: Findings revealed fair knowledge about COVID-19 pandemic among HCWs in Saudi hospitals. Concerns and worries were expressed regard working with the highly infectious COVID-19 patients. Participants, appreciated most aspects of institutional preparedness, however they were concerned about the continuous availability and supply of PPE.