A National Survey Evaluating the Knowledge and Attitude of Health-Care Workers of Saudi Arabia about Coronavirus Infection

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Health-care workers (HCWs) are playing an instrumental role in combating coronavirus infection (COVID-19). While rendering their services, they also run the risk of cross-contamination. Hence, it is important to evaluate and correlate the knowledge and attitude of HCWs of Saudi Arabia about COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, nationwide, questionnaire-based survey was conducted after getting the approval from the institutional ethical board. A validated and reliable questionnaire was constructed, developed on the Qualtrics software, and circulated through an electronic medium across the country. The questionnaire had a total of 29 questions regarding knowledge and attitude about COVID-19. Through convenience sampling, the data were collected from a total sample of 1553 HCWs. Based on the primary area of expertise, the sample was categorized into three study groups with 1040 medical health-care professionals (MHCPs) (Group I), 318 dental health-care professionals (DHCPs) (Group II), and 195 allied health-care professionals (AHCPs) (Group III). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done using SPSS v. 21, where P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Female HCWs (P = 0.003) were shown to have a higher (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.46; confidence interval [CI]: 1.19–1.79) risk of inadequate knowledge in comparison to male HCWs. With respect to qualification, HCWs with doctorate qualification (P = 0.005) (aOR: 0.39; CI: 0.2–0.75) had shown to have adequate knowledge compared to their counterparts. AHCPs were shown inadequate knowledge (P < 0.001; aOR: 2.36; CI: 1.65–3.38), but adequate attitude (P < 0.001; aOR: 0.13; CI: 0.09–0.2) compared to MHCPs and DHCPs. CONCLUSION: MHCPs were shown to have the most appropriate level of knowledge, whereas AHCPs outscore other counterparts of HCWs with respect to attitude toward COVID-19. Emphasis should be directed to the whole community of HCWs in enhancing their awareness and practice attitude toward the novel infection of COVID-19.