ABSTRACT

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global emergency and healthcare workers (HCW) are more likely to feel under pressure due to huge number of patients rushing to the hospitals. Objective: This study was designed to determine the perception of HCWs regarding effects of COVID-19 and precautionary measures against COVID-19 on personal and professional lives. Methods: Online cross-sectional study was conducted during the first week of April 2020, among the HCWs. A total of 449 forms were received through electronic media. The survey instrument contained 19 close-ended questions. The responses of the survey were coded, and data was analyzed in SPSS 24. Results: Majority of participants were male (53.9%, n=242) and young within the age group of 18-28 years (47.9%, n=215). More than half of the respondents believed that their routine job has been affected a lot (56.1%, n=252) while 51.9% (n=233) also believed that their finances have also been affected a lot by the current pandemic. Furthermore, 46.8% (n=210)believed that their family life has been affected a lot. It was also observed that 47.4% (n=213) of the HCWs believed that their routine performance of duties was not affected by precautionary measures. However, 37.6% (n=169) believed that the facemask was most irritating precautionary measure. Conclusion: COVID-19 outbreak has caused huge impact on HCWs personal and professional lives. Significant distress can affect HCWs routine outputs. Therefore, health policy makers should incorporate interventions that can provide psychosocial and financial support which can help to overcome their concerns and associated suffering. Keywords: COVID-19, Pandemic, Awareness, Safety, Healthcare workers
Publication date: 01/11/2020

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2020/November/MS_IJBPAS_2020_5265.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2020/9.11.5265