STUDENT CORNER

Awareness of Personal Protective Equipment Among Health Care Professionals

Muhammad Akber Zafar1
Jinnah Medical and Dental College
Syed Bilal Irfan Tirmizi1
Jinnah Medical and Dental College
Arisha Mustafa Shah1
Jinnah Medical and Dental College
Muhammed Talal Ibrahim2
Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi – Pakistan
Avinash Nankani3
3Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi
Ahmed Ayaz2
Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi – Pakistan
Russell Seth Martins2
Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi – Pakistan
Ainan Arshad2
Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi – Pakistan

✉ Correspondence: Ainan Arshad Email: ainan_arshad@hotmail.com

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v2i3.2158
Volume: 2, Issue 3 Pages: 250–258 Published: 20 Sep 2021
Received: 21 May 2021 Accepted: 31 Jul 2021 Published Online: 20 Sep 2021

Abstract

Objective

In accordance to the severity of the outcomes associated with this disease this study was aimed at mapping out the knowledge, attitude and practice of availability and use of PPE use among the health care workers and medical students.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design was implied, using non-probability convenience sampling. Data was collected through a self-administered online questionnaire filled out by the corresponding participants in direct contact with Covid-19 patients that included Doctors, Medical students, Nurses and Paramedic staff. The study was conducted in various medical college and hospitals across Karachi over a period of one week (26/05/2020 – 04/06/2020). SPSS Version 22 was used for data analysis. The findings were analysed alongside guidelines from the world Health Organization (WHO). This study was approved by the Ethics review committee, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi (Reference number: 2020-4838-10683)

Results

A total of 604 results were analysed. Mean age of participants was 31± 9.3 years and 323 (53.5%) were males. Most data was collected from doctors (68.4%). Only 244 (40.5%) of the participants reported a history of PPE exposure. Almost all of the participants were unaware of the WHO guidelines regarding the PPE and its conservation strategy in time of crisis. Inadequate knowledge coupled with less proficiency in practice proved to be a burden on the already scarce resources of PPE. WHO recommendations regarding the use of PPE during this Pandemic have evolved alongside emerging evidence. PPE has been extensively used and the resources depleting faster than it could be replenished. There are measures being taken on a global scale to overcome this by proposing strategies to conserve the existing PPE.

Conclusion

PPE being an integral part for the safety of HCWs needs to be used according to the appropriate guidelines. Our research highlights a lack of awareness of PPE that needs to be addressed.

Keywords
COVID19 PPE Awareness

How to Cite This Article

Zafar MA, Tirmizi SBI, Shah AM, Ibrahim MT, Nankani A, Ayaz A, et al.. Awareness of Personal Protective Equipment Among Health Care Professionals. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2021;2(3):250–258. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v2i3.2158

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Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

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Reference list indexed for Google Scholar and ResearchGate. DOI links resolve via doi.org.

CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2021 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
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