Jornal de Oftalmologia Clínica e Experimental
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Abstrato

Knowledge, attitude and practice among Ophthalmic Health Care Personnel (HCP) towards COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: A web-based cross-sectional study

Zahir Ansari, Sirjana Adhikari, Babu Dhanendra Chaurasiya, Uday Chandra Prakash, Bikram Adhikari, Sahana Khatoon

Background: As an added high-risk group, ophthalmic Health Care Personnel (HCP) are actively providing emergency eye care services and enthusiastically participating in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, this study aimed to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) level among ophthalmic HCP towards the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted during the period of lockdown among ophthalmic HCP including consultant ophthalmologists, residents, optometrists, ophthalmic assistants, nursing staff, and other paramedics of eye care centers in Nepal. The KAP questionnaire was designed and distributed online. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Pearson correlation, and binary logistic regression. All tests were performed at a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of 694 participants, the majority was male (59.1%) in the age group 31-40 years (41.5%) and from tertiary eye centers (68.9%). Among ophthalmic HCP, there were 29.8% consultant ophthalmologists, 22.6% residents, 23.3% optometrists, 15% ophthalmic assistants, and 9.2% other ophthalmic paramedics, 11.7% working as front-liners in COVID-19 centers. Findings showed that 98.1% had good knowledge, 59.4% had a positive attitude and only 13.3% had good practice regarding COVID-19. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated the age of HCP to be a significant determinant of good knowledge (Crude Odds Ratio (COR)=0.72, 95%CI=0.62-0.82), positive attitude (COR=0.92, 95%CI=0.90-0.94) and good practice (COR=1.16, 95%CI=1.10-1.21). Lower odds of poor practice was seen among junior resident (COR=0.26, 95% CI=0.14-0.47) and higher odds of poor practice was seen among HCP with job experience of 5-10 years (COR=2.38, 95% CI=1.23-4.60) towards COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion: The majority of ophthalmic HCP have good knowledge, insufficient positive attitude, and inadequate evidence-based practice towards the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal. Hence, this study conclusively recommends modifying existing guidelines and formulating new policies to improve KAP among ophthalmic HCP to effectively control the spread of COVID-19.