Knowledge, attitude and practices among sanitation workers regarding SARS-CoV-2 prevention – A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Aim: To evaluate knowledge, attitude and practices among sanitation workers regarding SARS?CoV?2 prevention during hospital waste management. Materials and Methods: A cross?sectional study was conducted among 426 sanitation workers using an interviewer?administered questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of the study participants. The unpaired t?test and Spearman’s correlation were used to find the mean difference and correlation among different study variables. Statistical significance was set at 5% (confidence interval 95%). Results: The mean knowledge score of the participants was found to be 7.15 ± 2.02. About 93.7% of the participants had good knowledge about COVID?19. About 64.3% of the participants strongly agreed that COVID?19 is a life?threatening disease. Regarding practices, a majority reported (69.7%) that they washed hands frequently using water and soap. A significant positive correlation was found between knowledge, attitude, practices and education, indicating a favourable work environment in hospital settings. Conclusion: More than half of the sanitation workers and housekeeping staff had adequate knowledge of COVID?19, and their attitudes were found to be favourable. They also had satisfactory practices, which may be a result of the prompt training and sensitization of sanitation workers by the authorities. Clinical Relevance Sanitation workers come under the essential services category and their knowledge, attitude and practices needed to be assessed and updated in the concerned area for their protection and better management of biomedical waste, especially in the current pandemic situation.