Physiotherapists' knowledge, perception, and attitude regarding COVID-19 and infection control: An online cross-sectional survey in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of knowledge and awareness of healthcare practitioners regarding infection control. OBJECTIVE: To explore Jordanian physiotherapists' knowledge and perception of COVID-19, awareness about protection measures, and attitude towards infection prevention. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was used. Data were collected from licensed physiotherapists currently living in Jordan. A structured survey was used to collect the data consisting of five parts: 1) General information about the physiotherapists including sociodemographic, academic training, and employment setting, 2) General knowledge about COVID-19, 3) Infection protection in the workplace, 4) Perception of COVID-19, and 5) Attitude towards COVID-19 in daily life and during work. RESULTS: A total of 147 physiotherapists completed the survey with a mean age of 30.56 (7.70) and years of experience of 7.28 (7.21). The mean of the total knowledge score was 17.18 (2.32)/ 26. There was a significant difference in the total knowledge score between COVID-19 trained physiotherapists and untrained (t = 2.895, p = 0.004). About 70.8% of the physiotherapists perceived COVID-19 as a very dangerous disease, 69.4% considered physiotherapy a high-risk profession, and 41% perceived COVID-19 does not require any special treatment. Approximately 85% of physiotherapists avoided going to crowded places and wore a mask when leaving home. 75-86.6% of physiotherapists would consider appropriate protective measures during their work. CONCLUSIONS: Physiotherapists showed suboptimal knowledge, perception, and attitude towards COVID-19. There is a need for training courses to increase physiotherapists' knowledge about COVID-19 and improve their perception and attitude towards COVID-19.

Global Trends and Correlates of COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy: Findings from the iCARE Study.

The success of large-scale COVID-19 vaccination campaigns is contingent upon people being willing to receive the vaccine. Our study explored COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its correlates in eight different countries around the globe. We analyzed convenience sample data collected between March 2020 and January 2021 as part of the iCARE cross-sectional study. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted to explore the correlates of vaccine hesitancy. We included 32,028 participants from eight countries, and observed that 27% of the participants exhibited vaccine hesitancy, with increases over time. France reported the highest level of hesitancy (47.3%) and Brazil reported the lowest (9.6%). Women, younger individuals (≤29 years), people living in rural areas, and those with a lower perceived income were more likely to be hesitant. People who previously received an influenza vaccine were 70% less likely to report COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We observed that people reporting greater COVID-19 health concerns were less likely to be hesitant, whereas people with higher personal financial concerns were more likely to be hesitant. Our findings indicate that there is substantial vaccine hesitancy in several countries, with cross-national differences in the magnitude and direction of the trend. Vaccination communication initiatives should target hesitant individuals (women, younger adults, people with lower incomes and those living in rural areas), and should highlight the immediate health, social and economic benefits of vaccination across these settings. Country-level analyses are warranted to understand the complex psychological, socio-environmental, and cultural factors associated with vaccine hesitancy.