ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccine is the mighty weapon opted by all the countries across the globe in an attempt to eradicate the fatal COVID-19 pandemic. The myths of the COVID-19 vaccine are spreading widely, causing a hindrance to this noble preventive measure. The prevalence of such myths among healthcare professionals may be toxic and deadly.AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the healthcare professionals regarding the myths on COVID-19 vaccination and to demystify them.MATERIALS AND METHODS: An 18-item questionnaire evaluating knowledge, attitude, and practice based on the existing myths on COVID-19 vaccination was circulated through Google Forms (R) among 412 healthcare professionals of six disciplines belonging to a private university. The responses obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using the SPSS (R) 20 software package.RESULTS: A total of 385 health professionals participated in this study. The majority of them reported medium knowledge (165) and positive attitude (273) with the mean knowledge and attitude scores of 3.82 +/- 1.55 out of 6 and 4.3 +/- 1.58 out of 7, respectively. Even though 312 participants got vaccinated, 73 of them fai led to receive it. The knowledge scores showed a high statistically significant difference among the participants of different designations (p=0.001), but not with ge nder, field, and staff with different years of experience (p>0.05). The attitude scores were statistically different among participants of fields and designation (p<0.05) but not among genders (p=0.31) and staff with different years of experience (p=0.87). Knowledge and attitude scores showed a positive linear correlation and a high statistically significant difference (p<0.001).CONCLUSION: This study recommends more enhanced education programs on COVID-19 vaccination for health professionals and demands an improved knowledge, attitude, and practice among health professionals to achieve the goal of 100% vaccination so as to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM/QUESTION: The Covid-19 pandemic disproportionally affected low-income and Black and Latinx New Yorkers, led to disengagement from primary care, increased social needs, and worsened chronic diseases. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM/INTERVENTION: Community Health Workers (CHWs) are front line public health workers who are trusted members of and/or have a close understanding of the community served. Integrating CHWs into clinical teams can help to bridge gaps between the healthcare system and a patient's community. In 2021, NYC Health + Hospitals (NYC H+H) established a branch of the NYC Public Health Corps, comprised of over 200 CHWs and program staff in multiple care settings to address the health inequities exacerbated by the pandemic. CHWs are embedded in and hired by clinics while a centralized team coordinates training, program models, data/documentation tools and coaching by a team of CHW coaches. CHWs in adult primary care implement a model informed by the UPenn IMPaCT program in which CHWs provide tailored social support, advocacy and navigation to help patients achieve health goals. (Kangovi et al 2014, 2017, 2018). CHWs work intensively with patients who have 2+ chronic conditions over 3 months on a set of patient-driven goals. Goals fall into four categories: social needs, medical system navigation, medication management, and chronic disease risk factors. CHWs are provided guides and training on how to address specific patient goals. MEASURES OF SUCCESS: Initial measures include: 1. Launch success (# CHWs hired, development of documentation workflows). 2. Implementation of program model (# patients enrolled, goals identified). Long-term measures of success will include a cost effectiveness analysis. FINDINGS TO DATE: Between August and December 2021, approximately 200 CHWs were hired to staff 17 different clinical sites. 147 CHWs were hired for adult primary care and 58 have begun working with patients. All CHWs have completed IMPaCT and supplemental training. All CHWs document in the EMR using a specific build. 924 patients have been outreached, 365 enrolled, and 54 completed the program to-date. CHW median caseload is 7 with a goal to ramp up to 20. CHWs address an average of 5 goals per patient. The most common goals are primary care engagement, medication management, health insurance gaps/medical bills, and food insecurity. 60% of patients identified at least one social need to work on with the CHWs. KEY LESSONS FOR DISSEMINATION: 1. H+H was able to quickly build one of the largest CHW workforces in the country in response to patient needs elevated by the pandemic and availability of public funding by embedding CHW teams in clinics with central program support, increasing the likelihood of sustainability over time. 2. The development of a structured CHW program supported by training, coaching and documentation tools to address the most common issues affecting patient ability to manage health and wellbeing including social needs was critical in supporting this new workforce while allowing for flexibility to meet individual patient needs.