ABSTRACT
Healthcare professionals, especially those who work in hospitals that treat patients with Coronavirus infection (CoviD-19), are at a higher risk of contracting this disease than workers in other departments. Healthcare workers are under a lot of stress as they fight the CoviD-19 outbreak, which increases their risk of developing psychological difficulties. As a result, ill-prepared healthcare workers can lead to delayed diagnosis, disease spread, and poor infection control. An evaluation of Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Psychological Effects in light of the CoviD-19 pandemic in Libya may indicate effective strategies for behavioral change in a given society and may assess the psychological state of healthcare workers during that crisis. At present, Libyan healthcare workers are not well aware of the risks. Healthcare workers participated in a web-based cross-sectional survey during the CoviD-19 pandemic in 2020. The KAP questions are imported from Egyptian study and the psychological impact questions are imported from Chinese study that used the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire and insomnia Severity index. Questions are adapted to be suitable for the Libyan context. The Knowledge, attitude and perception were analyzed using a total score based on Bloom's 80% cut-off. According to our results, in total, we received 85.4% high knowledge score of Libyan HCWs in regards to CoviD-19. About 54.6% participants showed negative attitude towards CoviD-19 infection and the precautionary measures taken to prevent its spread. The majority of respondents, 89.1%, felt that they were vulnerable to CoviD-19 infection. 85.4% believed they were more likely than others to become infected. Fear of transmission to family members, having chronic illnesses, and community stigma are the most frequently reported reasons for higher risk perceptions. in general, HCWs had a good understanding of CoviD-19. Negative attitudes are evident in the observations a high level of risk perception was evident. it is vital that the Libyan Ministry of Health and government consider the reasons for increased risk perception. Healthcare workers, specifically those who are responding to CoviD-19 in Libya, experienced an increase in anxiety, depression and insomnia, which were respectively 30.1%, 31.9% and 18.9%. in this study, many Healthcare workers reported adequate overall knowledge with a negative attitude toward government and adopted appropriate practices. Psychological problems are directly related to inadequate knowledge, incorrect attitudes, and inadequate perception. However, with timely interventions and correct information, it will be possible to protect the mental wellbeing of healthcare professionals during the novel coronavirus epidemic.
ABSTRACT
This special issue contains 10 papers on the following topics: evaluating association between ABO blood groups and COVID 19;impact of COVID-19 on Libyan laboratory specialists;microscopic agglutination test for diagnosis of leptospirosis by using filter paper-dried serum samples;prevalence of haemoparasites among blood donors in Calabar, Nigeria;assessment of peripheral blood lymphocytosis in adults and determination of thresholds for differential diagnosis between clonal and reactive lymphocytosis;investigation of antibiotic resistance pattern in isolates from urine and blood samples of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Velayat Hospital in Qazvin, Iran;evaluation of rejection rates and reasons among specimens taken from different hospital units;quality tools to ensure patient safety and reduce the turnaround time of medical laboratories in tertiary care teaching hospitals;prevalence and antibiotic resistance pattern of Gram-positive isolates from burn patients in Velayat Burn Center in Rasht, North of Iran;and infective endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in a 6-year-old girl with no history of heart and dental problems.
ABSTRACT
This research aims in measuring the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice towards COVID-19 on community pharmacists in Tripoli, Libya. A cross-sectional survey was performed utilising an online questionnaire from the 1st to 27th March 2021. Data were gathered from a random sample of 260 community pharmacists (CPs) in Tripoli. Of the 260 participants, most respondents (71.66%, n = 187) had a good knowledge level about COVID-19. Moreover, approximately (88.23% n = 229) of the participants had positive attitudes. Most of the participants (84.35%, n = 219) had good practice levels against COVID-19. Educational level was associated with knowledge attitudes and pharmacist practices (p <0.05). No association was found between employment type with attitudes and pharmacist practices, while the experience was not associated with attitudes. There was a difference in the degrees of knowledge of community pharmacists in marital status, age, experience, level of education in relation to COVID-19. The only difference occurs in the CPs attitude scores for education level. Moreover, employment, level of education, marital status, and experience were all associated with levels of practice. The results indicated the existence of differences in the scores of CPs’ practices with respect to marital status, experience and qualifications. Regarding COVID-19, good knowledge was observed to be a better indicator of positive attitude (OR: 2.0993, p=0.001) and good practice (OR:1. 828, p=0.049) The requirements for applying the KAP of COVID-19 among CPs are acceptable and require more attention.