Association of PPE Availability, Training, and Practices with COVID-19 Sero-Prevalence in Nurses and Paramedics in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Nurses and paramedics by being the frontline workers of the health-care profession need to be equipped with the relevant knowledge, skills, and protective gears against different forms of infection, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although the governments and concerned stakeholders have provided personal protective equipment (PPE), training and information to protect the health-care professionals; however, until now the scientific literature has virtually not reported the impact of PPE availability, training, and practices on the COVID-19 sero-prevalence among the nurses and paramedics. This study aimed to assess the impact of PPE availability, training, and practices on COVID-19 sero-prevalence among nurses and paramedics in teaching hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a total of 133 nurses and paramedics as subjects of the study. RESULTS: A univariate analysis was done for 4 variables. The findings indicate that the health-care professionals (nurses and paramedics) who have received PPE on time at the start of COVID-19 emergence have fewer chances of contracting the COVID-19 infection (odds ratio = 0.96); while the odds for PPE supplies was 0.73, and the odds of hand hygiene training was 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that the availability of the PPE, COVID-19-related training, and compliance with World Health Organization recommended practices against COVID-19 were instrumental in protection against the infection and its spread.