Acceptability of wearing mask during a 5-week training course for health care personnel in the context of Covid-19

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Wearing a mask is one of the least costly measures for containing the spread of the Covid-19. This is one of the protective measures put in place by the coordinating team of the inter-university diploma on Antibiology and Antibiotic Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa for its 2021 session. The objective of our study was to evaluate the acceptability of wearing a mask by health personnel from sub-Saharan Africa during the 05-week training course. Method(s) A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from July 15 to November 15, 2021. The survey was the study method, using individual interview and observation as study techniques. During the individual interview it was administered a semi-structured questionnaire including the aspects related to observation. Result(s) A total of 58 people were interviewed (35 +/- 0.83 years, 75.86% males). The most represented professions were medical specialists 31.03%, biologists 29.31% and general practitioners 18.27%. 56.90% of the participants wore the mask systematically, 34.48% wore it often with an average of 7 h24 of daily wear and 58.6% respected the instructions on the proper use of masks. The main inconvenience of wearing the mask was the problem of comfort for 46.55%. For 12.07%, the respiratory history (asthma, pneumonia, tuberculosis) contributed to the discomfort of wearing the mask, with respiratory difficulty being the discomfort felt. Conclusion(s) The wearing of masks during the 5-week training in the context of Covid-19 is globally accepted by the health personnel. The health personnel have a fairly good knowledge of the interest of this measure.