Health Professionals' Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding COVID-19 in Dessie City, Northeast Ethiopia: A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Knowledge and attitudes are among the key drivers of social behavioral change. We assessed employed health professionals' (HPs) knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 in Dessie city, northeast Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 419 HPs working at Dessie city from 17 to 21 May 2020. The data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire. Knowledge, attitude, and practice are measured using 19, 16, and 8 questions, respectively. Knowledge and attitude scores are dichotomized at the 3rd quartile, while practice is using the mean value. Data entry and analysis were conducted using EpiData Manager 4.2 and SPSS 25, respectively. Three independent logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine the associated factors. We defined significant association at a p-value of < 0.05. Results: Out of 419 participants, 369 (88.1%) have sufficient knowledge regarding COVID-19 (95% CI: 85-91). The mean knowledge score is 16.8 with a ± 2.1 SD. Similarly, 355 (84.7%) of the HPs have a favorable attitude toward COVID-19 (95% CI: 81-87.9). The mean attitude score is 14 with ± 2.1 SD. However, practice regarding COVID-19 is adequate only in 69.7% (292) of the HPs (95% CI: 65.2-94). The mean practice score is 5.1 with a ± 1.3 SD. Sufficient knowledge is significantly associated with the type of health facility (AOR: 4.4, 95% CI: 1.4-13.3), degree and above education (AOR: 2.6, 95% Cl: 1.4-4.9), radio availability (AOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3-4.7), and social media utilization (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1-5.1). The predictors of favorable attitude are training (AOR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.6-6.1), sufficient knowledge (AOR: 5.2, 95% Cl: 2.6-10.4), and type of health facility (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1-5.2). Conclusion: Most HPs have sufficient knowledge and a favorable attitude regarding COVID-19. However, practice is relatively low and there remains plenty to build assertive preventive behaviors. The gap between knowledge and practice should be narrowed through an appropriate social and behavioral change communication strategy.

Correction: Evaluation of in-service training program of laboratory professionals in Amhara Public Health Institute Dessie Branch, northeast Ethiopia: A concurrent mixed-method study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243141.].

COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitude, Practices and Their Associated Factors Among Dessie City Residents, Northeast Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Sufficient knowledge and favorable attitude are among the key determinants for people's adherence to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) precaution measures. Hence, this study assessed Dessie city resident's knowledge, attitude, and practice on COVID-19. METHODS: We used a facility-based cross-sectional study among 424 Dessie city residents from 17 to 21/05/2020. We dichotomized knowledge, attitude and practice scores based on the mean value. We entered the data into EpiData manager software 4.2 and exported to SPSS-20 for data analysis. We run three independent logistic regression analyses to determine factors associated with sufficient knowledge, a favorable attitude, and adequate practice. We defined significant association at a p-value of <0.05. RESULTS: Among 424 participants, 92.7% have sufficient knowledge about COVID-19, while 96% have a favorable attitude to prevent and control the pandemic. However, the practice was adequate only in 44.6% of the participants. Increasing educational status (AOR: 6.5, 95% CI: 2-21.4), availability of television (AOR: 3.8, 95% CI: 1.4-10.5), having a telephone (AOR: 3.4, 95% CI: 1.3-9.1) and radio (AOR: 4.2, 95% CI: 1.1-15.5) are the factors associated with sufficient knowledge, while sufficient knowledge (AOR: 5.4, 95% CI: 1.7-17.2), is the only predictor identified for favorable attitude. Similarly, being a farmer (AOR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.047-0.4), availability of telephone (AOR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.2-8.2), and sufficient knowledge (AOR: 15.2, 95% CI: 1.9-118) are the predictors of adequate practice. CONCLUSION: In the study area, the participant's knowledge and attitude are found to be sufficient to halt coronavirus transmission. However, practice in the vast majority is not adequate to stop coronavirus transmission. Educational status, television, telephone, radio, occupation and knowledge are the significant factors for successful prevention and control of coronavirus. Despite escalating public knowledge, our finding suggests the government to follow some compulsory regulations for uniform implementation of preventive measures.

Evaluation of in-service training program of laboratory professionals in Amhara Public Health Institute Dessie Branch, northeast Ethiopia: A concurrent mixed-method study.

BACKGROUND: In-service training programs should be evaluated and modified regularly to enhance training quality. However, in Ethiopia, there is no published evidence regarding its effectiveness. Therefore, we evaluated the Amhara Public Health Institute Dessie Branch (APHI_DB) in-service training program using the Kirkpatrick model. METHODS: In October 2019, a concurrent nested mixed method facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 107 laboratory stakeholders from 22 randomly selected government health facilities in the eastern part of the Amhara region. The qualitative part involved interviews with each of these key stakeholders. We collected data using a semi-structured questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. EpiData 3.1 and Microsoft Excel 2016 software were used for data entry and analysis respectively. The major qualitative findings were narrated and summarized based on four thematic areas to supplement the quantitative findings. RESULTS: A total of 107 laboratory personnel were interviewed, which makes a response rate of 97.3%. At the reaction level, 82.1% of the participants agree/strongly agree with the course structures, training contents, and learning tools. Likewise, 85.4% of the participants agreed/ strongly agreed on the trainer's knowledge and their communication skills. In addition, 93.1% of the participants stated an improvement in knowledge and skills after attending the training. As a result, 65.6% of them were able to transfer their knowledge and skills into practice. Regarding the training set-ups and environment, 45.1% of the respondents disagree/strongly disagree with the training hall, toilet, cafe, tea and snacks, financial process, and accommodation perdiem. CONCLUSION: Generally, the laboratory in-service training program of APHI_DB was more or less effective. Our findings suggest regular monitoring of each training event and evaluation of training programs against a clearly defined criterion. Furthermore, the institute is mandated to create a conducive learning environment and well-established training setups for trainees.