RESUMO
Background: Knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures, in addition to appropriate practices of such measures, remains a necessity for the prevention of contracting COVID-19 by nurses. This study assessed nurses' knowledge and practice of COVID-19 preventive strategies. It also determined the influence of sociodemographic variables on the knowledge of preventive measures for COVID-19 among nurses. Materials and Methods: The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey design using multi-stage sampling to recruit 344 nurses. Results: The results showed that 92% of the nurses had adequate knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures. The practice of COVID-19 preventive measures among nurses showed that 98.80% had sufficient knowledge of the infection preventive measures. Nurses with Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife (RN/RM-AOR 12.30; CI 4.79-31.63; p = 0.001) and Bachelor of science in nursing (BScN-AOR 37.60; CI 7.644-184.95; p = 0.001) were more knowledgeable about the COVID-19 preventive compared to other nurses with higher degree qualifications. Conclusions: The nurses in the study had good knowledge of the preventive measures for COVID-19 despite not being trained as frontline staff. It is essential to transform theory into practice by ensuring that the preventive measures they know are implemented to halt the spread of the disease in the face of minimal vaccine coverage.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a contagious disease without any treatment, vaccine, or immunity, which the only way out is the practice of preventive measures. This article assessed the perception and factors influencing the practice of preventive measures to COVID-19 among nurses in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study objectives include to determine the perception of nurses toward COVID-19 and to determine factors that influence the practice of preventive measures to COVID-19 among nurses in tertiary hospitals in Anambra State. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The design for the study was descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted among 344 nurses in the two tertiary institutions. RESULTS: Three hundred and three (88.1%) nurses had no formal training on COVID-19 protocol. They have a good perception of the disease as, among others, they (165 [48.0%]) see it to be highly contagious, 207 (60.2%) can recognize symptoms easily, 168 (48.8%) believed that COVID-19 could be handled professionally based on their experience, 155 (45.1%) responded that there is no vaccine yet for the disease, and 200 (58.1%) responded that patients should not hide their symptoms and travel history to avoid infecting other people. The result on the false benefits has 323 (93.9%) who responded that COVID-19 preventive measures will predispose one to the disease, 319 (92.7%) who responded that the preventive measures will not slow the spread of the disease, 288 (83.7) who responded that it is independent of normalcy returning to areas affected, and 327 (95.1%) who responded that COVID-19 preventive measures are among the effective ways to mitigate the disease and enhance life sustainability. Some work-related/institutional and disease-specific factors influence their practice of preventive measures to COVID-19. Such factors include the time to use personal protective equipment (PPE) in an emergency (170 [49.4%]), remembering to use PPE (158 [45.9%]), insufficient nursing staff during a shift (158 [43.0%]), and too many responsibilities during a shift (178 [51.7%]). CONCLUSION: With the increasing death as a result of COVID-19, of which health workers are not immune to, it is essential to annihilate all negative factors that may impede the accurate practices of the preventive measures and also support the nurses with the necessary tools and knowledge to mitigate their exposure to the disease.
