Abstract

Introduction: The high number of Covid-19 patients and the specialized treatment they need, made it necessary that certain hospitals would be dedicated to the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the knowledge, attitude and practices of health care workers in covid and general hospitals, regarding SARS-Cov-2, because accurate knowledge, positive attitude and correct practice are essential for the effective treatment of covid patients.
Material and method: 451 health care professionals (25.5% physicians, 43.5% nurses, 20.4% nurse assistants and 8% of allied health professionals) in four general hospitals and a Covid hospital completed a 42-question survey from June to August 2021. The mean age was 36.5±10.3 years and ranged from 22 to 64 years old. The mean years of experience was 12.35±10.65 years and ranged from 1 to 35 years of experience. All data were coded accordingly and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 20.0).
Result: The mean total KAP score of the study participants was 79.63%, 82.37% for covid hospital and 78.8% for general hospitals. The mean scores of knowledge (total 82.5%, general hospital 82.42%, covid hospital 82.78%) and practice (total 90.5%, general hospital 89.375%, Covid hospital 94.25%) are considered high, while the attitude scores are moderate (total 75.89%, general hospital 74.76%, covid hospital 79.66%). The study showed that there was no significant difference in knowledge scores between covid and general hospitals, on the contrary there is significant difference in the attitude, practice and KAP total scores (p<0.01), (p=0.001) and (p<0.01) respectively.
Conclusion: The findings of the study may indicate that knowledge is not the only determinant of good attitude and practice. Further research is needed to determine the factors that are responsible for the differences found in attitude and practice between covid and general hospitals.

Keywords:SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Knowledge; Attitude; Practice; KAP; Healthcare professionals; Vaccination; Greece

Abbreviations:Covid-19: Coronavirus Disease 19; KAP: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices; PPE: Personal Protective Equipment