Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.

<h4>Background</h4>Somalia is considered severely underprepared to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, with critical shortages in healthcare personnel and treatment resources. In limited-resource settings such as Somalia, providing healthcare workers with adequate information on COVID-19 is...

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Autores principales:	Jude Alawa, Lucas Walz, Samir Al-Ali, Nikhil Harle, Eleanor Wiles, Mohamed Abdullahi Awale, Deqo Mohamed, Kaveh Khoshnood
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2a2d9acc38f44c0bb47f0c6a78b94173
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2a2d9acc38f44c0bb47f0c6a78b941732021-12-02T20:16:12ZKnowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0259981https://doaj.org/article/2a2d9acc38f44c0bb47f0c6a78b941732021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259981https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>Somalia is considered severely underprepared to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, with critical shortages in healthcare personnel and treatment resources. In limited-resource settings such as Somalia, providing healthcare workers with adequate information on COVID-19 is crucial to improve patient outcomes and mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study assessed the knowledge of, preparedness for, and perceptions toward COVID-19 prevention and treatment among Somali healthcare workers.<h4>Methods</h4>A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was completed by 364 Somali healthcare workers in summer of 2020 utilizing a convenience sampling method.<h4>Results</h4>Participants' most accessed sources of COVID-19 information were from social media (64.8%), official government and international health organization websites (51.1%,), and traditional media sources such as radio, TV, and newspapers (48.1%). A majority of participants demonstrated strong knowledge of treatment of COVID-19, the severity of COVID-19, and the possible outcomes of COVID-19, but only 5 out of 10 symptoms listed were correctly identified by more than 75% of participants. Although participants indicated seeing a median number of 10 patients per week with COVID-19 related symptoms, access to essential medical resources, such as N95 masks (30.2%), facial protective shields (24.5%), and disposable gowns (21.4%), were limited. Moreover, 31.3% agreed that Somalia was in a good position to contain an emerging outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, 40.4% of participants agreed that the Somali government's response to the pandemic was sufficient to protect Somali healthcare professionals.<h4>Conclusion</h4>This study provides evidence for the need to equip Somali healthcare providers with more information, personal protective equipment, and treatment resources such that they can safely and adequately care for COVID-19 patients and contain the spread of the virus. Social media and traditional news outlets may be effective outlets to communicate information regarding COVID-19 and the Somali government's response to frontline healthcare workers.Jude AlawaLucas WalzSamir Al-AliNikhil HarleEleanor WilesMohamed Abdullahi AwaleDeqo MohamedKaveh KhoshnoodPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 11, p e0259981 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Jude Alawa Lucas Walz Samir Al-Ali Nikhil Harle Eleanor Wiles Mohamed Abdullahi Awale Deqo Mohamed Kaveh Khoshnood Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.
description	<h4>Background</h4>Somalia is considered severely underprepared to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, with critical shortages in healthcare personnel and treatment resources. In limited-resource settings such as Somalia, providing healthcare workers with adequate information on COVID-19 is crucial to improve patient outcomes and mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study assessed the knowledge of, preparedness for, and perceptions toward COVID-19 prevention and treatment among Somali healthcare workers.<h4>Methods</h4>A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was completed by 364 Somali healthcare workers in summer of 2020 utilizing a convenience sampling method.<h4>Results</h4>Participants' most accessed sources of COVID-19 information were from social media (64.8%), official government and international health organization websites (51.1%,), and traditional media sources such as radio, TV, and newspapers (48.1%). A majority of participants demonstrated strong knowledge of treatment of COVID-19, the severity of COVID-19, and the possible outcomes of COVID-19, but only 5 out of 10 symptoms listed were correctly identified by more than 75% of participants. Although participants indicated seeing a median number of 10 patients per week with COVID-19 related symptoms, access to essential medical resources, such as N95 masks (30.2%), facial protective shields (24.5%), and disposable gowns (21.4%), were limited. Moreover, 31.3% agreed that Somalia was in a good position to contain an emerging outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, 40.4% of participants agreed that the Somali government's response to the pandemic was sufficient to protect Somali healthcare professionals.<h4>Conclusion</h4>This study provides evidence for the need to equip Somali healthcare providers with more information, personal protective equipment, and treatment resources such that they can safely and adequately care for COVID-19 patients and contain the spread of the virus. Social media and traditional news outlets may be effective outlets to communicate information regarding COVID-19 and the Somali government's response to frontline healthcare workers.
format	article
author	Jude Alawa Lucas Walz Samir Al-Ali Nikhil Harle Eleanor Wiles Mohamed Abdullahi Awale Deqo Mohamed Kaveh Khoshnood
author_facet	Jude Alawa Lucas Walz Samir Al-Ali Nikhil Harle Eleanor Wiles Mohamed Abdullahi Awale Deqo Mohamed Kaveh Khoshnood
author_sort	Jude Alawa
title	Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.
title_short	Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.
title_full	Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.
title_fullStr	Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.
title_full_unstemmed	Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.
title_sort	knowledge of and preparedness for covid-19 among somali healthcare professionals: a cross-sectional study.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/2a2d9acc38f44c0bb47f0c6a78b94173
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Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study.

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