Assessment of covid-19 awareness levels of healthcare personnel working in the operating room of Cukurova University Hospital

Assessment of Covid-19 Awareness Levels of Healthcare Personnel Working in the Operating Room of Cukurova University Hospital (Survey Study) Aim: COVID-19 is public health problem threatening lives of >2.4 million people globally. We aimed to investigate the knowledge and experience levels of healthcare-workers in operating room about the COVID-19 and evaluate whether they have the necessary preparations according to clinical guidelines in case of possible patient intervention. Material and methods: In cross-sectional and descriptive study, 213 healthcare workers (specialist ,assistant physician, nurse, anesthesia technician, operating room technician) working in the Çukurova University operating room were reached by internet and questionnaire applied. 40-item questionnaire includes questions about socio-demographic characteristics, epidemiological information about COVID-19 , definitive/probable diagnosis of COVID-19, intervention procedures in operating rooms and information about physical conditions of operating rooms. Results: %53 of participants (n:124) were physicians, 14.5% (n:34) were anesthesia technicians, 21% 8 (n:51) of them were operating and postoperative recovery nurses, 10.7% (n:25) were operating room technicians. 49.1% (n:115) of the participants received training on COVID-19. Significant portion of the healthcare professionals have sufficient information about transmission (n:199,85.0%) of the disease and onset of symptoms (n:219,93.6%). Factors such as training about COVID-19, profession and experience found to be associated with perception of COVID-19 knowledge and attitude. Conclusion: The majority of participants have positive knowledge and awareness of COVID-19, but there are gaps in certain aspects of implementation. Education related to COVID-19 prevention and protection should be arranged according to different factors (educational attainment, occupation, experience, etc.), and plans should be made to change behavior and attitudes as well as information-based trainings. We think that findings of this study will contribute to provision of safer and better healthcare services to COVID-19 patients and will increase awareness in the fight. Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus, Pandemic, Health worker, knowledge, attitude and practice, awareness