Abstract:

Objective: It was aimed to determine the effect of healthcare workers' knowledge and awareness of COVID-19 on their individual attitudes and behaviors. Material and Methods: After obtaining the approval of the ethics committee, the questionnaire questions prepared in accordance with the Ministry of Health "COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 Infection) guideline" were asked to volunteer healthcare workers. The questionnaire consisted of demographic characteristics in the first part, general information about COVID-19, risk assessment, contact tracing and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the second part, and 10 questions in the third part to evaluate the effect of participants' knowledge about COVID-19 on their individual attitudes and behaviors in their daily lives. A total of 397 healthcare workers completed the study. Results: The prevalence of COVID-19 was 22.7% among healthcare workers, 35.5% among their families, and 9.7% among their friends. About one-quarter of participants reported a COVID-19-related death in their community or family. About 60% of participants reported that they preferred to get information from the guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Health. The prevalence of COVID-19 was lower in the group who reported always using PPE (p<0.001). Approximately 75% of the participants were willing to be vaccinated and 9.1% reported volunteering for a vaccination study. The mean COVID-19 general knowledge score was 4.85±1.28. A significant difference was found between occupational groups (p<0.001) and between those working in pandemic units and other units. (p=0.024). 91.9% of the participants reported they paid attention to social distance. Again, 90% thought they had sufficient knowledge about COVID-19. 90.7% of the participants reported that they were worried about spreading COVID-19. Conclusion: The knowledge level of healthcare workers in our institution about COVID-19 is low. Regular training programs and supporting the use of personal protective equipment are important for the health of healthcare workers and the community.

Keywords: