Abstract
Objectives: Hospital healthcare workers (HCWs) face elevated risks of acquiring and transmitting COVID-19. High levels of awareness and preparedness are essential for pandemic preparedness, response and infection control. This study assessed the awareness and preparedness of frontline HCWs during the first wave of COVID-19 in Oman.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey between May and August 2020 among HCWs at four national referral hospitals in Muscat, Oman. We invited a convenience sample of medical, nursing, and allied health professionals to complete an online questionnaire measuring COVID-19-related awareness (score range: 0-8) and preparedness (score range: 0-14). We used descriptive statistics and multivariable regression to analyse key predictors.
Results: A total of 439 HCWs participated; 73.3% were women, and 50.3% were nurses. The median age was 38 years (IQR 33–43). The median awareness and preparedness scores were 3 (IQR 1–4) and 12 (IQR 10–13), respectively. Government agencies (82.9%) were the most frequently cited sources of information, followed by mainstream media (70.8%) and social media (69%). Awareness scores were significantly associated with younger age (p < 0.001), while preparedness was associated with female gender, being a nurse, previous outbreak experience, and COVID-19-specific training (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Frontline HCWs in Oman demonstrated relatively high preparedness scores, whereas awareness scores should be interpreted cautiously given the characteristics of the awareness instrument and the timing of the survey during the early stages of the pandemic.