. Linda C. Odikpo; . Vera I. Onyekaonwu; . Anulika J. Afonne
Volume 11, Issue 11 , December 2021, , Pages 1-8
Abstract
BACKGROUND: COVID‑19 is a contagious disease without any treatment, vaccine, or immunity,which the only way out is the practice of preventive measures. This article assessed the perceptionand ...
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BACKGROUND: COVID‑19 is a contagious disease without any treatment, vaccine, or immunity,which the only way out is the practice of preventive measures. This article assessed the perceptionand factors influencing the practice of preventive measures to COVID‑19 among nurses in AnambraState, Nigeria. The study objectives include to determine the perception of nurses toward COVID‑19and to determine factors that influence the practice of preventive measures to COVID‑19 amongnurses in tertiary hospitals in Anambra State.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The design for the study was descriptive cross‑sectional surveyconducted among 344 nurses in the two tertiary institutions.RESULTS: Three hundred and three (88.1%) nurses had no formal training on COVID‑19 protocol.They have a good perception of the disease as, among others, they (165 [48.0%]) see it to be highlycontagious, 207 (60.2%) can recognize symptoms easily, 168 (48.8%) believed that COVID‑19 couldbe handled professionally based on their experience, 155 (45.1%) responded that there is no vaccineyet for the disease, and 200 (58.1%) responded that patients should not hide their symptoms and travelhistory to avoid infecting other people. The result on the false benefits has 323 (93.9%) who respondedthat COVID‑19 preventive measures will predispose one to the disease, 319 (92.7%) who respondedthat the preventive measures will not slow the spread of the disease, 288 (83.7) who respondedthat it is independent of normalcy returning to areas affected, and 327 (95.1%) who responded thatCOVID‑19 preventive measures are among the effective ways to mitigate the disease and enhancelife sustainability. Some work‑related/institutional and disease‑specific factors influence their practiceof preventive measures to COVID‑19. Such factors include the time to use personal protectiveequipment (PPE) in an emergency (170 [49.4%]), remembering to use PPE (158 [45.9%]), insufficientnursing staff during a shift (158 [43.0%]), and too many responsibilities during a shift (178 [51.7%]).CONCLUSION: With the increasing death as a result of COVID‑19, of which health workers are notimmune to, it is essential to annihilate all negative factors that may impede the accurate practicesof the preventive measures and also support the nurses with the necessary tools and knowledge tomitigate their exposure to the disease.