A nationwide, multihospital, cross-sectional, self-reported study: Knowledge, attitude and behaviour concerning the use of personal protective equipment among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

INTRODUCTION: Personal protective equipment (PPE) is crucial in reducing the risk of hospital-acquired COVID-19 as health care workers (HCW)s are highly exposed to the virus during the management of patients with COVID-19. This study assesses the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the HCWs towards the use of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a nationwide, online-based cross-sectional study utilising a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to tertiary hospital HCWs in Malaysia, conducted between June and August 2020.

RESULTS: Forty-eight physicians, 66 nurses and 79 medical assistants participated in this study. 73.6% correctly recognised PPE components while 40.4% revealed correct hand hygiene practices and approximately 20% had misconceptions about the proper usage of PPE. Although 78.8% disclosed high compliance, 37.3% perceived that PPE protocol interferes with patient care. HCWs have suboptimal knowledge levels of hand hygiene. Age and poor behaviour were the independent predictors of good compliance with PPE.

CONCLUSION: This study highlights the necessity to analyse discrepancies in PPE practice among HCWs and its contributing elements. Recognised barriers should be addressed to narrow the gap between knowledge, attitude and behaviour to improve compliance. The study findings would assist in developing an improved disease transmission control and prevention training protocols for HCWs as a preparation for possible infectious outbreaks in the future.