THE IMPACT OF THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ON THE ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF USING PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IN PANDEMIC CONDITIONS AS AN ELEMENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT
THE IMPACT OF THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ON THE ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF USING PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IN PANDEMIC CONDITIONS AS AN ELEMENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT

Summary/Abstract: The goal of complete risk management in health care institutions is to protect health care providers from unfortunate events, incidents. The practice of healthcare professionals related to protective equipment is one of the crucial steps in risk management. And practice is expressed in relation to knowledge and education about a disease. The aim of this research is to analyze the attitude and practice of the use of protective equipment in relation to the level of education of health professionals. For the purpose of conducting the research, 604 respondents were surveyed, health professionals of all profiles, who work in health institutions in the Sarajevo Canton. A survey questionnaire was used as a research instrument, the modification of which was created on the basis of three questionnaires. The created questionnaire was created on the basis of the following questionnaires: COVID 19 Health Worker's Perception Survey, Surveillance questionnaire for SARS-CoV-2 infection among health workers, Questionnaire on Risk Perception and Behavior of Public Health Emergencies. The research was conducted in the period from 30.11.2021 to 31.05.2022. Out of 604 subjects, 82.3% were women. The majority of respondents, 34.1%, were aged 41-50 years. In relation to the level of professional qualification, 324 respondents (53.6%) had a secondary education (SSS), and 36 (5.96%) respondents had a higher education and 244 (40.4%) had a university degree. Of the total number, 373 (62.8%) attend discussions related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, while 221 (37.2%) respondents do not. Overall, the average number of points in specific knowledge was 9.27±1.35 for respondents with secondary education, 9.33±0.68 for respondents with university education and 9.31±1.28 for respondents with university education. No significant statistical difference was found (F=0.303; p=0.739). Gloves were used by 88.7% of respondents in their daily work, masks by 98.5% of respondents, disposable covers/suits/aprons were used daily by 80.2% of respondents, eye protection was used by 64.5% of respondents. Increased hand hygiene was carried out by 98.9% of respondents, and an N95 mask or FFP3 was used by 58.7% of respondents. In this study, no statistical difference in knowledge was observed in relation to professional qualifications. The practice of using personal protective equipment was high, but the attitude did not follow the practice, and we explain this gap by the additional need for education of health workers of all levels of professional qualifications.

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