Knowledge about COVID-19 and Practices among Hemodialysis Technicians in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Introduction Hemodialysis technicians play a crucial role in infection control practices in hemodialysis units Thus, it is important to assess the knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 among hemodialysis technicians in this pandemic situation Materials and Methods An online survey composed of 22 closed-ended questions using Google Forms was conducted in the month of April (13th to 19th) 2020 The survey consisted of questions regarding the knowledge of COVID-19 and current hemodialysis practice among hemodialysis technicians The study was approved by the institutional ethics board The survey was administered online through a mobile phone invitation Basic statistics (mean and standard deviation or total number and percent) were computed for all covariates Results Out of 150, 115 technicians participated in the survey 80 9% of the participants were males The mean age of respondents was 28 22 + 6 97 years Most of the respondents could correctly identify fever (87 8%), breathlessness (86 08%), and dry cough (81 7%) as the symptoms of COVID-19 infection 75 7% of the technicians were aware that it can be transmitted by asymptomatic persons 61 1% of the technicians were segregating patients who had symptoms such as fever and cough to the last shift of the day 81 1% of the technicians read the guidelines issued by the Indian Society of Nephrology—COVID-19 working group But, only 25 5% of the respondents could rightly identify to keep a minimum distance of two meters between two beds while dialyzing a suspected patient of COVID-19 along with other patients to minimise risk of COVID-19 transmission 60% of the technicians have received hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis against coronavirus infection Conclusion Our study shows a significant knowledge gap among hemodialysis technicians about COVID-19 Effective COVID-19 education campaigns should be carried out intensively with relevant information among hemodialysis technicians to address the knowledge gap A well-informed hemodialysis technician can prove to be a great tool to spread the right infection control practices among dialysis-dependent patients [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Nephrology is the property of Hindawi Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )