Awareness and knowledge of different types of face masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic among health-care professionals across Kingdom of Saudi Arabia an original research

Abstract

Introduction: With the attack of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world, many countries have opted for the lockdown for preventing the spread of the virus. There have been many proposals for the prevention at individual level. These include repeated washing of hands, the sanitization, and the usage of the mouth masks. There have been many studies that suggested various types of the mouth masks for the prevention of the infection. Hence, in the present study, we intend to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of the health-care personnel of the different types of the face masks. Materials and Methods: We conducted the present review by the cross sectional survey method. The study is questionnaire based that was done for a period of 6 months. The survey was done by online only. The participation was voluntary and done in the state wide hospitals in the kingdom of the Saudi Arabia. The survey compromised twenty questions that assessed the knowledge and awareness of the health-care personnel of the different types of the face masks. Results: The total number of the participants was 1000. All were aware of the proper usage of the masks. There was noted enough awareness of the types of the masks among the participants. However, the awareness can further be enhanced. Conclusion: At the present condition of the infection rate, there may be a third wave of the pandemic around the world. As it has been shown in many studies that these barriers have prevented the infection rate, the wisdom points toward the prevention of the disease. The awareness has increased among the health care and also the personnel are conscious of the types of the masks. The same can be evaluated for the general public and the method of the mask wear can be appraised.

Keywords

• awareness
• covid19
• face mask
• health professionals