PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

In-person training on COVID-19 case management and infection prevention and control: Evaluation of healthcare professionals in Bangladesh.

  • Lubaba Shahrin,
  • Irin Parvin,
  • Monira Sarmin,
  • Nayem Akhter Abbassi,
  • Mst Mahmuda Ackhter,
  • Tahmina Alam,
  • Gazi Md Salahuddin Mamun,
  • Aninda Rahman,
  • Shamsun Nahar Shaima,
  • Shamima Sharmin Shikha,
  • Didarul Haque Jeorge,
  • Mst Arifun Nahar,
  • Sharifuzzaman,
  • Haimanti Saha,
  • Abu Sayem Mirza Md Hasibur Rahman,
  • Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayeem Bin Shahid,
  • A S G Faruque,
  • Tahmeed Ahmed,
  • Mohammod Jobayer Chisti

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273809
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 10
p. e0273809

Abstract

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BackgroundAs COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, the major focus of healthcare organizations shifted towards preparing healthcare systems to handle the inevitable COVID-19 burden at different phases and levels. A series of in-person training programs were operated in collaboration with government and partner organizations for the healthcare workers (HCW) of Bangladesh. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of HCWs regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection, their case management, infection prevention and control to fight against the ongoing pandemic.MethodsAs a part of the National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 in Bangladesh, the training program was conducted at four district-level hospitals and one specialized hospital in Bangladesh from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. A total of 755 HCWs participated in the training sessions. Among them, 357 (47%) were enrolled for the evaluation upon completion of the data, collected from one district hospital (Feni) and one specialized hospital (National Institute of Mental Health).ResultsThe mean percentage of pre-test and post-test scores of all the participants were found to be 57% (95% CI 8.34-8.91; p 0.01) and 65% (95% CI 9.56-10.15; p ConclusionConsidering the series of waves of COVID-19 pandemic with newer variants, the present paper underscores the importance of implementing the structured in-person training program on case management, infection prevention and control for the HCWs that may help for successful readiness prior to future pandemics that may further help to minimize the pandemic related fatal consequences.