Knowledge & attitude regarding COVID-19 among health care workers in a tertiary setting, Thiruvananthapuram District, South Kerala

Background: World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a public health emergency and have called for collaborative efforts worldwide to prevent the rapid spread. The health care workers are in the frontline for quite some time to bring this pandemic under control through preventive and curative services. Aim: This study was aimed at understanding the level of knowledge and attitude regarding COVID-19 among the healthcare workers of a tertiary care setting, South Kerala and its association with selected sociodemographic variables.Methodology: In a cross sectional study 125 health care workers were enrolled. A self administered questionnaire developed by the researcher and validated by subject experts was used along with a demographic profile sheet. Data analysis was done by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 16.0 and p value of <0.01 was considered to be significant.Results: Majority (84%) of the study participants had adequate knowledge regarding COVID-19 and (36.6%) have negative attitude toward COVID-19. There was a significant association between knowledge level and job profile (0.000***).Conclusion: The present study identified that adequate knowledge is always associated with a positive attitude, which will indeed enable the healthcare workers to reinforce the public regarding safe practices on prevention of COVID-19, thereby bringing this dreadful disease under control.