Knowledge, attitude, and practice of obstetricians towards pregnancy in COVID- 19 pandemic

Taha, Omima T.; Ghoneim, Hanan M.; Mohamed, Hanaa H.; Gadallah, Ahmed M.

doi:10.21608/egyfs.2023.297253

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of obstetricians towards pregnancy in COVID- 19 pandemic

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University

² Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Faculty of Medicine. Suez Canal University. Ismailia. Egypt

³ MD Lecturer of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University

10.21608/egyfs.2023.297253

Abstract

Background: COVID- 19 is a global disease declared by the WHO as a pandemic. Proper knowledge about the disease may increase the chances of protection against catching an infection.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the obstetricians' knowledge, attitude, and practice towards pregnancy during COVID- 19 pandemic.
Study design: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from October 2020 to March 2021. We surveyed a total of 120 obstetricians using a questionnaire that was published and distributed electronically. The questionnaire was validated statistically through principal component analysis and the calculation of Cronbach's alpha for the whole questionnaire and each section. The questionnaire included two main sectors: sector (one) inquired about the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants (age, sex, status, and years of experience); sector (two) included the physicians’ knowledge, attitude, and practices towards COVID- 19 in pregnancy.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 40.73 ± 12.58. The calculated Cronbach's Alpha was more than 90% for the whole questionnaire and individually for each section. Generally, 55.64% of the participants had adequate knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic; 76.5% had proper attitudes towards this pandemic, and 74.8% practiced with caution during this global outbreak. The full scale for knowledge, attitude, and practice was 8.8 ± 7.9, 6.27 ± 4.49, and 13.71± 5.99.
Conclusion: The attitude and practice of the obstetricians about COVID- 19 were encouraging; however, they need proper training to improve their knowledge. Misconceptions about this pandemic exist.

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