Knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the use of mask among healthcare workers during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A questionnaire-based survey

Background and Aims: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a large number of healthcare workers (HCW) getting infected, making it difficult to sustain uninterrupted and quality healthcare services. Using a mask is the minimum standard of care to prevent the spread of infection. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has added airborne spread as an important mode of spread of COVID-19. The aim of this survey study was to assess the awareness about the use and reuse of masks for infection control practices among HCWs during the ongoing pandemic. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based survey on the awareness, knowledge, and practices related to the use of masks in COVID-19 infection in the healthcare setting was circulated through E-mail to medical and paramedical staff. A convenient sampling method was used for data collection, and the distribution of responses was presented as frequencies and percentages. Descriptive statistics were performed for all groups and subgroups based on the responses. Results: The survey sent to 1000 HCWs but only 394 responses (response rate 39.4%) were obtained. N95 was used by 282 (71.57%) personnel, surgical mask in 99 (25.12%) workers, cloth mask 11 (2.79%), and no mask in 2 (0.05%) HCW. Two hundred and eighty (71.07%) HCWs were reusing the mask. However, only 150 out of 280 subjects (53.57%) were correctly reusing the mask. Conclusion: Although universal masking was present in our study population, the awareness about the correct practice of reuse was limited. Since the pandemic is not going to settle any time soon and we might get short on existing supplies, it is vital that the HCWs need to be trained for the correct reuse and more efficient ways of reuse need to be explored.