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    Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare workers within an Australian tertiary hospital to managing high-consequence infectious diseases.

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    Author
    Fryk, JJ; Tong, S; Marshall, C; Rajkhowa, A; Buising, K; MacIsaac, C; Walsham, N; Thevarajan, I
    Date
    2020-11-11
    Source Title
    Infection, Disease && Health
    Publisher
    Elsevier BV
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Tong, Steven; MacIsaac, Christopher; Buising, Kirsty; Rajkhowa, Arjun; Marshall, Caroline
    Affiliation
    Medical Education
    Medicine and Radiology
    Doherty Institute
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    Fryk, J. J., Tong, S., Marshall, C., Rajkhowa, A., Buising, K., MacIsaac, C., Walsham, N. & Thevarajan, I. (2020). Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare workers within an Australian tertiary hospital to managing high-consequence infectious diseases.. Infect Dis Health, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2020.10.002.
    Access Status
    Access this item via the Open Access location
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/254579
    DOI
    10.1016/j.idh.2020.10.002
    Open Access URL
    https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC7657000?pdf=render
    Open Access at PMC
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7657000
    Abstract
    BACKGROUND: Adequate preparation and support for healthcare workers (HCWs) managing high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) is critical to the overall clinical management of HCIDs. Qualitative studies examining how well prepared and supported HCWs feel are lacking despite their key role. This study investigated how prepared and supported front-line HCWs at an Australian tertiary hospital felt about managing HCIDs such as viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF). METHODS: A qualitative research approach was used to undertake interviews with 45 Royal Melbourne Hospital medical and nursing staff from emergency, intensive care and infectious diseases. Interview questions captured data on HCWs' role, familiarity with using protocols, psychological attributes and training for scenarios related to VHF patient management. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Categorical responses were analysed quantitatively and open-ended responses were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Ninety-eight percent of participants indicated feeling capable of undertaking their role in managing VHF patients; 77% felt supported through personnel/resources. However, 69% indicated barriers to managing these patients effectively; and 68% felt anxious at the prospect of managing VHF patients. Themes emerging from participants' observations included concerns about training frequency, miscommunication, difficulty with uncertainty, feeling underprepared, and fear of transmitting infection to others. CONCLUSION: Although the majority of HCWs feel confident about their ability to care for VHF patients, they also have a moderately-high degree of anxiety. Perceptions of interviewed staff have fed into recommendations to increase HCW preparedness and reduce anxiety, which include investigating support services, and exploring training options that create multi-departmental groups of highly specialised medical officers and nurses.

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