Health Workers' knowledge and perception regarding the risk of spread of COVID‐19 during the pandemic: A systematic review

Polychronis, Giannis; Roupa, Zoe

Certain Health Workers (HWs) may have inadequate knowledge and perceptions regarding COVID‐19. As a result, they may not be completely aware of the danger/risk involved, which could impact their ability to control the spread of the virus. This systematic review aims to enhance HWs' knowledge and their perception of the spread risk of COVID‐19 during the pandemic. A search was conducted in four databases (Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, and ScienceDirect) to locate peer‐reviewed studies published in English between January 2020 and April 2020. Eventually, nine articles satisfied the inclusion criteria and were, therefore, included in the present study. Six of the aforementioned studies specifically investigated HWs' perception of risk. Apart from a study that indicated medium perception (min = 56.5%), all other studies found high levels of risk perception (n = 5, max 92.1%). As for HWs' knowledge, apart from two studies that indicated medium percentage levels (min = 56.5%), the rest of the studies report high percentages (n = 7, max = 93.2%). Two of the studies, which assessed the sources of information that HWs use, agree that social media is the most widely used source of information. The findings of this study suggest that HWs had a satisfactory perception of risk during the spread of COVID‐19. Although fields with medium knowledge levels were identified, HWs' overall knowledge may also be described as satisfactory. It is also noted that certain demographic characteristics (occupation, age, and years of experience) appear to affect HWs' knowledge and perceptions. The application of educational strategies aiming to provide continuous support to HWs is unanimously recommended by all studies.