Determination of the Factors Affecting the COVID-19 Knowledge Levels and the Status of Being Diagnosed with COVID-19 in Healthcare Employees Struggling with Pandemic

The present study was conducted to determine of the factors affecting the COVID-19 knowledge levels and the status of being diagnosed with COVID-19 in healthcare employees struggling with the pandemic. This study, which was planned in cross-sectional and descriptive-correlational design. The healthcare employees working in hospitals in 6 city centers in the Black Sea Region, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey, were included in the study (n=385). It was determined in the present study that 33.85±9.11 (min.20, max.60), 57.9% of the participants were female, 43.4% were nurses, and 47% were infected with coronavirus. It was found that the factors that affected the coronavirus knowledge scores of health employees significantly were being diagnosed with COVID-19, presence of chronic diseases, receiving psychological support, female gender, and fighting COVID-19 in the front line. The risk factors for being infected with coronavirus disease were found to be the lack of personal protective equipment, unit worked at, and N95 mask replacement time (p<0.05). As a result of this study, ıt is recommended to provide evidence-based trainings to prevent transmission of future outbreaks and to support coping strengths since infection in healthcare employees is high.