Knowledge of COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) among teachers in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a major pillar in the battle against COVID-19 as well as many other communicable diseases. School-age children are vulnerable to transmission of diseases via close contact. Objectives: To assess the knowledge of COVID-19 IPC among teachers in Enugu state, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: We studied 1804 teachers in primary and secondary schools of the state using a multi-stage sampling method and a 32-item, pretested, and validated questionnaire, which had four basic domains. Results: A total of 823 got information on COVID-19 from health workers and 715 (66%) had social media as their source. Investigating practice of IPC protocols, 96.6% had handwashing facilities, 83.8% knew that effective handwashing should last 40–60 s, 86.3% were aware that hand sanitizer use should be for 20–30 s, and 99.4% could correctly demonstrate this. On safety, 86.2% began meetings with a safety moment and 38.5% had internal mechanisms to track and report hygiene violators. Screening of visitors was observed in 37.8% while 91.5% were enforcing safe waste disposal. Provision of isolation for symptomatic individuals; 36.9% had this in place. Sterilization or fumigation facilities were reported to be available by 43.4% of the teachers. Conclusions: Lessons learned from COVID-19 IPC can be used in planning for the containment of other communicable diseases. Social media was a major source of information on IPC practices. Knowledge of IPC practices did not match its implementation and screening protocols were deficient, and this gap needs to be the focus of future policies.