Readiness of physicians and medical students to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic in the UAE

This study aims to assess the knowledge, preparedness and attitudes of medical students, physicians and faculty members in the U nited Arab Emirates (UAE) on COVID-19 and their perspective on the roles of educational and healthcare institution towards improving pandemic preparedness and enabling optimal care. MethodologyAn exploratory, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 444 participants, using a non-probability convenience sampling method. English-speaking participants from the medical field aged 18 and above were included in the study. The validated questionnaire was administered online and distributed across social media platforms from May-July 2020. T-test, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney-U test were used when appropriate. Responses were analysed and statistical tests applied using IBM SPSS, version 25. ResultsThe knowledge scores were calculated amongst different ages and professional status, and the mean was 59.08% (SD = 12.848%). Almost half of the participants obtained poor knowledge scores (less than 60%). Most of the participants followed the latest updates on COVID-19 (86.7%). The majority opted to obtain information from the national health authorities (63.4%). The mean preparedness score among the participants was 68.65% (SD = 17.456%). Being in contact with patients significantly increased the preparedness score (p
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research