Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding H1N1 pandemic influenza among the health care providers working at a tertiary care hospital in Kashmir: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Health care professionals are a high risk group for H1N1 and it is important for them to have correct knowledge about the disease in order to be able to prevent themselves from the disease.Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding H1N1 pandemic influenza among the health care providers working at a tertiary care hospital.Methodology: Data was collected from 279 health care providers who were selected by convenience sampling.Results: Overall the participants had some/sufficient knowledge about the disease. 44.8% of the study participants had received training on hand hygiene while only 24% had received training on the use of personal protective equipment. Only 54.8 % of the study participants were vaccinated against H1N1.Conclusion: It was seen that there were some gaps in the knowledge about the disease. Educational and training programmes for health care providers should be conducted regularly.