Original Articles ONLINE OPINION ON GOVERNMENT POLICIES REGARDING COVID-19 BY HEALTH CARE WORKERS OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Introduction:

COVID-19 emerged in December 2019 and has spread quickly and aggressively and became a major health concern worldwide. The main aim of this study was to assess and evaluate online the opinion of health care workers (HCWs) regarding policies of government of Pakistan in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material and Methods:

A self-designed electronic questionnaire was created using Google Forms. The questionnaires were distributed to HCWs via e-communication apps and social media. The collected data was coded, entered, and assessed using SPSS version 20. Statistical relationship of the opinion of HCWs in association with education level was evaluated using the Pearson Chi-square test and two-sided Fisher exact test. p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

 Results:

A total of 625 participants sent their responses. Almost half of the study participants were of 15-24 years of the age range, and 24.6% were Bachelor in Medicine and Bachelor in Surgery (MBBS). More than 90% of HCWs expressed that the Government should restrict travelling from the affected countries and provide free screening nationwide. The 42.2% of HCWs were not satisfied with the Government measures and 44% HCWs disagreed that Government institutions will be able to control  he pandemic. 88.5% of HCWs agreed with the effective communication strategies of authorities about COVID-19, and they showed satisfaction that public health messages were clearly delivered to the public, whereas, 81.8% of HCWs were not satisfied with the public response. A significant association was seen between the level of education and demand for a free screening of COVID-19 by the Government (p = 0.000) and satisfaction level about the Government precautionary measures for the prevention of the spread of COVID (p = 0.006).

Conclusion:

Majority of the HCWs were satisfied with the awareness strategies and communication by the Pakistani Government, but were not satisfied by the public response to these strategies and measures. The mainstream of HCWs also demanded travel ban, free screening, information of suspected cases to the health authorities. However, they also expressed their concern that the Government institutions willnot be able to control the pandemic.