Perceptions of COVID-19 during and after the Omicron outbreak among healthcare personnel in Indonesia

• Published in: Frontiers in public health Vol. 11; p. 1321045
• Main Authors: Maruf, Mohammad Ainul, Weng, Yi-Hao, Chiu, Ya-Wen, Chiou, Hung-Yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 08.01.2024
• Subjects: attitudes; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Delivery of Health Care; Disease Outbreaks; healthcare personnel; Humans; Indonesia; Indonesia - epidemiology; knowledge; Pandemics; practices; Public Health; Indonesia; COVID-19; healthcare personnel; attitudes; psychological distress; practices; Indonesia; knowledge
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1321045

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred in several waves with different levels of seriousness. Healthcare personnel (HCP) constituted a high-risk population for COVID-19, necessitating monitoring of their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) status and level of psychological distress. This study investigated differences in the impacts of COVID-19 during and after the Omicron outbreak among HCP in Indonesia. An online structured questionnaire survey was distributed twice in selected hospitals of Indonesia: the first survey was between December 2021 and February 2022 (Omicron era) and the second between August and October 2022 (post-Omicron era). A multiple logistic regression model was used to determine the differences in KAP and psychological distress among HCP toward COVID-19 with demographic characteristics adjusted for. This study included 402 (Omicron era) and 584 (post-Omicron era) HCP members. Positive attitudes were more common in the Omicron era than in the post-Omicron era (  = 0.001). The availability of face shields and protective eyewear significantly decreased from 62.7 to 55.6% (  = 0.028). However, psychological distress among HCP significantly increased after the Omicron outbreak (  = 0.024). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed a decrease of positive attitudes (OR = 0.626; 95% CI = 0.476-0.823) in the post-Omicron era. Our data indicated a significant increase in psychological distress among HCP in the post-Omicron era. These findings suggest a need for greater focus on psychological distress among HCP in Indonesia.