Table 1.
Knowledge, perceptions, and preparedness of laboratory professionals (LPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.
| No. | Questions | % of LPs conducting COVID-19 testing |
% of LPs conducting routine diagnostic testing |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes n (%) | No n (%) | Maybe n (%) | Yes n (%) | No n (%) | Maybe n (%) | ||
| 1 | Do you think that during this pandemic all pathology sections/departments other than the one involved in COVID-19 testing (such as biochemistry, hematology etc.) are also at risk? | 50 (86.2) | 1 (1.73) | 7 (12.07) | 77 (70) | 10 (9.09) | 23 (20.91) |
| Yes n (%) | No n (%) | Yes n (%) | No n (%) | ||
| 2 | Do you feel you are sufficiently trained to handle samples from cases with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection? | 39 (67.2) | 19 (32.8) | 56 (50.9) | 54 (49.1) |
| 3 | Do you feel comfortable in handling spills of samples from cases with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection? | 33 (56.95) | 25 (43.1) | 56 (50.9) | 54 (49.1) |
| 4 | Do you know what should you do in case of an accident during handling samples from cases with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection? | 39 (67.2) | 19 (32.8) | 66 (60) | 44 (40) |
| 5 | Do you think that right now biosafety is more important than biosecurity during this pandemic? | 55 (94.8) | 3 (5.2) | 106 (96.4) | 4 (3.6) |
| 6 | Do you know that N-95 mask can be reused in certain situations? | 44 (75.9) | 14 (24.1) | 65 (59.1) | 45 (40.9) |
| 7 | Do you know that improper donning and doffing of PPE puts you at risk? | 55 (94.8) | 3 (5.2) | 99 (90) | 11 (10) |
| 8 | Is there a difference between a surgical and N95 mask? | 56 (96.6) | 2 (3.4) | 105 (95.5) | 5 (4.5) |
PPE, personal protective equipment.