TY - JOUR
T1 - General practitioners' knowledge, preparedness, and experiences of managing COVID-19 in Australia
AU - Sotomayor-Castillo, Cristina
AU - Nahidi, Shizar
AU - Li, Cecilia
AU - Hespe, Charlotte
AU - Burns, Penelope L.
AU - Shaban, Ramon Z.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background: COVID-19 has brought unprecedented demands to general practitioners (GPs) worldwide. We examined their knowledge, preparedness, and experiences managing COVID-19 in Australia. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of GPs members of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) was conducted between June and September 2020. Results: Out of 244 survey responses, a majority of GPs (76.6%) indicated having good knowledge of COVID-19, relying mostly on state/territory department of health (84.4%) and the RACGP (76.2%) websites to source up-to-date information. Most felt prepared to manage patients with COVID-19 (75.7%), yet over half reported not receiving training in the use of PPE. The majority were concerned about contracting SARS-CoV-2, more stressed than usual, and have heavier workloads. Their greatest challenges included scarcity of PPE, personal distress, and information overload. Conclusion: Access to PPE, training, accurate information, and preparedness are fundamental for the successful role of general practices during outbreaks.
AB - Background: COVID-19 has brought unprecedented demands to general practitioners (GPs) worldwide. We examined their knowledge, preparedness, and experiences managing COVID-19 in Australia. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of GPs members of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) was conducted between June and September 2020. Results: Out of 244 survey responses, a majority of GPs (76.6%) indicated having good knowledge of COVID-19, relying mostly on state/territory department of health (84.4%) and the RACGP (76.2%) websites to source up-to-date information. Most felt prepared to manage patients with COVID-19 (75.7%), yet over half reported not receiving training in the use of PPE. The majority were concerned about contracting SARS-CoV-2, more stressed than usual, and have heavier workloads. Their greatest challenges included scarcity of PPE, personal distress, and information overload. Conclusion: Access to PPE, training, accurate information, and preparedness are fundamental for the successful role of general practices during outbreaks.
UR - https://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:62853
U2 - 10.1016/j.idh.2021.01.004
DO - 10.1016/j.idh.2021.01.004
M3 - Article
SN - 2468-0451
VL - 26
SP - 166
EP - 172
JO - Infection , Disease and Health
JF - Infection , Disease and Health
IS - 3
ER -
