Knowledge and Perceived Self-Efficacy Regarding Personal Protective Equipment for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Prevention: A Cross-Sectional Study among Thai Nursing Students at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

Abstract

Introduction: Personal protective equipment plays a crucial role in preventing the transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 among healthcare workers as well as nursing students in clinical settings. The study aimed to investigate the level and relationship between knowledge and perceived self-efficacy regarding personal protective equipment for COVID-19 prevention among nursing students at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Thailand. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted involving 144 undergraduate nursing students at a single faculty of nursing in Thailand between August and September 2022. An online questionnaire was administered to collect data on participants’ general characteristics, knowledge, and perceived self-efficacy regarding the use of personal protective equipment. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Chi-Square test, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results: Among 144 participants, a majority demonstrated high knowledge regarding the use of personal protective equipment (45.8%) while reporting moderate perceived self-efficacy regarding the use of personal protective equipment (45.1%). No statistically significant differences in the proportions of knowledge were found based on the participants’ study year (p-value = 0.499). However, there was a statistically significant difference in the proportions of perceived self-efficacy according to the participants’ study year (p-value = 0.013). Furthermore, knowledge was significantly positively correlated with perceived self-efficacy regarding the use of personal protective equipment (r = 0.24; p-value = 0.002). Conclusion: The findings suggest a need for developing teaching and learning strategies to enhance nursing students’ proficiency in using personal protective equipment in alignment with current requirements.