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SARS quarantining hospital employees's knowledge about SARS and attitude to SARS control  

Kim, Woo Jin (Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University Hospital)
Kim, Young Sun (Department of Nursing, Kangwon National University Hospital)
Jo, Heui Sug (Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University)
Publication Information
Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases / v.55, no.4, 2003 , pp. 361-369 More about this Journal
Abstract
Background : In Korea, the effort to control the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has succeeded, but we have to maintain vigilance against SARS and other infectious diseases, because many experts warn that SARS may return or that other infectious agents could spread globally. The purpose of this study is to describe the degree of knowledge of hospital employees, assuming full responsibility for treating and attending to SARS suspected case, and to elucidate the attitude to SARS using questionnaires. Method : All employees of Kangwon university hospital were eligible for this study. We used validated questionnaires to survey demographic characteristics, the degree of knowledge of SARS, intention of treating and attending suspected cases, influence and effects of SARS on the community, and acquisition of information about SARS. Result : Based on the 251 completed surveys, out of 280 returned the score for knowledge about SARS was $72.0{\pm}13.7$, 50.6% responded positively about joining a SARS team, and 23.1% were opposed to the designation for quarantining. There was no relationship between the degree of knowledge of SARS and the attitudes to it. Most employees wanted to know how to manage SARS patients and how to prevent SARS. Conclusion : The attitudes to SARS were not affected by the level of knowledge of SARS. We suggest that national policies about SARS and other infectious diseases should be promulgated using the mass media and internet to provide information on rapidly spreading infectious agents, especially about the proper protocol for treating suspected cases and the appropriate steps to prevent or reduce the risk.
Keywords
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); Quarantine; Questionnaire; Information;
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