Introduction
The safety of medical or healthcare workers is paramount at all times, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, using personal protective equipment (PPEs) is the best protection in such an environment. This has also positively impacted their protection against infectious diseases. During the COVID-19 epidemic, there were some cases of shortage related to PPEs, which endangered healthcare workers worldwide due to the lack of protective equipment, WHO requested governments and industry to significantly enhance equipment manufacturing by 40 percent to meet the increasing global demand. Although there have been challenges related to procuring safety protective equipment (PPEs) for medical and healthcare personnel, people in the medical field are using enough gear to protect themselves against disease compared to the years before the spread of COVID-19.
A Comparison of Research Questions
- Question 1: Should basic safety protocols be followed when dealing with any disease other than the COVID-19 epidemic?
- Question 2: Are people in the healthcare sector using enough protective equipment against the issue of COVID-19?
In comparing the two questions, it is relevant to note they have similarities and differences. Both questions focus on the issue of the COVID pandemic and how people can safeguard themselves against the disease. However, the two questions are different. The first question is based on the World Health Organization (WHO) requirements, where the public advises ensuring they protect themselves against the dreaded disease (Perrotta et al., 2020). Many governments and the World Health Organization (WHO) have enhanced awareness of the disease and how the people can safeguard themselves. In addition, the people should also ensure that all the safety protocols are followed to protect themselves from other conditions related to COVID. Some measures to be used include wearing masks, social distancing, wearing unique clothing, and thoroughly cleaning surfaces with disinfectants.
The second question focuses on research, demonstrating that personal protective equipment is valuable among healthcare workers to protect themselves against diseases such as COVID. In this case, disease control is vital in limiting the spread of diseases and possible health challenges. Taking tests continuously from staff and patients is essential for an overview of the incidence of conditions in the healthcare setting and further analysis. It is also relevant to collect materials for identifying diseases (Perrotta et al., 2020). In addition, there is a need to have safeguard measures such as room ventilation and thorough hand washing. Such an undertaking will allow for a safer working environment and lower the spread of the disease throughout the hospital. Although the two questions address the same goal of fighting diseases like COVID, the approach to how they do it is different.
A Comparison of Sample Populations
In the absence of vaccination and medical treatment, behaviors of the population are vital to curbing the spread of diseases such as the COVID-19 epidemic (Earnshaw et al., 2020). In this case, social distancing and preventive measures are linked to most of the population’s demographic characteristics. A study conducted in April 2020 involving 71 612 people demonstrated how people used different control strategies to prevent the further spread of COVID and other related diseases (Perrotta et al., 2020). In this number, most of the respondents quickly embraced washing hands frequently, using face masks, and using social distancing and intervention strategies.
On the other hand, there is a need for a well-informed population concerning the disease. During the pandemic, it was established that most people contracted the disease because of misinformation. In this regard, a study conducted in 2020 demonstrated that misinformation concerning the epidemic made the disease a formidable challenge because most people did not have access to the correct information at the right time (Kim et al., 2020). Therefore, there was no accurate information on how to curb and prevent the disease. Such misinformation demonstrates that people did not have the motivation or urge to seek out and process some pertinent information concerning the illness. In some instances, most governments and policymakers did not convey the correct information regarding the daily infections of the disease, which made people demotivated to follow and have information on the pandemic.
A Comparison of the Limitations of the Study
The study involving 71612 individuals was a Facebook study and was limited to online platforms. Therefore, those who did not have Facebook accounts or were not active on social media platforms could not participate in the survey (Ferreira et al., 2021). Thus, the study was limited to mostly young people who are active participants in social media, particularly on Facebook. On the other hand, the survey of the misinformation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic brought out some limitations, for example, in three countries such as the US, South Korea, and Singapore, where the sample sizes were not balanced (Nwachukwu et al., 2020). In this case, the pandemic affected the three countries differently, and it was impossible to consider all evaluative factors that could affect the outcome or results.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In conclusion, the safety of medical and healthcare professionals is paramount, as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In every disease, such as the COVID epidemic, the workforce should always have personal protective equipment (PPEs) as part of their work. Such equipment will ensure that the personnel is not exposed to contracting diseases as they discharge their duties. One of the primary challenges during an outbreak of a condition such as COVID is misinformation, which affects people. As witnessed during the pandemic, the lack of accurate information prevents people from taking some precautionary measures and protecting themselves against diseases. Therefore, there is a need for governments and other policymakers to ensure that the public has accurate information concerning a particular condition at all times.
References
Earnshaw, V. A., Eaton, L. A., Kalichman, S. C., Brousseau, N. M., Hill, E. C., & Fox, A. B. (2020). COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, health behaviors, and policy support. OUP Academic. Web.
Ferreira, L. N., Pereira, L. N., da Fé Brás, M., & Ilchuk, K. (2021). Quality of life under the COVID-19 quarantine.Quality of Life Research, 30(5), 1389–1405. Web.
Kim, H. K., Ahn, J., Atkinson, L., & Kahlor, L. A. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 misinformation on information seeking, avoidance, and processing: A Multicountry Comparative Study.Science Communication, 42(5), 586–615. Web.
Nwachukwu, I., Nkire, N., Shalaby, R., Hrabok, M., Vuong, W., Gusnowski, A., Surood, S., Urichuk, L., Greenshaw, A. J., & Agyapong, V. I. O. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: Age-related differences in measures of stress, anxiety and depression in Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6366. Web.
Perrotta, D., Grow, A., Rampazzo, F., Cimentada, J., Fava, E. D., Gil-Clavel, S., & Zagheni, E. (2020). Behaviours and attitudes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a cross-national Facebook survey. Web.