ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has imposed a new reality that presents several challenges for healthcare professionals. The main challenge has been the lack of proper training in relation to an unknown disease.
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate healthcare professionals’ acquisition of knowledge of a new airway management protocol for COVID-19 through their participation in simulation training.
DESIGN AND SETTING:
Pre and post-test study with purpose sampling, carried out in a tertiary-level hospital in the city of Campinas, state of São Paulo, Brazil.
METHODS:
This was a cross-sectional pre and post-test intervention among healthcare professionals working in the intensive care unit and emergency department of a large hospital. The training was carried out using an in situ simulation scenario and the participants answered pre and post-tests consisting of a 20-item questionnaire about the new protocol.
RESULTS:
The paired-sample t test demonstrated that there was a significant increase in test score (t = −19.06; P < 0.001), from before the training (M = 8.62; standard deviation, SD = 3.53) to after the simulation training (M = 17.02; SD = 1.76).
CONCLUSIONS:
The simulated training had a positive impact on the healthcare professionals’ acquisition of the COVID-19 protocol. We also demonstrated that in situ simulation training was an efficient tool for implementing new protocols, thus bringing benefits to healthcare systems, professionals and patients.
KEY WORDS (MeSH terms):
Coronavirus; SARS virus; Simulation training; Health Personnel; SARS-CoV-2
AUTHORS’ KEY WORDS:
Simulation; Healthcare professionals; Knowledge acquisition; Airway management protocol