Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2023 Jan 26; 11(E):243-248. 243 Scientifc Foundation SPIROSKI, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2023 Jan 26; 11(E):243-248. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2023.11269 eISSN: 1857-9655 Category: E - Public Health Section: Public Health Disease Control Knowledge about COVID-19 and its Precautionary Measures among Healthcare Workers at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University Nora Atef , Mohamed Bendary* , Amira Khater Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Biostatistics, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt Abstract BACKGROUND: The core of the healthcare system is healthcare workers (HCWs). A skilled and healthy workforce is essential during a health emergency like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. AIM: This study evaluated knowledge of COVID-19, its preventive measures, and factors afecting it among HCWs at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Cairo University to determine their desire to obtain the available COVID-19 vaccines in addition to the factors that may afect it. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 151 HCWs in Egypt using a self-administered questionnaire created by the researchers after examining the information supplied by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, World Health Organization, and the relevant research regarding knowledge assessment. Initially, demographic data were collected. Participants were asked their source of knowledge about COVID-19 and their intent to receive the available vaccines. Knowledge about COVID-19 and preventive measures was compared between diferent HCWs in NCI. In addition, knowledge score was compared according to diferent factors to determine factors afecting knowledge. RESULTS: Physicians represented about 40% of the total number of participants. HCWs’ knowledge of COVID-19 was higher among physicians, with a higher percentage of correct answers than the other two groups (nurses and pharmacists and employees and technicians). Younger age groups had a signifcantly higher median knowledge score than the older groups. Physicians had signifcantly higher median scores than employee and technician groups. CONCLUSION: The overall knowledge about COVID-19 and its preventive measures among HCWs was generally good, especially among physicians more than allied health professionals. However, some of the virus-related knowledge was less advanced than expected for the HCWs position. Edited by: Sasho Stoleski Citation: Atef N, Bendary M, Khater A. Knowledge about COVID-19 and its Precautionary Measures among Healthcare Workers at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2023 Jan 26; 11(E):243-248. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2023.11269 Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare workers; Knowledge; Precautionary measures *Correspondence: Mohamed Bendary, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Benha, Qualubia, Egypt. E-mail: bendary3@gmail.com Received: 15-Nov-2022 Revised: 14-Jan-2023 Accepted: 16-Jan-2023 Copyright: © 2023 Nora Atef, Mohamed Bendary, Amira Khater Funding: This research did not receive any fnancial support Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist Open Access: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) Introduction It is known that infections with coronaviruses can lead to symptoms between the common cold and severe acute respiratory syndrome [1]. The cause of numerous episodes of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 was determined to be a novel coronavirus [2]. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was classifed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an international public health emergency in January 2020 and as a pandemic in March 2020, prompting all nations to take steps to stop further viral spread [3]. The COVID-19 virus can be spread from one person to another through close contact (within about 6 feet), respiratory secretions from coughs and sneezes, or by touching infected objects or surfaces. The elderly and those with underlying chronic conditions were at a higher risk of increased severity [4]. The best defense against the virus is to limit exposure to it [5]. Preventive measures recommended are washing hands frequently, social distancing, and covering 1 mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing [5]. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic defense. They are vulnerable to physical violence, psychological distress, long working hours, fatigue, and COVID-19 infection due to their regular contact with infected individuals [6], [7]. The contaminated environment, lack of isolation facilities, crowding, and perhaps the lack of understanding and knowledge of infection prevention techniques all serve to increase disease transmission among HCWs [8]. HCWs lacking knowledge of the illness may fail to recognize or treat it correctly, which could hasten the infection’s spread. A web- based, cross-sectional study of HCWs found that a sizable portion of HCWs (61.0%) had an inadequate understanding of COVID-19 transmission and symptom onset (63.6%) [9]. In addition to the main preventive measures for COVID-19, vaccines can stop people from becoming fatally ill or dying from this virus. The WHO has assessed some COVID-19 vaccines and declared that they satisfed the essential standards for efectiveness and safety (For instance, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Since 2002