Personal Protective Equipment Comfort and User Attitude During COVID-19

Personal Protective Equipment Comfort and User Attitude During COVID-19 Pandemic: a Cross-Sectional Study Among Physical Therapy Students

There are studies in the literature that evaluate the attitude, behavior and comfort level of students who do internships in different disciplines (medicine, pharmacy) towards the use of protective equipment. However, no study evaluating physiotherapy and rehabilitation students was found. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the behaviors and attitudes regarding the use of personal protective equipment of physiotherapy and rehabilitation department students who are interning in the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 250 participants, who are physiotherapy and rehabilitation intern students in Turkey, will be included in the present study. Data collection will be carried out using an online survey. The online survey link will be shared via social media accounts and via mail. The questionnaire created through Google forms will be delivered to the participants via the link. The link will be active in the data collection process. Before the participants start the questionnaire, they will be asked whether they were willing to participate. The socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, weight, height) and health status (presence of chronic disease and drugs used) will be questioned. In addition, the information about the institution where the internship was held and the duration of the internship, internship hours, time spent at the internship will be collected. Personal Protective Equipment Comfort and User Attitude Evaluation Form will be used to evaluate participant's thoughts, attitudes and behaviors towards the use of personal equipment also physical complaints, comfort level due to personal protective equipment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The participants included in this study will be aged over 18 years, men or women, an intern student actively during Covid-19 pandemic and able to use computer and have an internet connection

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants excluded from the study if they not able to understand and read Turkish as a language, do not use protective equipment with their own choice; do internship in a different discipline other than physiotherapy and rehabilitation.