Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding the H1N1 pandemic amongst healthcare providers, and preparedness in a multispeciality teaching hospital in North India

Summary Objective To assess the preparedness of a multispeciality teaching hospital in India in tackling the swine flu pandemic. Study design Evaluation study. Methods This cross-sectional observational study was done among paramedical staff, MBBS students and resident doctors of Government Medical College and Hospital Chandigarh (GMCH), India. Results Of the subjects selected for the study, awareness about causal agent was 89.2%. All the participants were aware of the strain of virus and 96.3% knew about its transmission by droplet method. About 1/3rd of respondents had knowledge of its infectivity. Preparedness was good (93.3%)in all aspects except for the diagnostics. Conclusions The Institute (GMCH) was well prepared for managing the swine Flu.