Introduction:

Health personnel represent the first response of the health system in the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to assess their knowledge about the identification and care of patients with COVID-19.

Objective:

To identify the factors associated with the perception of knowledge of Peruvian resident physicians regarding the care of patients with COVID-19 and to describe the perception of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

Cross-sectional study, carried out in 2020 in hospitals in Peru. The "Perception of Knowledge in Health Workers" scale was used (Cronbach's Alpha: 0.77). And also, the "Mental Health COVID-19" scale was used (Cronbach's Alpha: 0.88). Bivariate and multivariate statistics were performed.

Results:

Of the 200 respondents, 12% and 5% stated that they were able to recognize a suspected case and care for a diagnosed patient, respectively; 41% and 35% strongly agreed with the fear/concern of infecting their family and feeling mistreatment due to the lack of personal protective equipment, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, the perception of knowledge was associated with working in emergencies (p= 0.007), with the number of positive friends for COVID-19 (p= 0.012) and with having recently undergone intubation (p= 0.035); these were adjusted by the mental health perception score.

Conclusions:

Working in emergencies, having had contact with infected patients and having performed medical-surgical procedures influence the perception of knowledge of doctors about the care of patients with COVID-19.

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