Najjuka, Sarah MariaNgabirano, Tom DenisNabadda, RebeccaKateete, David PatrickKiguli, Sarah2025-04-142025-04-142022-06-22Najjuka, S. M., Ngabirano, T. D., Balizzakiwa, T., Nabadda, R., Kaggwa, M. M., Kateete, D. P., ... & Kiguli, S. (2022). Health care workers’ perceived self-efficacy to manage COVID-19 patients in Central Uganda: A cross-sectional study. Risk management and healthcare policy, 1253-1270.https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S356410https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/10632The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed health workers at the frontline of the emergency task force response; a duty that requires professional expertise and confidence to rapidly identify and treat patients with COVID-19. This study explored perceived self-efficacy (PSE) of health care workers (HCWs) in the management of patients with COVID-19 and associated factors in central Uganda. We recruited 418 HCWs from four national referral hospitals in Uganda. Multivariate linear regression analysis was utilized to determine factors associated with PSE. A p-value > 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Majority of the participants were female, about half were nurses/midwives, and had 10 years of work experience on average. Overall, HCWs reported moderate PSE in managing COVID-19 patients which reduced with increasing severity of the COVID-19 illness. Having a PhD, being a medical doctor, agreeing or completely agreeing that one has knowledge about COVID-19 management, and having COVID-19 management training were significantly associated with increase in one’s level of PSE. This study highlights an unsatisfactory, moderate level of PSE among HCWs in the management of patients with COVID-19 in central Uganda. The health sector should focus on improving HCWs’ self-efficacy through continuous training of all HCWs in the clinical management of especially the severe and critically ill cases of COVID-19. Non-doctor HCWs should be given priority as they scored lower levels of PSE; yet they are the corner stone of the primary health care system and make majority of the health human resource in low- and middle-income countries. Interventions towards creating a safe working environment for HCWs through provision of adequate infection prevention and control strategies are essential in boosting HCWs confidence to manage COVID-19 patients.enArticle