Analyzing Lessons from Previous COVID-19 Outbreaks for Future Preparedness: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The present research examines how prepared healthcare and non-healthcare professionals are to deal with the next wave of the COVID 19 pandemic outbreak and what we can take away from previous outbreaks of the pandemic. Materials and Methods: Using a World Health Organization (WHO) Survey Tool and Guidance for Monitoring Knowledge, Risk Perception, Preventive Behaviour and Trust to Inform Pandemic Outbreak Response, a web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among healthcare and non-healthcare workers from May to July 2022 (three months). SPSS 26.0 was used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 432 participants gave their consent to participate in the study. Of these, 202 (46.8%) men, 225 (52.1%) women and 5 (1.2%) preferred not to disclose. 95% of the participants were younger than the age range of 18 to 25 and 307 (71.1%) of the participants were healthcare workers. The majority of the study participants believed they had a lower chance of contracting COVID-19. Half of the participants indicated they were able to fight against COVID-19 through their actions and self-precautions, whereas 36% of participants said that it's extremely difficult for them to stay away from COVID-19. Conclusion: Participants are well-informed about COVID-19 and well-prepared for the next wave of COVID-19. However, few participants do not follow the preventive steps to protect themselves from the infection. Maintaining high vaccination rates, practicing effective public health measures such as mask-wearing and physical distancing, implementing robust testing and contact tracing systems and prioritizing early detection and containment of emerging variants are crucial steps to prevent from next wave of the Pandemic.