Knowledge, attitude and practices towards COVID-19 pandemic in the community: a cross-sectional web-based survey in India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20204246Keywords:
Attitude, COVID-19, Knowledge, PracticeAbstract
Background: Coronavirus disease is a current new virulent disease rising its transmission and fatality with each passing day globally. People’s observance of the prevention measures is essential for controlling the spread of COVID-19, which is affected by their knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices towards COVID-19 in the community in India.
Methods: Present descriptive cross-sectional study was a web-based survey carried out between 15th July and 19th July 2020 among 570 participants in Maharashtra, India. A 30-item questionnaire distributed among the public using Google forms through social media networks.
Results: 97.4% participants knew contact with the infected person as a mode of transmission for COVID-19. Common symptoms of COVID-19 reported were difficulty in breathing (96.3%), fever (90.7%), cough (88.9%), sore throat (82.8%), etc. The majority of participants (>90%) had correct knowledge about preventive measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. Around 80% had a positive attitude that India will win the battle against the disease. More than 90% were practicing appropriate preventive measures while going out.
Conclusions: Majority of the Indian population demonstrated good knowledge, positive attitude, and good practices regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India. Containment plan for large outbreaks: Novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid 19). 2020; Version 3. Available from: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/3ContainmentPlanforLargeOutbreaksofCOVID19Final.pdf
Walker PG, Whittaker C, Watson O, Baguelin M, Ainslie KEC, Bhatia S, et al. The global impact of COVID-19 and strategies for mitigation and suppression. Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team. 2020; Available from: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-Global-Impact-26-03-2020v2.pdf
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India. Latest update. 2020. Available from: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/. Accessed on 26 July 2020.
Hussain A, Garima T, Singh BM, Ram R, Tripti RP. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Nepalese Residents: A quick online cross-sectional survey. Asian J Med Sci. 2020;11(3):6-11.
Acharya R, Gundi M, Ngo TD, Pandey N, Patel SK, Pinchoff J, et al. COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among adolescents and young people in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India. Popul Counc. 2020:1-6.
Maysoon D, Kevin van Z, Stefan F, Abdihamid W, Paul B. S, Ronald W, et al. COVID-19 control in low-income settings and displaced populations: what can realistically be done? London Sch Hyg Trop Med. 2020;14(1)1-10.
Wong G, Liu W, Liu Y, Zhou B, Bi Y, Gao GF. MERS, SARS, and Ebola: The role of super-spreaders in infectious disease. Cell Host Microbe Forum. 2015;18(4):398-401.
Azlan AA, Hamzah MR, Sern TJ, Ayub SH, Mohamad E. Public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in Malaysia. PloS One. 2020;15(5):1-15.
Roy D, Tripathy S, Kumar S, Sharma N. Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety and perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during COVID-19 pandemic. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;51(102083):1-7.
Zhang M, Zhou M, Tang F, Wang Y, Nie H, Zhang L, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Henan, China. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(2):183-7.
Haque T, Hossain KM, Bhuiyan MMR, Ananna SA, Chowdhury SH, Ahmed A, et al. Knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 and assessment of risks of infection by SARS-CoV-2 among the Bangladeshi population: an online cross sectional survey. Res Sq. 2020;1-21.
Tomar BS, Singh P, Suman S, Raj P, Nathiya D. Indian community’s knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19. MedRxiv. 2020;1-20.
World Health Organization (WHO). Infection prevention and control of epidemic- and pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections in health care. WHO Guidelines. 2014;1-156 Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK214359
Sima R, Mariam I, Aisha B. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19: A quick online cross-sectional survey among Tanzanian residents. MedRxiv. 2020;1-18.
Al-Hanawi MK, Angawi K, Alshareef N, Qattan AMN, Helmy HZ, Abudawood Y, et al. Knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19 among the public in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Front Public Health. 2020;8(217):1-10.
Rios-González CM. Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 in Paraguayans during outbreaks: a quick online survey. SciELO Prepr. 2020;1-20. Available from: https://preprints.scielo.org/index.php/scielo/preprint/view/149/179.
Rahman A, Sathi NJ. Knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices toward COVID-19 among Bangladeshi internet users. Electron J Gen Med. 2020;17(5):1-6.