Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 among general population

Abstract

Context: The war against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) continuing. Prevention is the best method to deal with the disease. The success of preventive measures is influenced by behavior of the population which in turn depends on knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the community. Aims: The aim is to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19 of general population who are using internet. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study in general population using Google Forms. Methods: The KAP questionnaire previously used in Chinese study adopted here after modifying for content and cultural appropriateness. The questionnaire included the following domains: (i) demographic information, (ii) knowledge about COVID-19, (iii) attitude toward COVID-19, and (iv) preventive practices. The questionnaire was circulated through social media to general population through Google forms. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square test for association, independent t-test for comparison of two groups, one-way ANOVA for comparison of more than two groups. The statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: A total of 2193 participants took part in the study. Most of our participants were well educated and were either postgraduates or graduates 1913 (87.23%). The mean knowledge score of the participants was 10.36 (standard deviation: 1.27, median: 11.00). Most of the participants avoided crowded places, washed hands repeatedly, did not shake hands with any one. Majority of the participants were not taking any prophylaxis medications. Conclusions: The population has very good KAP about the disease which is helpful for preventive measures. This may be the reason for better control of the disease till now.

Keywords

• attitude
• covid-19
• knowledge
• practices